Ewan McGregor's French accent needed a LOT of work in Beauty and the Beast!
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00:00 From clearly talented A-list stars not realising their version of the French accent wasn't
00:04 up to scratch, to debuting heroes not exactly getting off to the best of starts in the super
00:09 sphere, it's plain to see that this bunch of actors weren't 100% prepared for what
00:13 was heading their way.
00:15 Gareth here from WhatCulture.com and here are 10 actors that totally underprepared for
00:19 a movie role.
00:20 10.
00:21 Sabrina Carpenter - Quinn Ackerman Work It!
00:23 During the events of Netflix's dance comedy flick Work It!, Sabrina Carpenter's Quinn
00:27 Ackerman ultimately goes from awkward mover to dance machine.
00:31 But in order to convincingly portray the fact that her character wasn't initially quite
00:35 at the same level of those busting a move around her, the star who isn't exactly known
00:38 for being a bad dancer in real life had a clever idea.
00:42 As Carpenter would explain in a Buzzfeed interview with some of her castmates, the actor specifically
00:46 opted to not fully learn the routines she was asked to perform in certain scenes.
00:51 In particular, the moment that saw Ackerman auditioning for a place on the Thunderbirds
00:54 team actually boasted a Carpenter who had no idea what was going on.
00:58 In fact, Carpenter was actually taking her lead from the two girls in front of her, meaning
01:02 that she intentionally was always an awkward count behind as she brilliantly flailed around
01:07 on stage.
01:08 9.
01:09 Michael Gambon - Albus Dumbledore The Harry Potter Series
01:11 For a time, it felt as though there wasn't actually a soul walking the earth who hadn't
01:15 at least picked up one of J.K.
01:16 Rowling's Harry Potter novels for a quick skim to see what all the fuss was about.
01:20 Unsurprisingly, though, one of the most notable presences in the eventual big-screen adaptations
01:25 of the Wizarding World actually never so much as turned a page of the source material during
01:29 his time in the cloak.
01:30 Not really feeling the need to add this particular element to his preparations for the all-important
01:34 role of Albus Dumbledore, Michael Gambon went on record on a number of occasions to confess
01:39 that he had little desire to comb through Rowling's pages.
01:42 On top of stating that it's safer to just simply follow the script he is handed, the
01:47 writer who stepped in for the late Richard Harris in the part would also note that if
01:50 he had opted to read them, he'd likely get upset about the scenes that were missing in
01:54 the screenplay.
01:55 Had Gambon actually given the books a read, however, there's a chance he would have
01:58 potentially been able to dodge the odd backlash sent his way by those who felt his version
02:02 of the character wasn't faithful to the one on the page.
02:05 With a number of upset Potterheads feeling the Brits' take on the powerful wizard was
02:09 far harsher than the one they'd spent time with in the novels.
02:12 Boo-hoo.
02:13 8.
02:14 Milo Pompei Another star who didn't exactly throw themselves
02:17 into books and various other forms of research when heading into a project, instead opting
02:21 to take the script as gospel like Gambon before him.
02:25 Kit Harington wasn't exactly an expert on all things Pompei, going into the flick of
02:29 the same name.
02:30 Largely due to the rather busy Game of Thrones star just not having enough time beforehand,
02:34 Harington actually only got around to taking in the remains of the city itself that was
02:38 destroyed after an eruption from Mount Vesuvius after he'd wrapped on the film.
02:42 And while the star would admit to being ashamed at the lack of historical research he did
02:45 when preparing for the role of Milo, a Celtic slave turned gladiator in the city during
02:50 the year of the fateful event, he was pleasantly surprised to realise just how historically
02:54 accurate the team behind the film actually were when creating the world his character
02:57 existed in on screen.
02:59 Or the accurate set building in the world.
03:01 Harington noted that around 30 different sets were crafted in Toronto for the shoot.
03:05 Still couldn't stop this particular historical epic going down in history as the wrong sort
03:09 of disaster flick, however.
03:11 7.
03:12 James McAvoy – Charles Xavier X-Men First Class
03:15 When the star found out that he was being entrusted with bringing to life the earlier
03:18 years of the leader of the X-Men himself, it's not hard to see why James McAvoy quickly
03:23 assumed he needed to perform one rather specific action in the lead-up.
