10 Actors That Were So Bad They Had To Quit TV Shows

Australian Cinephile

It takes a good actor to act like they're not acting.

Transcript

00:00Although they might not always want to admit it, there are more actors out there than you think

00:04who have left shows because of talent problems. Their own talent being the problem in that they

00:09don't have enough of it. A little harsh, yes, but here we are. We're allowed to dunk on these people

00:14because truthfully, even if they're absolutely terrible at what they do, they're richer than

00:17most of us will ever be. So it's only fair. So I'm Amy from WhatCulture and here are eight actors

00:22that were so bad they had to quit TV shows. 8. Misha Barton, The O.C.

00:27There are a number of rumours as to why this member of The O.C. left. The star herself,

00:32of course, puts it down to the usual creative differences gimmick, but there are plenty of

00:36rumours that say otherwise. She said in a public statement that it would be best for her health

00:40if she left the show because producers were overworking her, departing with a frosty on-set

00:45goodbye to a group of co-stars who also couldn't stand her. Maintaining the role would have been

00:49really great for her career, and so people were really confused when she chose to exit,

00:53her character being killed in a car crash. When asked about it, show creator Josh Schwartz

00:58puts the exit down to a clash of interests, creativity and ratings, which is sort of a

01:03polite way of saying he wasn't interested in furthering her career, creatively he thought

01:07he could do better with the show, and that the ratings were showing that the audience really

01:11weren't enjoying it. Bad ratings can't all be blamed on Barton, but rumours suggest that

01:15the main cause of issues between her and Schwartz was her acting ability and general professional

01:20conduct. 7. Luke Grimes in True Blood

01:23It is worth starting this one by saying that it sort of hinges on an anonymous tip from

01:28a source close to the show and the actor, so nothing has ever been 100% confirmed. If

01:32true though, and people do tend to believe it is, it's pretty embarrassing for Luke. Between

01:37seasons 6 and 7, Grimes departed from the show and was replaced with another actor, stating

01:41that he wasn't happy with the creative direction of the character. Thanks to a source verified by

01:46Buzzfeed and HBO we can decode this to reach the real meaning. Grimes didn't want to play

01:51a gay character. In this day and age, even though yes this was a few years ago now, you

01:56really have to be better than that. Had he had moral issues like that he didn't want

01:59to take the role from an openly gay actor then he would have said so himself, so the implication

02:04is that his departure is that he found it insulting or degrading to have to play a character

02:08of a different sexual orientation. If this is the case then it's absolutely for the best

02:12that he left, as he clearly wasn't professional or talented enough for the role.

02:166. Genevieve Bugeaud

02:18Star Trek Voyager

02:20Cast initially as Captain Janeway, it didn't take Genevieve long at all to decide that this

02:24new role wasn't for her, leaving after only two days of filming. As with most dramatic

02:29quitting stories, there are multiple sides to it, and of course Genevieve's own motivations

02:33for leaving will have been far from two-dimensional. There's the side of the story that tells of

02:37her disappointment with the character and the crew, feeling she was not given the chance

02:40to shine that she was promised. She had to be a woman first and a captain second, which

02:45is the reverse of what she wanted, and when you pair that disappointing realisation with

02:48the long days and unfriendly co-workers, it's no shock that she wanted out.

02:53The other side to this is slightly less flattering for her though, in which producer Rick Bergman

02:58insists that she left because she just couldn't live up to what was expected of her. He accused

03:02her of being a diva on set, of being difficult to work with and not having the ability that

03:06others did to stomach the long days on set. Seemingly, she was a film actress first and

03:10she just didn't have the constitution to meet a TV schedule. Whichever one is the truth,

03:15at least they got it out of the way early so a replacement could come in and things could

03:18keep running smoothly.

03:195. Jake T. Austin in The Fosters

03:22Known for being a child actor on Wizards of Waverly Place alongside Selena Gomez and David

03:27Henry, many agree that this actor should have said goodbye to acting when he hit puberty.

03:31Nonetheless, Jake T. Austin has a soft spot in a lot of people's hearts because they feel as though

03:35they've watched him grow up on the telly. But that does not mean that we should ignore

03:38the fact that his acting hasn't aged very well with him. Whilst featuring on The Fosters

03:43as Jesus Adam's foster, the actor helped make it quite obvious why his acting career hadn't

03:47really taken off since featuring on the Disney Channel show. Austin soon threw in the towel

03:51and announced in 2013 that he'd be leaving the show, and in Season 3 Jesus gets into a

03:56nasty car crash and everyone thinks he's dead just for him to return in the next season

04:00with a different actor. Noah Centineo steps in to save the day and hence the new Jesus is

04:04born.

