- 7/5/2025
Some stars find their groove on the big screen, while others should rethink their Hollywood ambitions. We'll take a look at memorable performances—both surprisingly strong and painfully awkward—from celebrities who made the leap from music, sports, or reality TV into acting. Which stars nailed their roles, and which ones missed the mark? Share your favorites—and the ones you'd forget—down below!
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00:00On this mic, you get faded. You look like a pissed-off rapper who never made it.
00:05Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today, we're counting down our picks for the best and worst performances
00:10delivered by celebrities who are not primarily known for their acting.
00:14The third-largest social media inventor since Zuckerberg? Classmate? What planet are you from?
00:22Number 5. Should stick to their day job. David Beckham. King Arthur, Legend of the Sword.
00:28Trigger. I think we've got one here.
00:33Bouncing on my knee. Where'd you think I want you? Hands on the eels, stupid.
00:38Guy Ritchie's 2017 fantasy epic, King Arthur, Legend of the Sword, is packed with questionable choices,
00:44but none quite as baffling as David Beckham's brief but painfully cringe cameo.
00:49Playing a soldier named Trigger, Beckham appears in a pivotal scene to bark out directions at Arthur
00:54as he attempts to pull the Excalibur from the stone.
00:57Right. Ten digits. Round the blunt bit. Give it a tug. Left foot. Right foot. Collect your brand. Back on the barge.
01:06Between the heavy-handed Cockney accent and the wooden line delivery, the whole thing feels wildly out of place.
01:13We all know Beckham for his magnetic presence on the football pitch, but that signature charm is nowhere to be found here.
01:19Instead, his appearance yanks viewers right out of the story and becomes the punchline of an already disastrous film.
01:26You felt it, didn't you? The power. That's what put you out. You just don't know how to control it.
01:35We certainly hope it's his last foray into acting.
01:39Number 5. Proved They Can Act. Dolly Parton. 9 to 5.
01:43Dolly Parton was already a huge country star when she was tapped to play one of the three leads in the 1980 comedy 9 to 5.
01:50Ann Hart wants me to take papers to his lawyer. I'm gonna be gone all afternoon.
01:54Oh, damn it. When you're away, that only means one thing.
01:59Her performance in the film only made her even more of a cultural icon.
02:04As Doralee Rhodes, the sharp, sassy, and often underestimated secretary,
02:08Parton brought the level of skill you would expect from a seasoned actor, even though it was her film debut.
02:14So, you've been telling everybody I'm sleeping with you, huh?
02:17No.
02:17Well, that explains it. That's why these people treat me like some dime store floozy.
02:21No, no, it's not.
02:21They think I'm screwing the boss.
02:22She was hilarious when the script called for it, exuded confidence throughout,
02:27and infused the role with genuine warmth.
02:29Acting alongside veterans like Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin,
02:33she could have easily been overshadowed, but Parton managed to match them with surprising ease.
02:38Clearly, acting just comes as effortlessly to her as songwriting.
02:42An accident. She was thinking about doing it last night.
02:45We were all thinking about doing it last night, but she didn't do it on purpose.
02:49Oh, maybe unconsciously I did.
02:51Number 4. Should stick to their day job.
02:54Madonna. Swept away.
02:55Once again, we have Guy Ritchie casting a famous face from his inner circle, only for it to backfire.
03:01This time around, that famous face was his then-wife, Madonna.
03:05This fish is bad. It's off.
03:08Bad?
03:09In that case, if you don't want to eat it, you probably want to wear it.
03:14In this ill-fated remake of the 1974 film of the same name, Madonna plays Amber Layton,
03:20a rich, entitled socialite who gets stranded on a deserted island.
03:24Don't be in a rush. You might hurt yourself.
03:26Oh, forgive me for being in a rush to get to civilization.
03:31I can't believe I found that.
03:33Unfortunately, the real wreck wasn't the boat. It was the movie itself.
03:38Madonna's performance was especially criticized for being stiff and lacking any emotional depth.
03:43Even worse, there was absolutely no chemistry between her and her co-star, Adriano Giannini.
03:49Well, maybe I wasn't happy.
03:52Ah, why not? Apparently you had everything.
03:56Well, maybe what I wanted wasn't what I needed.
03:58Her efforts earned her a well-deserved Razzie for Worst Actress,
04:02proving once and for all that while she is a music powerhouse, acting just isn't her strong suit.
04:08Number 4. Proved They Can Act.
04:10Mariah Carey. Precious, based on the novel Push by Sapphire.
04:15You're in a safe place. Just talk.
04:18What's going on? What's the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about home?
04:22If you didn't already know Mariah Carey was in the 2009 film Precious,
04:25you might do a double take when she appears on screen.