03:27 So before he first set foot onto the set of X-Men First Class all those years ago, the
03:31 Scottish sensation decided about a month in advance of filming that he was going to bite
03:35 the bald bullet and shave off his precious hair.
03:37 Only when he revealed his shiny preparation to the team behind the X-Men prequel, he soon
03:41 discovered that being bald was most definitely not part of the plan for Charles Xavier at
03:45 this point in the story.
03:47 Far from it in fact.
03:48 They actually wanted McAvoy to have long hair in that 2014 outing, so the star was ultimately
03:53 forced to sit in a make-up chair for a grand total of 15 hours in order to equip him with
03:57 hair extensions for his Professor X debut.
04:00 6.
04:01 Viggo Mortensen – Aragorn – The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
04:03 As Peter Jackson's ambitious journey to bring the epic trilogy of The Lord of the
04:07 Rings to the big screen got underway all those years ago, the director initially rewarded
04:11 Stuart Townsend with the meaty role of Aragorn.
04:14 However, it soon became clear that Townsend was just too darn young for the role of the
04:18 future King of Gondor, so a replacement in the form of Viggo Mortensen was swapped in
04:22 rather late in the casting day.
04:24 After being convinced by his Lord of the Rings loving son that it was a role worth taking
04:28 though, the actor who would eventually become synonymous with the badass ranger-turned-leader
04:31 of men arrived on set and immediately felt underprepared, as he put it.
04:36 And with the rest of the cast already beginning shooting, and some of them being out in New
04:39 Zealand for weeks or months at the point of his arrival, it's not hard to see why the
04:43 gifted thespian felt as though he was playing some serious catch-up in those early days
04:47 on set.
04:48 If that wasn't enough to deal with, Mortensen also confessed to feeling understandably awkward
04:52 about the concept of replacing another actor for the first time too.
04:55 Despite these early concerns, however, Viggo soon found his human-sized feet and went
05:00 on to produce one of the most gripping performances the critically acclaimed series had to offer.
05:04 5.
05:05 Hugh Jackman - Wolverine X-Men
05:07 Due to the fact that original Wolverine actor Dougray Scott was forced to drop out of the
05:11 first X-Men movie due to scheduling conflicts later on, Hugh Jackman was eventually thrown
05:15 into the mutant party three weeks into the film's shoot.
05:18 And as the eventual megastar would ultimately explain years later, he was asked by the studio
05:22 if he could get into shirtless Logan Shape for the 2000 flick in just three weeks, eventually
05:27 noting how he might have overpromised.
05:30 Not exactly nailing the physique they were looking for, director Bryan Singer swiftly
05:33 decided to push his topless moments back four months to the end of the shoot.
05:37 Now expecting any actor to get into the sort of freakish shape Jackman ultimately would
05:41 in later mutant entries in such a small space of time was always going to be unrealistic.
05:46 But assuming they are completely aware of the existence of the animal their on-screen
05:49 character is named after, that's not too much to ask, right?
05:52 Well, as it goes, Jackman was actually under the impression that Wolverines weren't a
05:56 real thing during his early days in the role.
05:59 And his call to heavily research wolves instead soon backfired after being informed by Singer
06:04 that not only was he not playing that type of furry creature, but that those make-believe
06:08 Wolverines were anything but.
06:10 All those hours spent howling at the moon and for what?
06:13 4.
06:14 Marlon Brando, Dr Moreau - The Island of Dr Moreau
06:16 The Marlon Brando spotted popping up in the likes of The Island of Dr Moreau and Free
06:20 Money towards the end of his career was a far cry from the legendary performer who'd
06:24 captivated generations with his mesmerising work in everything from A Streetcar Named
06:28 Desire to The Godfather.
06:30 By the time he'd rocked up on set for that aforementioned Moreau project, the iconic
06:33 thespian seemed very much bored with the world of filmmaking, according to the film's screenwriter
06:38 Ron Hutchinson.
06:39 And the mind behind the script of The Island of Dr Moreau would even go as far as to say
06:42 that the overweight, unprepared, mocking, dismissive star seemed as though he was here
06:47 to sabotage this movie.
06:48 Now it is worth noting how the star's daughter had tragically committed suicide in the lead-up
06:52 to shooting on the 1996 sci-fi flick, something that must have no doubt impacted his preparations
06:57 and overall state of mind whilst working on the ultimately doomed picture.