04:054. Taylor Momsen, Gossip Girl

04:08According to a statement made by the Taylor Momsen team, Taylor left to pursue her music

04:12career. Whilst other members of the cast found their breakthrough roles on the show, Momsen

04:16came to the realisation that maybe acting wasn't for her. She landed the role of Jenny Humphrey

04:20when she was 14 off the back of her role in The Grinch Stole Christmas. And unfortunately,

04:24this meant that viewers had to suffer through four seasons of her acting. Bad acting wasn't

04:28the only reason that this young actress left the show. Although her acting may have been lacking,

04:32her looks were enough to get her signed to a modelling agency and have her noticed by

04:36Madonna. Soon her musical career was taking off so it was one or the other for this budding

04:39star and the decision was pretty clear. After filming an episode with the guest star Tim

04:44Gunn, the actor went off on one and said some horrible things about the young actress and

04:48her talent, or lack thereof. Her beef with co-star Gunn was enough and the young musician

04:53said goodbye to her school blazer and tie.

04:55This actor has one of the messier exits on the list, and also stuck around the longest

05:02on his show. Cast as the leading man in the hit cop series NYPD Blue, David Caruso had

05:07the perfect CV and reputation to bag him the role of John Kelly. It wasn't long after filming

05:13commenced that the casting director realised what a mistake had been made. The actor was

05:16apparently extremely volatile and emotionally unavailable to fellow cast and crew members,

05:21and treated everyone as if they were his stepping stones for success. This attitude obviously

05:25got him nowhere, and his bad acting and lack of empathy soon found him leaving the show

05:29to pursue his big acting career. It sounds as though everyone was probably quite relieved

05:34to see the back of this actor, and thanks to his terrible personality it feels okay to

05:37say that his performances felt so forced and robotic that we're surprised he ever got the

05:42role in the first place.

05:432. Larry David on Seinfeld

05:46It's fair to say that Larry David wasn't one of the most central, well-known faces in Seinfeld.

05:51In fact, he only appeared a few times on screen. However, stick with me here, he literally

05:55quit the show in both his showrunner capacity and that of a casual actor because he felt

06:00he wasn't good enough to deliver what the show deserved.

06:03Actually having someone come out and say that they left because they didn't think they were

06:06up to par is very unusual. It's usually creative differences or scheduling problems, you know,

06:11these inconspicuous excuses covering the truth. So you've sort of got to respect David

06:16for being so straightforward about it, even a few years later. He respected the show

06:19and its cast so much that he wanted to do what was best for it, at the same time as acknowledging

06:23that he needed a break from the pressure and stress the show put on him. He wasn't a terrible

06:28actor or showrunner by any means, he in fact gave the show some of its best bits. However,

06:33he felt that he could no longer do enough to make his presence worth it, and stepped down.

06:361. Charlie Sheen. Two and a half men.

06:40Is it a conspiracy theory to say that Charlie Sheen wanted to get fired? Or is it totally

06:45reasonable given that at the time he was an absolute madman that none of us could even begin

06:50to wrap our heads around understanding? So yes, technically he was fired and didn't quit,

06:55but bear in mind that he was fired after going on an unforgivable tirade against the showrunner,

07:00Chuck Lorre, after a long buildup of unhinged interview appearances. Many have made the point that there's no

07:05way he wasn't actively trying to get himself fired, or at least see how far he could push things,

07:10and he has certainly not denied this idea ever since. At the time when he was let go he was in

07:15a very bad way and performing horribly on the show. He was hostile and rude to co-workers and co-stars,

07:21he was actively damaging the show's reputation through interviews and public stunts. There's pushing

07:26your luck and then there's this. He has said since that at the time he thought he could just come back

07:31from everything without a problem. He thought he could push and push until he lost his show,

07:35his credibility and everything else, and then just get it all back when he was done being in whatever

07:39silly, goofy mood he was in. Needless to say, that wasn't the case. If you commit the TV career

07:44equivalent of suicide by cop, don't assume that cop's going to rehire you anytime soon.

07:49And with that, we've reached the end of this list of eight actors that were so bad they had to quit

07:54TV shows. It's harder than you think to find people who'll admit to this, so if you've got any more,

07:58I would actually love to know about them. Stick them in the comments down below. And remember to check out

08:02whatculture.com for more lists and articles like this every single day. As always I've been Amy

08:07from WhatCulture and I'll catch you next time.

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