There are many roles that actors choose to play whether they actually wanted to or whether it was due to external factors. Either way, they may not necessarily be as keen on those roles as we are or think they might be. There are many roles and reasons why an actor might feel ashamed of the role they chose to take on. We've compiled a list of those iconic roles and why the actors might not have like playing them. Read on to find on exactly what those are.
Kick Ass 2: Jim Carrey as Colonel Stars & Stripes
For Jim Carrey, it wasn't his experience in the film or the film itself that bothered him, but the timing at which real-life events took place and the subsequent decision to continue with the release of the film. He explained via Twitter: "I did Kick-Ass a month before Sandy Hook and now in all good conscience I cannot support that level of violence".
This is the kind of thing that can be really tough to deal with. After shooting the movie to completion, it would be a huge waste to not release it. How do you deal with things in such rough times?
James Bond: Daniel Craig as 007
This one will shock you. All of the James Bond films have been so iconic (for better or for worse) that they have continued to make films for the franchise since 1962. Well, Daniel Craig doesn't seem too fond of the idea of continuing his role as 007. When asked if he thought he'd do another after 2015's "James Bond", he told Time Out, "Now? I'd rather break this glass and slash my wrists. No, not at the moment. Not at all. That's fine. I'm over it at the moment. We're done. All I want to do is move on."
That's some pretty intense stuff. We think it would be an honor to be James Bond, but apparently, it seems to be a much harder job than we expected.
The Sound Of Music: Christopher Plummer As Captain Von Trapp
This movie is considered an all-time classic and is one of the most highly-rated musicals of all time. The story of "The Sound of Music" is one of hardship, but it's also full of love and community and has many lessons to learn how to bring people together. Whether you love Julie Andrews or the whole ensemble, this movie is one for the family. But that's exactly why Christopher Plummer hated it at first.
In more recent years he decided the movie wasn't that awful but, for the most part, he didn't like it because it was "so awful and sentimental and gooey". He would oftentimes call it "The Sound of Mucus" as a way to show his disdain for the film.
Daredevil: Ben Affleck As Daredevil
The "Daredevil" movie received mixed reviews, but for Ben Affleck, he had his mind pretty much set on how he felt about the movie. It bombed at the box office, so it might not be all that surprising that he found it to be one of his lesser roles to date. He actually admits that this is the one role he regrets. Having been in other poorly-received films, such as Reindeer Games, means he must really hate this film if it's all he regrets.
Although he may not regret some of his other roles in poorly received films, there are some people that just might disagree with his opinion.
Criminal Minds: Mandy Patinkin As Jason Gideon
Mandy Patinkin really did not enjoy his time on the hit television series "Criminal Minds". He was cited as saying, "The biggest public mistake I ever made was that I chose to do Criminal Minds". His reasons for disliking the show were the vast amounts of violence portrayed in every episode and it seems this really got to him, so he left after season 3. Ironically, he stayed on the series "homeland" which features a lot of terrorism.
Maybe he was able to look past the violence due to winning five award nominations--one for a Golden Globe and the others for Emmys. We don't blame him.
G.I. Joe: Rise Of Cobra - Channing Tatum as G.I. Joe
G.I. Joe was the hero for many children back when it was popular. There was all manner of merchandise from comics to action figures. There were even several cartoons for the soldier. That's part of the reason Channing Tatum had a problem with his role: "I'll be honest. I f**king hate that movie," He told Howard Stern on his radio show. "I was pushed into doing it."
"The script wasn’t any good. And I didn’t want to do something that I...that I was a fan of since I was a kid and watched every morning growing up—and didn't want to do something that was one: bad, and two: I just didn’t know if I wanted to be G.I. Joe."
Batman & Robin: George Clooney As Batman
There have been many Batmans over the years, some good, some bad. But not every one of them has enjoyed their time as the caped crusader. George Clooney, for example, did not exactly enjoy his time as Batman in the 1997 film "Batman & Robin". It was mainly due to the poor visual effects and the incredibly cheesy lines... and not to mention the nipples on the suit. That's something that never slips by.
Apparently, both Clooney and director Joel Schumacher have apologized for this film with Clooney joking that it got him disinvited from comic-con for about 20 years.
Knocked Up: Katherine Heigl as Alison
You don't always have to hate your experience while filming to be ashamed or bothered by it. Katherine Heigl certainly enjoyed it, but it was the movie itself that got to her. She told Vanity Fair, "It was a little sexist. It paints the women as shrews, as humorless and uptight. I had a hard time with it, on some days. I’m playing such a b**ch; why is she being such a killjoy? Why is this how you’re portraying women?"
She went on to say, "Ninety-eight percent of the time it was an amazing experience, but it was hard for me to love the movie". It seems you can enjoy the experience even if the outcome is not as politically correct as you had hoped for.
