Summary
The Rotten Tomatoes rating system occasionally produces some strange results, meaning that an actor’s highest-rated movie isn’t one that audiences typically associate with them. This has a lot to do with the way that Rotten Tomatoes aggregates reviews to come up with its scores. Lesser-known movies can score 100% if they have unanimously positive reviews, while more popular movies which naturally generate more reviews can fall down the rankings if one or two critics dislike them.
The other main reason why Rotten Tomatoes doesn’t always accurately reflect an actor’s best movie is that it doesn’t take into account the size of an actor’s role. A momentary cameo in a highly-rated movie can eclipse an award-winning performance in a movie with a 99% rating.Rotten Tomatoes delivers some strange resultssometimes, proving that scoring movies with a single number has its problems.
10 Actors Whose Highest-Grossing Movie Isn’t Their Best One
The profitable nature of summer blockbusters means that many actors who star in action movies have made better movies throughout their careers.
10Michelle Yeoh
Yes, Madam (1985)
Michelle Yeoh has recently been enjoying a career resurgence in Hollywood blockbusters, but she has been making great movies for decades. She first made a name for herself in Hong Kong action movies, andYes, Madamgave Yeoh her first starring role.Almost 40 years later, it remains her only movie on Rotten Tomatoes with a perfect 100% score, although this is also because it has so few reviews.
Michelle Yeoh’s Oscar-winning performance inEverything Everywhere All At Onceproduced one of her best movies.
Michelle Yeoh’s Oscar-winning performance inEverything Everywhere All At Onceproduced one of her best movies. She’s also well known forCrouching Tiger, Hidden Dragonand some other martial arts films. Some of her other movies with over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes include the Jackie Chan thrillerSupercopand Marvel’sShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,but despite having so many massive hits, none have surpassedYes, Madamon Rotten Tomatoes.
9Tilda Swinton
Edward II (1991)
Tilda Swinton is one of the most interesting and talented character actors working in Hollywood. Her classical training allows her to approach even the strangest characters and find what makes them human. This has given her the qualities needed to excel in sci-fi and fantasy movies, but she has also played many more traditional roles to great acclaim, such as in the Christopher Marlowe adaptation Edward II.
Swinton still appears in independent movies, but she has long since left behind such low-budget dramas.
InEdward II,Swinton plays the wife of the English king as he engages in a gay affair with a nobleman. Swinton still appears in independent movies, but she has long since left behind such low-budget dramas.Tilda Swinton’s best moviesinclude big-budget sci-fi thrillers such asSnowpiercerandDoctor Strange.None of these movies, nor her comedy work or intense dramas, have matchedEdward II’s100% Rotten Tomatoes score.
8Sean Connery
Darby O’Gill and the Little People (1959)
Sean Connery shot to fame when he started the James Bond franchise off in style. He became synonymous with Ian Fleming’s secret agent, starring in some of the franchise’s best movies, such asFrom Russia With LoveandGoldfinger.However, his only movie with 100% on Rotten Tomatoes is the little-known 1959 Disney fantasy movieDarby O’Gill and the Little People.
Even without theJames Bondmovies, Connery has plenty of other contenders which could easily be his highest-rated movie instead ofDarby O’Gill and the Little People.
Darby O’Gill and the Little People is a story about leprechauns and wishes that doesn’t have the general appeal of many ofSean Connery’s best movies. Even without theJames Bondmovies, Connery has plenty of other contenders which could easily be his highest-rated movie instead ofDarby O’Gill and the Little People.He found a new wave of success in later years in dramas such asThe UntouchablesandThe Rock.
7Matthew McConaughey
Kubo and the Two Strings (2018)
After establishing himself as a romcom leading man, Matthew McConaughey reinvented himself and turned to more prestigious dramatic roles. His Oscar-winning performance inDallas Buyers Clubcame around the same time that he starred inInterstellarandMud,and he also produced an unforgettable cameo in Martin Scorsese’sThe Wolf of Wall Streetas an obnoxious broker.
McConaughey’s Oscar-winning performance inDallas Buyers Clubcame around the same time that he starred inInterstellarandMud.
Despite this impressive string of critical and commercial successes, Matthew McConaughey’s top-ranked movie on Rotten Tomatoes came a couple of years later when he starred inKubo and the Two Strings.People may not identify McConaughey with this movie for a couple of reasons.The first is that it’s only a voice acting performance, and the second is thatKubo and the Two Stringswas a box office failure, so it never reached the audience it deserved.
6Jeff Goldblum
Annie Hall (1977)
Jeff Goldblum’s highest-rated movie on Rotten Tomatoes is a surprise because it’s easy to forget that he was ever in it. Goldblum has a small part in Woody Allen’s comedy movieAnnie Hall.Although he is only in the movie for a brief moment, he helps himself to one of the best quotes, as he tells his therapist over the phone"I forgot my mantra.“This also capturesAnnie Hall’s social commentary on phony enlightenment techniques.
Jeff Goldblum has an impressive number of movies with over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, most of which give him bigger roles thanAnnie Hall.