07:01 But between reportedly having to have the lines he didn't want to learn read out to
07:04 him through an earpiece, and often even refusing to leave his trailer altogether, it's clear
07:08 that Brando simply wasn't prepared to play ball when it came time to unleash what would
07:12 ultimately go on to be branded as perhaps his worst film by critic Roger Ebert.
07:16 3.
07:17 Ewan McGregor Lumiere - Beauty and the Beast
07:19 Scottish acting powerhouse Ewan McGregor has proven time and time again that he's more
07:23 than capable of mastering another accent.
07:26 By utterly nailing everything from a smooth RP to an American twang though, one particular
07:30 accent McGregor wasn't quite as confident with ultimately left him with a bit of egg
07:34 on his face during the recording of a little Disney remake by the name of Beauty and the
07:38 Beast.
07:39 As the star himself would explain on the Graham Norton Show a few years back, the fact McGregor
07:43 had been married to a French woman for 20 years left him feeling foolishly confident
07:47 about his ability to unleash a French-sounding voice as Lumiere.
07:51 Unfortunately for him though, the folks capturing the Scot's voice didn't want the "er"
07:56 sounds he was delivering throughout, leaving him sounding entirely Mexican as he then again
07:59 attempted to speak the candelabra lines.
08:02 In fact, his delivery was so disastrous, the star would confess to having to go back and
08:06 redo some of his lines in order to cover up his initial lack of proper prep.
08:10 2.
08:11 Tom Hardy - Bronson, Bronson
08:13 Very few would question Tom Hardy's ability to entirely transform into another human being
08:18 at this current moment in time.
08:19 However, back before he was the household acting icon he is today, it's safe to say
08:23 that one person in particular wasn't entirely convinced that the person tasked with bringing
08:27 him to life in a movie had what it took to play him convincingly.
08:31 In fact, when none other than real-life bare-knuckle boxer and criminal Charles Bronson first laid
08:35 eyes on Hardy, he complained and couldn't see how the actor, who probably weighed about
08:39 11 stone drenched with stones in his pockets, would be able to play the meaty figure in
08:43 2008's Bronson.
08:45 After not being able to look at Hardy without feeling that he'd been hard done by, Bronson
08:48 ultimately changed his tune the minute he saw the rising star put his mind to packing
08:52 on the pounds.
08:53 And after telling Charlie that he'd fix it, the stacked Hardy that turned up in front
08:57 of him during a meeting two weeks later ended up leaving Bronson thoroughly impressed.
09:02 As the infamous figure himself put it, "You won't want to meet him in a dark alley at
09:06 3am."
09:07 1.
09:08 Taika Waititi - Adolf Hitler, Jojo Rabbit
09:10 When it comes to playing any real-life historical figure, no matter how despicable and infamous,
09:14 there's usually a level of research most actors will commit to in order to understand
09:18 the person they're playing.
09:20 Taika Waititi had other ideas though, and instead of scanning through many a book or
09:24 documentary to piece together vital information in the lead up to playing a version of Adolf
09:28 Hitler in his 2019 flick Jojo Rabbit, he did the complete opposite.
09:32 Claiming that he didn't even do so much as a lick of research for his part of Jojo's
09:36 imaginary pal Hitler, the fact this was also a version of the vile figure dreamed up by
09:40 a 10-year-old ultimately resulted in a portrayal of himself that just so happened to boast
09:45 a bad haircut, a sh*tty little moustache and a mediocre German accent.
09:49 The mind behind the movie was also very much aware how folks likely wouldn't enjoy the
09:52 imaginary friend version of the character as much had he played him like the actual
09:56 Hitler, because as Taika effectively summed up, he was such an f*cking c-word and everyone
10:01 knows that as well.
10:02 So why waste your time researching such a prick, eh?
10:04 And that's our list!
10:05 Know of any other actors that totally underprepared for a movie role?
10:08 Let us know all about them in the comments section right down below and do not forget
10:11 to like, share and click on that subscribe button while you're at it.
10:14 Also if you like this kind of thing then head on over to whatculture.com and find some more
10:17 fantastic articles just like the one this video you're watching right this second is
10:20 based on.
10:21 I've been Gareth from WhatCulture.com, thank you as always for watching this lovely video
10:25 today, hopefully I'll see your faces very very soon but in the meantime, be good to
10:28 yourself and have the best of days.