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Denise Crosby As Security Chief Tasha Yar
Most people would be excited to be a part of Star Trek. It is, after all, one of the best sci-fi television series of all time and is, importantly, one of the first television series to portray a black woman in an elevated role in society. But none of that seemed to matter for Denise Crosby. In fact, she said, "I was miserable. I couldn’t wait to get off that show. I was dying".
That's a pretty surprising response to being a part of one of the biggest cultural influences at the time. This show continues to influence science fiction and still has movies, films, and games being made, the latter of which she lent her voice to on a couple of separate instances despite her feelings.
Community: Chevy Chase As Pierce Hawthorne
There are many people who talk about how hard it is to work with Chevy Chase. He apparently never has anything good to say about his co-workers and has even proven on a few accounts to be capable of making racist comments. We're not surprised someone like that may not have enjoyed his time on "Community" (or anything for that matter). He fought with co-stars multiple times and even voiced his dislike for the show.
He had the gall to tell creator Dan Harmon "It’s just a f***ing mediocre sitcom! I want people to laugh, and this isn’t funny". When you can tell the creator something like that, you know it's not gonna be a fun time.
Sex And The City 2: Sarah Jessica Parker as Carrie
While the series and the first movie were huge hits, the second "Sex and the City" movie didn't do so well. Sarah Jessica Parker noticed this as well and admitted to knowing "where we fell short. I understand, I actually get it". She continued by saying, "I will say, I also understand how much frickin’ money it made. I feel like that is forgotten in the discussion".
It seems that while she understands that she didn't really play a part in yet another fantastic movie that time, it ended up being well worth it due to the revenue they made. Fair enough.
The Amazing Spider-Man: Sally Field As Aunt May
How do you bring life to a character that barely really has a role to play in a movie? That seemed to be the biggest question for Sally Field in "The Amazing Spider-Man". She was said to have taken the role as a favor and she tried to breathe some life into the character. But it didn't seem like she felt she did the job and she said, "you can’t put ten pounds of s*** in a five-pound bag".
To be fair, there isn't really much you can do with a character that has few speaking roles. But at the same time, there are no small parts, only small actors.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie: Bob Hoskins As Mario
These days, it's not so uncommon to hear people's skepticism about an upcoming video game film adaptation. But back in 1993, this movie was supposed to be one of the biggest hits of the summer. Due to many script changes and inexperienced directors (not to mention the hard time with Dennis Hopper), the movie ended up being a pretty big flop. And Bob Hoskins did not object to that.
Despite having had a large repertoire of movies and television series under his belt, this was the one movie he wanted to go back in time and not do. He said so himself.
Boogie Nights: Eddie Adams/Dirk Diggler
From Justin To Kelly: Kelly Clarkson As Herself
This movie was made just for American Idol winner and runner-up Kelly Clarkson and Justin Guarini. The thing is, Kelly Clarkson famously wanted to have nothing to do with this film. Playing herself, the film was full of silly dance numbers, boring songs, and a barely comprehensible plot. Clarkson hated the idea so much that she wanted to leave the film despite being under contract.
She said in Us Weekly, "I cried for a solid hour on the phone with the creator of American Idol and pleaded to be let out of the contract that said I had to film From Justin to Kelly".
From Justin To Kelly: Justin Guarini As Himself
Kelly Clarkson isn't the only one who had a problem with the film, although you can argue that Justin Guarini didn't have as much of a hard time with the film as she did. Nevertheless, he went on to call the film "abysmal". What he did have to say other than that was that it was an "unbelievable experience". We're sure it was, but there were also so many things wrong with that movie.
There are always two sides to the story and while everyone can agree that this movie was awful it does seem like some people were able to take away good lessons from it.
Avatar: The Last Airbender - Dave Patel As Zuko
Look, we're not sure who wouldn't be embarrassed to be a part of this film. From its whitewashing to its horrible pronunciations (did no one here watch the TV series? Because it's not hard to pronounce "Aang" properly) and also the horrible comedy, this movie was an utter disaster. Candleflame-bender Zuko's actor Dave Patel had too much to say about this film.
One of the things he said of his time as Prince Zuko was "[I] saw a stranger on the screen that I couldn't relate to". The thing is, none of us could relate to this film. Sorry, not sorry.
Virus: Jamie Lee Curtis As Kelly Foster
Jamie Lee Curtis really doesn't like this film. Although it has quite a reputable cast, it doesn't seem like that was enough to save it in her eyes. She even spoke about how bad the film was when she was being interviewed for the 2018 "Halloween" film. She said in an interview It is so bad that it's shocking," and that "That's the only good reason to be in bad movies. Then when your friends have [bad] movies you can say 'Ahhhh, I've got the best one.' I'm bringing Virus."
