Guy Pearce brutally criticises his own work

Guy Pearce has turned on himself - slamming his acting abilities over a past film.

The 57-year-old Australian star - who found fame playing Mike Young in the iconic soap Neighbours in the 1980s - has a low opinion of his performance in the film Memento.

The 2000 thriller, written and directed by Christopher Nolan, sees Pearce playing a man fighting to find his wife's rapist while battling amnesia - but he thinks he did a terrible job in the role.

He told The Times, "I'm having an existential crisis. I watched Memento the other day and I'm still depressed. I'm s**t in that movie.

"I'd never thought that before, but I did this Q&A of Memento earlier this month and decided to actually watch the film again. But while it was playing I realised I hate what I did.

"I was trying to do a flippant attitude, but it was all wrong. John Gielgud once said, 'You can be good in a good movie, good in a bad movie, bad in a bad movie, but never be bad in a good movie.' Yet I watched Memento and realised I'm bad in a good movie. F**k."

Asked if he thinks Nolan would share his view, Pearce declared, "I reckon he'd agree with me. It's funny; people say I should've been nominated for Memento. Now I understand why I wasn't."

In March this year, the Australian star could walk away with the Best Supporting Actor award at the Oscars for his role in Holocaust drama, The Brutalist.