“Bank” Roles Actors May Regret

Sean Connery swore off the martinis, only to renew his license to kill when the check was too big to resist. Marlon Brando took a one-for-the-money turn as Superman’s dad.

Jason Alexander used his summer vacation from Seinfeld to share the big screen with a chimp. Elizabeth Taylor signed on to appear in a live-action version of The Flintstones.

Sadly, Entertainment Weekly’s list of Bank Roles goes on, celebrating those memorable parts some of Hollywood’s top stars have taken in the interest of keeping their agents and accountants happy.

Remember Christopher Walken and an animated kangaroo? (Walken no doubt hopes you don’t.) Or how about Faye Dunaway camping it up in Supergirl?

Even famous thespians have to eat…but some have made some unfortunate choices on their way to the buffet line.

Here’s a sampling from the bottom end of EW’s Top 25. Comments are ours:

– Sean Connery, Never Say Never Again (1983). Aptly named, since money convinced the reluctant Scot to reprise his most famous role.

– Jason Alexander, Dunston Checks In (1996). What would George Costanza have said about this one?

– Bill Murray, Garfield (2004). Academy Award nominee voices animated cat. Really.

– Marlon Brando, Superman (1978). Don Corleone would have had him whacked for this.

– Matt Dillon, Herbie: Fully Loaded (2004). How loaded did the Crash star have to be to get involved with a Lindsay Lohan flick?

– Cuba Gooding, Jr., Chill Factor (1999). Evidently, they really did show him the money.

– Elizabeth Taylor, The Flintstones (1994). Five Oscar nominations…and this?

– Ben Affleck, Paycheck (2003). At least he was up front about it…

– Buster Keaton, Beach Blanket Bingo (1965). A sad, late career turn for the comedic legend.

– Jeremy Irons and John Malkovich, Eragon (2006). Two respected veterans. One less than stellar film.

Find out who else made the EW list, and what the magazine had to say about all these career missteps.