It seems that at the very least she can commend this film for being one of the worst films out there. Though that's not a good thing, it may just be Razzie Award material.
Alvin And The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked - David Cross As Ian Hawke
Interestingly, David Cross was in all three "Alvin and the Chipmunks" movies, yet the only one he had anything bad to say about was the third one. Maybe it wore down on him over time, but it's clear he doesn't feel anywhere near as bad about the other two films as he does about this one. He said about the film that it was "literally, without question, the most unpleasant experience I’ve ever had in my professional life".
We're not sure if things were different onset that time around, but what we do know is that he probably won't want to reprise his role anytime soon if there is another movie.
Theodore Rex: Whoopi Goldberg As Katie Coltrane
This movie is notoriously bad. It was so bad, in fact, that it received a 0% on Rotten Tomatoes. That says something. Do you know what else says something? The fact that Whoopi Goldberg only agreed to do this part after she and the studio behind the film came to a settlement that (allegedly) found her bringing home an extra $2 million. After seeing the screenshots of this film, we can see why.
These lawsuits came from her trying to back out of her contract. This film was one she truly didn't want to be a part of and was the only one she has ever regretted.
Wild Wild West: Will Smith As Captain James West
Will Smith was making it big time with the huge successes he was in at the time, such as "Men in Black" or "Independence Day". This film was also supposed to be a huge hit, or so he thought. It ended up making back the money used for its budget, but not too much more. He has said about the film, "I have to be in tune with [the fans'] needs and not trick them into going to see Wild Wild West".
Judging by what he said about the film, we can safely say that he did not enjoy this film nearly as much as the other films he did.
Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer - Jessica Alba As Sue Storm
While the first "Fantastic Four" film might not have been so bad for Jessica Alba, the same cannot be said for her time in "Rise of the Silver Surfer. She was told by director Tim Story to basically just be pretty throughout the film. It was said that he even told her to cry pretty and that they'd CGI tears onto her face to avoid an ugly crying face. It's no surprise that this film made her want to quit acting for good.
However, she persevered and went on to continue her acting career. With the new "Fantastic Four" movie, it wasn't surprising to see a whole new cast.
Burlesque: Cher As Tess
Jessica Alba isn't the only one who had a rough time with her director. Even someone as grand as Cher isn't immune to the annoyances that come with condescending people. In an interview with The Guardian, she explained just how terrible it was working with the director: "I remember [Antin] saying to me, 'I don't care about what you say, I just want to shoot the dance numbers.'"
We hope she never has to deal with anyone like that again. No one should have to put up with that kind of behavior from anybody no matter how famous they are.
Twilight: Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen
Robert Pattison has an endless stream of things to say about the "Twilight" saga. He said about his own character, "He's the most ridiculous person...the more I read the script, the more I hated this guy...Plus, he's a 108 year-old virgin so he's obviously got some issues there". He also had this to say about fans: "I guess people want it to define them, like, 'I'm a Twilight fan.' That’s crazy to me".
Does this make you like Edward even more, or make you less interested? We think this makes the character more interesting, personally, as it's coming from someone who thinks the whole thing is completely bonkers.
Star Wars Franchise: Alec Guinness As Obi-Wan Kenobi
Despite being iconic for his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi (although his career spans more than 50 years and should be well-known for much more) he didn't really take a liking to the films. He insisted that the lines in the script were awful and just "mumbo jumbo". He allegedly promised a child to sign his autograph once as long as the child refused to continue watching the films any longer.
Even if that story isn't true, it really puts into perspective just how much Alec Guinness didn't like the movie franchise. We hope he can rest easy no longer needing to have it on his conscience.
Garfield: The Movie - Bill Murray As Garfield
The cat from the iconic comic strip finally got his time in CGI on the big screen in 2004. He was voiced by Bill Murray, but it seems like he takes this more as a mistake than an actual honor. He reportedly mistook who he was signing a contract with until it was too late. He thought the movie was going to be directed by the Cohen brothers rather than Joel Cohen. It was a simple miscommunication.
Joel Cohen has written a bunch of good films, such as award-winning titles "Toy Story" and "Evan Almighty", but that didn't seem to make it any better.
Grease 2: Michelle Pfeiffer As Stephanie
While the Original Grease made headlines, the sequel to the classic musical didn't do quite as well. Still, being a part of that universe should be an honor in our opinion, even if the film itself was terrible. Michelle Pfeiffer doesn't seem to agree: "I hated that film with a vengeance and could not believe how bad it was. At the time, I was young and didn’t know better."
This movie didn't phase her, though, and she was able to go on to star in the musical "Hairspray" which was a much better film. Good for her.
