In recent years, Netflix has been aggressive about developing and releasing original content and a lot of these films feature Oscar-winning actors. Coincidentally, some of these films have also been determined to be the most expensive Netflix Original films ever produced. Since these have the highest Netflix production budgets, it’s easy to assume that onscreen talent fees had brought their cost all the way up.
That said, there is no business move more sensible than investing in top tier talent. So far, the streaming giant has managed to attract several Oscar winners such as:
Ben Affleck
Affleck’s first film with Netflix is the 2019 thriller Triple Frontier. Here, he plays a former special forces soldier who pulls off a heist in South America with five of his buddies. Starring also Charlie Hunnam and Oscar Isaac, the story may not be riveting but Affleck shines nonetheless.
It's not the only Netflix movie he has starred in either. Affleck also went on to star in The Last Thing He Wanted. Unfortunately, it’s considered one of Affleck’s worst films of all time.
Anne Hathaway
The Oscar winner starred opposite Affleck in The Last Thing He Wanted. One of things that you may not know about this film is that it’s an adaptation of a novel, something that Dee Rees, the film’s writer and director, got “hooked” on seven years ago.
Rees also explained to Variety that she was drawn to the “father-daughter kind of story at the center,” who was portrayed by Hathaway and Willem Dafoe respectively. Unfortunately, despite the star-studded cast, the movie received quite a few scathing reviews.
Anthony Hopkins
The Oscar winner portrayed Pope Benedict in the Netflix Original film The Two Popes. For Hopkins, the role appealed to him upon seeing the script. “When I looked at it, I thought, this is pretty well-written,” Hopkins told Deadline. “There was talk of ecclesiastical stuff, but I liked it.”
For the veteran actor, the role was “a very easy role” to play because he essentially just needed to play an old man. The film went on to score three Oscar nods, including one for Hopkins and co-star, Jonathan Pryce. The Two Popes has also been named one of Hopkins’ best films.
Helen Hunt
Back in 2018, Netflix released a film entitled Candy Jar. It’s a story about two high school students who happen to be intense rivals. And while the story may center on teenagers, it also involves a guidance counselor played by Hunt.
In the film, Hunt’s Kathy has two over-achieving students come to visit her office regularly, played by Jacob Latimore and Sami Gayle. For them, everything seemed to be on track until they learn that Kathy has died. Overall, it’s an amusing film delivered by an incredible ensemble of cast, which also includes Uzo Aduba and Christina Hendricks.
Goldie Hawn
Hawn decided to make her Netflix debut alongside her real-life husband, Kurt Russell. It’s only appropriate that they play a married couple too, who happens to be Mr. and Mrs. Claus no less. Interestingly though, Hawn’s character wasn’t supposed to appear in the Netflix Original The Christmas Chronicles.
“It wasn’t planned for the first one,” the film’s screenwriter, Matt Lieberman, revealed while speaking with FreshFiction.tv. “It wasn’t in the script, but it made total sense…” The couple are also back for the latest installment The Christmas Chronicles 2 with more scenes featuring Hawn’s Mrs. Claus.
Forest Whitaker
The acclaimed actor starred in the Netflix Original film How it Ends. This apocalyptic thriller stars Theo James as a husband struggling to get home to his pregnant fiancé. This prompts him to go on a road trip with his father-in-law, who is played by Whitaker.
Despite solid performances (especially from Whitaker), the film is largely seen as a big mess. Even worse, How It Ends has been named one of the worst Netflix Original films by IMDb. So, clearly, this isn’t one of Whitaker’s most groundbreaking performances. However, it was just recently that Whitaker returned to Netflix for the original holiday film, Jingle Jangle.
Laura Dern
Netflix’s Marriage Story has always had all the ingredients for success. It’s a raw and honest story about two people getting a divorce. And then, there’s the cast. The couple is played by Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver. There is also some star power in the supporting cast, which also includes Dern.
In the film, she becomes the lawyer who represents Johansson in the divorce. Of her approach to the role, Dern told Deadline, “I feel like every breath she takes is a strategy…” Dern received her first Oscar for her performance in this film.
Meryl Streep
This Oscar winner stars in the Steven Soderbergh-helmed Netflix Original Laundromat. In the film, Streep plays Ellen Martin, a woman who decides to start investigating a fake insurance policy while on vacation. There are several elements of the film that are based on a true story.
Among them was the Ethan Allen boat disaster, an incident that Ellen experiences personally while taking a boat tour with her husband. Ellen tragically loses her husband as a result. As stunning as it is to watch Streep, critics were left unimpressed with Laundromat.
Brad Pitt
Pitt stars in the Netflix film War Machine. In the film, he plays a general who faces opposition from bureaucrats, enemies, and even allies as he led a rebuilding operation in Afghanistan. Pitt’s character is based on General Stanley McChrystal who had been forced to resign.
While discussing the film with Rolling Stone, the actor also spoke about McChrystal saying, “I feel for him.” The Oscar winner later added, “We had no interest in impugning General McChrystal or any of his guys.” Aside from being the lead star, Pitt also serves as one of the film’s producers.
Charlize Theron
Over the years, Netflix has certainly had its share of comic book adaptations, although not all of them garnered praise. Fortunately, this isn’t the case for Theron’s The Old Guard. In the film, Theron stars as an ax-wielding immortal mercenary named Andy.
Theron got interested in the project the moment she read the first few pages of the graphic novel it was based on. For her, it had “grounded, real, emotional stuff.” From there, things took off. Theron told Variety, “We got involved in the development.”