04:28The legendary singer totally disappears into the role of a no-nonsense, tired social worker
04:33who helps the film's troubled protagonist.
04:35Okay. Well, I'll see you next time then.
04:38Or maybe you'll see someone else.
04:40But you're going to have to talk to somebody if you want your check, sweetie.
04:43Stripped of all her glam,
04:45Carey delivers an understated and emotionally grounded performance
04:48that was a far cry from her previous misfire in 2001's Glitter.
04:52She might not have been the first choice for the role,
04:54as director Lee Daniels initially considered Jane Fonda and Helen Mirren,
04:58but she ultimately proved to be the right choice.
05:01And I don't want you to sit there and judge me this way.
05:05You shut up and you let him abuse your daughter.
05:07I did not want him to abuse my daughter.
05:08I did not want him to hurt her.
05:10But you allowed him to hurt her.
05:10I did not want him to do...
05:11It was a complete redemption for the music star
05:13and earned her the Breakthrough Actress Performance Award
05:16at the Palm Springs International Film Festival.
05:19Number three, should stick to their day job,
05:21Tyler Perry's movies aren't exactly where you go
05:28for powerhouse acting performances.
05:30But even he hit a new low when he cast Kim Kardashian
05:33in his 2013 film,
05:35Temptation, Confessions of a Marriage Counselor.
05:37What's wrong with my dress?
05:40Can you even breathe, Ava?
05:42Kardashian was clearly out of her depth
05:44and as a result,
05:45she seemed to slip right back into familiar territory,
05:48delivering her lines with the same cadence
05:50as her reality TV confessionals.
05:52Please don't tell me he's here
05:53to get fixed up by the madam.
05:55She is no madam.
05:56You need to bite your tongue.
05:58She's a matchmaker
05:59and she's very good at her job.
06:00Although her character Ava
06:01was a minor sidekick with no real arc,
06:04it still required some level of believability,
06:07which Kardashian was simply unable to muster.
06:10After missing out on a well-deserved Razzie
06:12for her supporting role in Disaster Movie,
06:14Kardashian finally took home the notorious award
06:17for her performance in Temptation.
06:19When people look at you,
06:21it reflects bad on me.
06:23They don't think you have a mirror or a friend
06:24and they know we're friends.
06:26My friends don't look like this.
06:28Number 3.
06:29Proved They Can Act
06:30Kevin Garnett
06:31Uncut Gems
06:32Not many athletes have knocked it out of the park
06:35when it comes to acting performances.
06:37So when Kevin Garnett signed on to star in Uncut Gems,
06:40the bar wasn't exactly high.
06:42But with his turn as a fictionalized version of himself,
06:45Garnett raised that bar even higher
06:47than his towering 6'11 frame.
06:49Why's it got so many colors in it, man?
06:51What is this?
06:51That's the thing.
06:52They say you can see the whole universe in over.
06:55Set in 2012,
06:56the film revolves around an impulsive New York City jeweler
06:59who acquires an Ethiopian gem
07:00and tries to sell it off to a basketball player.
07:03Enter Kevin Garnett.
07:05You don't understand.
07:06This stone, I'm really connected with this, man.
07:09I feel like I'm gonna have 40 or 50 on this, man.
07:12Man, what?
07:12He does that.
07:13Man, what?
07:14You understand that?
07:15Yeah.
07:15You understand that?
07:16This role wasn't just a cameo.
07:18Garnett appeared in multiple scenes.
07:20And in each one,
07:21he shone so effortlessly,
07:23you'd never guess it was his first ever acting gig.
07:26His skill on the court was already well-established,
07:28but who knew he had such talent on screen?
07:31Here's $165,000 right here.
07:33Cash.
07:33I'm showing you because it wasn't easy.
07:36Six percent goes to Demonte.
07:37I've already taken it out, all right?
07:38All right, I guess.
07:39I guess that's fair.
07:40Number two should stick to their day job,
07:42Shaquille O'Neal, Kazam.
07:44Speaking of athletes who didn't knock it out of the park in movies,
07:47we have Shaquille O'Neal in Kazam.
07:50The NBA champion plays a 5,000-year-old genie
07:53who is released from a magic boom box,
07:55and the result is anything but magical.
07:57Hey!
07:59Dare to wake me!
08:03Ain't gonna make this a mystery!
08:06Don't wanna do time on your wishes three!
08:09At least with some other bad movie performances,
08:12you can still find one redeeming moment.
08:14But O'Neal's turn as the rapping,
08:16rhyming genie,
08:17was a full-on disaster,
08:19from start to finish.
08:20You got to listen to my rap from bell to bell.