You: Penn Badgley as Joe Goldberg
If you're playing the role of a stalker on a TV show, odds are you aren't going to be proud of the role. Penn Badgley sure had a lot to say about it. He called his character reprehensible in an interview on The Today Show for his capacity for murder, manipulation, and abuse. In an interview with Vanity Fair, he said, "He's always saying, 'If only I could show you who I really am.' Up until that point, he's never been able to do that…Then he gets it, and he's a total d*** about it."
He went on to confirm his feelings for the character when he said, "That was when I was like, ‘Joe, I've never liked you less! I've never liked you less’".
21 Jump Street (1987): Johnny Depp as Tom Hanson
This is arguably the show that made Johnny Depp a star. As it turns out, he was never into the idea of being on the show in the first place. He apparently only took the job due to not having much money. He ended up wrecking his trailer in an attempt to get kicked off. He felt that he "was in a prison creatively". Despite how he felt about it, he still reprised his role as Tom Hanson when the movie came out.
We're really glad it ended up shooting him up in the ranks, though. Otherwise, we wouldn't have all of these other great films in which Depp stars.
High School Musical: Zac Efron as Troy
While everyone was in love with "High School Musical" it seems Zac Efron felt differently. Maybe not at the time of filming, but years later he told Men's Fitness, "I step back and look at myself and I still want to kick that guy’s ass sometimes. He’s done some kind of cool things with some cool people—he did that one thing that was funny—but, I mean, he’s still just that f**king kid from High School Musical".
There are many people who would agree with Efron on this one. But once they know that he feels the same way they may no longer want to punch him anymore.
Gossip Girl: Blake Lively as Serena Van Der Woodsen
For a show filled with tons of backstabbing, gossiping, and general animosity towards each other, it's no surprise that there would be someone who isn't proud of the role they played on the show. Blake Lively really felt this herself. In an interview with Allure, she said, "I would not be proud to be the person who gave someone the cocaine that made them overdose and then shot someone and slept with someone else's boyfriend".
Personally, we would not be proud of that either. Regardless of how entertaining it might be, becoming the character and being remembered for those things cannot be fun.
Transformers: Megan Fox As Mikaela Banes
Despite starring in the first two "Transformers" movies, Megan Fox didn't really enjoy her time on screen. She said, "I can't s**t on this movie because it did give me a career and open all these doors for me. But I don't want to blow smoke up people's [butts]. People are well aware that this is not a movie about acting." When the third movie came out, she decided not to return, probably because she didn't enjoy being a part of the film.
Although she left, we think it was for the best. She did, after all, go on to have a very successful career so far, so it couldn't have been a bad decision by any means.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - Shia LaBeouf as Sam
Megan Fox wasn't the only one who wasn't so into the idea of being in Transformers, although for Shia LeBeouf he had more to say about "Revenge of the Fallen" than anything else. He said of the film, "I wasn't impressed with what we did...there were some really wild stunts in it, but the heart was gone. It's just a bunch of fighting robots." Huh, that sounds pretty familiar.
As Megan Fox said, "this is not a movie about acting". We're a bit shocked he hadn't figured that bit out but better late than never they always say.
Two And A Half Men: Angus T. Jones As Jake Harper
Although he was a star and part of the reason for the title of this American sitcom, Angus T. Jones wasn't very pleased with the series overall. Before the show came to an end, he called the show "filth" and didn't want anyone to continue watching it. Contrary to his feeling on the show, he continued to work on it, probably because it just wasn't worth leaving it when you make so much money.
We're not exactly going to put our stance on this show out there, but we understand the decisions and comments he made about the show. Hopefully, he's happier now that it's over.
Reindeer Games: Charlize Theron As Ashley
Charlize Theron also starred in "Reindeer Games" alongside Ben Affleck, although she didn't have such high praise for the film. To be fair neither did critics, but this isn't a list about how bad the movie is, just how the actor feels. Although she hasn't actually said much about the film, what she has said about it is more than enough to give us some idea about how much she disliked her part in the film.
In an interview, Theron was asked about the movie. The only thing she had to say was, "That was a bad, bad, bad movie." Thanks for the warning.
Titanic: Kate Winslet As Rose
To be fair, Kate Winslet isn't embarrassed to have been in the movie but, rather, she was embarrassed about her actual performance in the movie. She believes she could have done a much better job and would want to revisit it and redo some of the scenes. She said to Telegraph, "Every single scene, I'm like 'Really, really? You did it like that?' Oh my God...Even my American accent, I can't listen to it. It's awful".
She went on to explain that she's self-critical about her work because that's what it's like to be an actor. The more you do the more you're going to recognize the places you could have improved.