Ridiculous Early Role This NCIS Star Would Probably Like to Erase From History
These days Chris O'Donnell is well known for portraying Special Agent G. Callen in NCIS: Los Angeles on the small screen.
But there was a time when he looked destined for a stellar career in the movies. After starring in Fried Green Tomatoes, Scent of a Woman and The Three Musketeers, O'Connell was one of the most sought after actors in Hollywood.
And yet things never really worked out for him in movies until he'd established himself as a credible actor on TV in shows that included Two and a Half Men (1 episode) and Grey's Anatomy (9 episodes) and, of course, NCIS.
But, for all his success, there's probably one early role that he looks back on with regret. And it's not the commercials he appeared in as a teenager, promoting Cap'n Crunch and Fruit Roll Ups.
Neither is it the McDonalds' advert in which he served the legend that is Michael Jordan, a role which he almost certainly looks back on fondly.
It's the role that almost put a stop to his career just as it was really taking off.
Having shone alongside Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman and announced himself as one of the best up and coming actors out there, he took on the role of Dick Grayson in the 1997 disaster that was Batman & Robin.
The movie was widely panned, and O'Donnell was nominated for two Razzies; Worst Supporting Actor and (along with George Clooney ) Worst Screen Couple.
It was a part he had already played in the 1995 film, Batman Forever, which was a box office hit and grossed $336 million, making it the sixth most successful movie of the year.
So, it made sense to reprise the role for Batman & Robin. Only this film failed to reach the same heights. It's not just considered one of the worst Batman movies of all time; it's widely regarded as one of the worst movies ever produced, period.
In fact, George Clooney (who played Batman) actually appeared at Comic Con and apologised for the movie which he said he thought he'd "destroyed the franchise".
Thankfully, he didn't. And the movie was certainly a great lesson in how not to make a feature based on a comic book. It was so cartoonish that you'd have been forgiven for thinking it was a parody at some points.
And it's no surprise that it turned out to be by far the least successful of all the Batman movies.
Sadly for Chris O'Connell, it was so bad that it earned a place in movie history that means it will never be forgotten. Neither will his part in what many saw as a crime against filmmaking.