08:23Those babies had rabies,
08:25and we was in Hades
08:26cause we moved with the harem of the prince about to dress up.
08:29His imposing presence may have suited the character's look,
08:31but O'Neal lacked the comedic timing
08:33or charisma needed to make it convincing.
08:36As fun as it is to see athletes try their hand at acting,
08:39sometimes it's best to keep their talents on the court.
08:42I just wish I could've granted your wish.
08:45I wish I could've filled your heart.
08:52Number 2, Proved They Can Act, Eminem, 8 Mile.
08:57The premise of 8 Mile,
08:58which follows Jimmy Smith Jr.,
09:00a.k.a. B-Rabbit,
09:01a struggling rapper trying to rise above his tough Detroit upbringing,
09:04might sound a lot like Eminem's own story.
09:07But that doesn't mean the rapper just plays himself on screen.
09:11Far from it.
09:12When's Greg getting his settlement check?
09:14Get the money from him.
09:15No, no, I can't.
09:18He's gonna ask me and Lily to move away with him.
09:21Someplace nice real soon.
09:22I just can't, I can't freak him out.
09:24Mom, you gotta stop living your life like this.
09:26Eminem delivered a performance that surprised audiences
09:28with its vulnerability and emotional depth.
09:31Yes, this was his first time in a movie,
09:33but he avoided the usual pitfall of overacting
09:36that you'd find in many celebrity acting debuts.
09:38I don't know what they told you, Mike.
09:41You must have them cornrows rolled too tight.
09:43His job, you wanna quit, but you can't.
09:46You worked at this plant so long, you're a plant.
09:48Add to that the electric rap battle scenes
09:51and the wealth of songs he helped create for the soundtrack,
09:54and you have one of the most impressive showings
09:56by a non-actor in modern film history.
09:58One, two, three, it's to the four.
10:01One pop, two pops, three pops, four.
10:04Four pops, three pops, two pops, one.
10:06Your pops, he's pops, your pops.
10:08None.
10:09Number one should stick to their day job.
10:11Paris Hilton, the hottie and the naughty.
10:14Throughout the 2000s, Paris Hilton cultivated the image
10:17of a stereotypical dumb blonde,
10:19a persona that seemed to have been entirely intentional.
10:22It was that image that the 2008 film
10:24the hottie and the naughty cashed in on.
10:26Don't take it personally, Coopie.
10:28You were a great guy.
10:30And if things were different,
10:31who knows?
10:36I gotta go.
10:38Hilton, of course, played the hottie.
10:40An impossibly attractive girl who refuses to date anyone
10:43until her not-so-gorgeous best friend can find a date, too.
10:46Even while essentially playing herself,
10:49Hilton manages to give a performance
10:50with all the range of a cardboard cutout.
10:53You know, June, some people think our bodies are like an earth suit,
10:58a vessel that carries our soul until you pass on from this planet
11:02into the next dimension.
11:04Her delivery is wooden,
11:05her expressions are limited to a narrow set of blank stares,
11:08and any attempt at humor falls completely flat.
11:11We would say she should stick to her day job,
11:13but we don't even know what that is.
11:15So where were we?
11:16All right, my job.
11:18I work as an event planner for this charity group,
11:21which basically means that I get to throw fun parties for a good cause.
11:25Cool.
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11:42Number 1.
11:43Proved They Can Act
11:44Lady Gaga
11:45A Star Is Born
11:46Lady Gaga burst onto the scene in the late 2000s
11:58with a style that was anything but subtle.
12:01Her theatrical music and outlandish,
12:03sometimes provocative fashion sense
12:05made sure she was impossible to ignore.
12:08But in 2018's A Star Is Born,
12:10she set aside all of that spectacle for something far more stripped down.
12:14How do you do that?
12:15Do what?
12:16Don't change the subject.
12:17Is that what I'm doing?
12:18Nobody ever asks you about you, huh?
12:22I'm not sure.
12:23Playing Ali, a struggling singer-songwriter who rises to fame
12:26while in a complicated relationship with a fading rock star,
12:30Gaga was a revelation.
12:31She starred opposite Bradley Cooper,
12:33who at that point had many years of acting experience.
12:36Still, it felt like her acting resume was just as stacked.
12:40I won't do this again.
12:43I won't come and fight you.
12:44Next time you can clean up your own mess.
12:50Gaga's work earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress,
12:53which only confirmed that she is indeed a triple threat.
12:57Which celebrities would you like to see try their hand at acting?
13:00And which do you think should stay far away from a film set?
13:03Let us know in the comments below.
13:05Okay, um, anyone want another drink?
13:09Yes!
13:09Yeah, absolutely!
13:11We'll see you next time, aren't we?
13:17We'll see you next time, aren't we?
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