Jeff Goldblum has an impressive number of movies with over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, most of which give him bigger roles thanAnnie Hall.He also shows a wide range of genres in his best movies, from the sci-fi horror ofThe Flyto the animated comedy ofIsle of Dogs.However, nothing he has done since 1977 has managed to eclipse the 97% rating ofAnnie Hall,which was one of his very first movie roles.
5Margot Robbie
Margot Robbie was one of the few positives in 2016’sSuicide Squad,so she returned for James Gunn’s sequel even when the rest of the cast consisted of new faces.The Suicide Squadboasts a Rotten Tomatoes score of 90%, which is a remarkable improvement onSuicide Squad’s 26% score. Still, it’s a little surprising that this is ranked as her best movie according to Rotten Tomatoes.
Margot Robbie has some exciting upcoming movies. It’s possible thatThe Suicide Squadwon’t be her highest-rated movie for much longer.
Robbie’s breakthrough performance inThe Wolf of Wall Streetestablished her star power from early. Critically-acclaimed performances inI, TonyaandOnce Upon a Time in Hollywoodsoon followed. After the billion-dollar success ofBarbie,Margot Robbie has some exciting upcoming movies. It’s possible thatThe Suicide Squadwon’t be her highest-rated movie for much longer.
4Uma Thurman
Hollywood Stargirl (2022)
Uma Thurman delivered one of thebest performances in a Quentin Tarantino moviewhen she starred as Mia Wallace in 1994’sPulp Fiction.She pulled the same trick again in 2003 as the main character inKill Bill.It would be natural to assume that one of these movies would be her highest-rated on Rotten Tomatoes, but that particular honor goes toHollywood Stargirlinstead.
It would be natural to assume that one of Thurman’s collaborations with Tarantino would be her highest-rated movie on Rotten Tomatoes.
Even discounting her collaborations with Tarantino, Thurman has a few other big hits that would be much less surprising to see ranked as her best movie.Dangerous Liaisons, The Adventures of Baron MunchausenandGattacaall managed to win over critics, but none more so thanHollywood Stargirl,a teen romcom in which Thurman has a supporting role as a musician and producer.
3Gary Oldman
Harry Potter and the Deadly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)
English actor Gary Oldman has had supporting roles in dozens of critically acclaimed movies. He recently popped up as President Harry Truman inOppenheimer, but he has also delivered memorable performances in theDark Knightfranchise,Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,Léon: The Professional,and countless other movies. He has been nominated for Best Actor three times, but of all his movies, it’s the final entry in theHarry Potterfranchise which is ranked the highest on Rotten Tomatoes.
Oldman has been nominated for Best Actor three times, but of all his movies, it’s the final entry in theHarry Potterfranchise which is ranked the highest on Rotten Tomatoes.
Gary Oldman is characteristically superb as Sirius Black, Harry Potter’s godfather, but he doesn’t have the biggest role inThe Deathly Hallows: Part 2.He is at his best in the third movie,The Prisoner of Azkaban.If anyHarry Pottermovie should be rated as Oldman’s best, it should be this one. Critical consensus claims thatThe Deathly Hallows: Part 2is thebestHarry Pottermovie, although fans of the franchise will all have their own favorites.
2Sigourney Weaver
Dave (1995)
Sigourney Weaver is a sci-fi icon, thanks to her role as Ellen Ripley in theAlienfranchise and her part inGhostbusters.However, her highest-rated movie on Rotten Tomatoes is the 1993 political comedyDave,in which she plays the First Lady of the United States when her husband is substituted for a lookalike.Daveis a charming comedy with a sweet romantic element, but it’s far from the first movie anyone would associate with Weaver.
Dave’s 72% Audience Score shows that it isn’t close to being as popular with fans asAliens, Ghostbustersor evenGalaxy Quest.
Sigourney Weaver has been nominated for three Oscar, forAliens, Gorillas in the MistandWorking Girl.Any one of these movies might be more appropriate as her highest-rated movie.Weaver is a rare star whose most commercially popular movies are also her most critically lauded. Dave’s 72% Audience Score shows that it isn’t close to being as popular with fans asAliens, Ghostbustersor evenGalaxy Quest.
1Anthony Hopkins
The Dresser (2015)
If Anthony Hopkins must be associated with one role, it would surely be that of Hannibal Lecter inThe Silence of the Lambs.Hopkins created one of the most intriguing and disturbing villains in the history of cinema in the 1995 psychological drama, and it won him an Academy Award. Despite the lasting influence and popularity ofThe Silence of the Lambs,Hopkins' highest-rated movie on Rotten Tomatoes is currently 2015’sThe Dresser.
His Merchant-Ivory dramas, his award-winning turn inThe Fatherand his part in David Lynch’sThe Elephant Manwould all seem more likely contenders for his highest-rated movie on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Dresseris a TV moviewhich stars Anthony Hopkins and Ian McKellen as a Shakespearean actor and his dresser during the Second World War. It’s a showcase for the talents of two fine British actors, but it is far from Hopkins' most popular movie. His Merchant-Ivory dramas, his award-winning turn inThe Fatherand his part in David Lynch’sThe Elephant Manwould all seem more likely contenders for his highest-rated movie on Rotten Tomatoes.
