There are no regrets in life, just lessons! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the entertainers who have regretted taking on popular roles– even if they led to fame and awards.
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00:00 "You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy."
00:05 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the entertainers who have
00:10 regretted taking on popular roles, even if they led to fame and awards.
00:15 "I just remember what Huey Long said, that every man's a king and I'm the king around here."
00:19 Number 20. Shia LaBeouf, Indiana Jones, and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
00:26 Entering a huge franchise can be both exciting and terrifying for a performer. Not only are
00:32 they being introduced to a broader audience, but expectations for them are immediately high,
00:38 especially when the series is as well-loved as Indiana Jones.
00:41 "Could you two just stop?"
00:43 "Yeah, Marion. Let's not let the kids see Mom and Dad fight."
00:47 "You're not my dad, okay?"
00:48 "You bet I am, and I got news for you. You're gonna go back and finish school."
00:52 LaBeouf had already seen success as an actor, but appearing as Indy's son would have cemented
00:58 his movie star status. Unfortunately, both his performance and the film didn't meet the fans'
01:04 standards, and most of their ire fell onto him. He's faulted himself for the negative reception,
01:10 and has been open about how he felt he didn't do the series justice. This remorse kept him
01:15 from appearing in the fifth installment, which put an immediate end to a once-compelling storyline.
01:20 "You know, for an old man, you ain't bad in a fight."
01:23 "Thanks a lot. What are you, like 80?"
01:26 Number 19. Miley Cyrus - Hannah Montana
01:30 While starring in a TV show can seem glamorous, the negative aspects can be all-consuming.
01:36 Cyrus was only 13 when she started playing the iconic Disney character,
01:40 meaning she spent her whole adolescence being her.
01:43 "I just wish Miley were here."
01:45 "Uh, Miley? Who's Miley? I don't know Miley, that's a strange name."
01:48 Given how important that phase of life is, it only makes sense that constantly being in character
01:53 would have some adverse effects. The star has gone on to say that the sheer amount of public
01:58 attention at that age was distressing, and was the onset of her anxiety. Additionally,
02:04 she felt she had grown out of the role before the show ended and was itching to move on.
02:09 While she has looked back on it recently with more favor, her success as an adult has vastly
02:14 superseded her childhood stardom, which must feel incredible.
02:19 "Hannah Montana! Ah! Whoever you are, you have to get out of here right now or I'll call security!"
02:25 Number 18. Channing Tatum - G.I. Joe - The Rise of Cobra
02:30 When actors are first breaking out, they may sign deals with studios for future projects,
02:36 with no way of backing out when they get called. Channing Tatum, who signed one early on,
02:41 found this out the hard way after being chosen for G.I. Joe.
02:45 "I'm taking you in, Rex."
02:46 "You in what army?"
02:52 "My army."
02:54 He's been candid about how he felt coerced into taking it, and how he wasn't optimistic about it
03:00 from the very beginning. He even turned it down several times before the studio stepped in to
03:05 remind him of their deal. It's clear from watching it that he wasn't completely invested. This was
03:11 further proven by him asking to be killed off early in the sequel, which may be the only G.I.
03:16 Joe choice he doesn't regret.
03:18 Number 17. Mahershala Ali - Green Book -
03:29 Even Academy Award-winning roles can be regretted later on. This film, despite being a critical hit,
03:35 was critiqued for misrepresenting the character's relationship in order to tell a more heartwarming
03:40 story. The family of Don Shirley, the inspiration behind the plot, was said to be blindsided by the
03:52 project, and barely consulted. They even apparently referred to the movie as a quote "symphony of lies."
04:00 Mahershala Ali was so shaken by this that he reached out to Shirley's relatives,
04:05 explaining that he was not made aware of any close family members still living.
04:10 While he could have just taken his award and moved on, he went out of his way to try to make amends.
04:14 The gesture was not only kind, but genuine, and an indication of his true character.
04:20 Number 16. Zoe Saldana - Nina -
04:36 Portraying one of America's most iconic jazz singers is no small feat.
04:40 Given Nina Simone's legacy on music and society as a whole, it makes sense that people would be
04:54 wary of how her biography was handled. Zoe Saldana, known for her roles in Guardians of the Galaxy
05:01 and Avatar, was brought on to portray the musician. To do so, she had to wear a prosthetic
05:07 nose and darken her complexion with makeup. This led to immediate backlash from both Simone's fans
05:13 and family. Saldana has since apologized, saying that she should have insisted a Black woman be
05:19 cast, and that the musician's story deserves to be told again by someone who can do the part justice.
05:26 Number 15. Eddie Redmayne - The Danish Girl -
05:37 Representation in film has come a long way, but there are some instances where it hasn't been
05:43 handled well. This was the case for Eddie Redmayne in The Danish Girl, a biography about one of the
05:48 first people to receive gender-affirming care. It was criticized for both the inaccurate
05:59 representation of transitioning and for Redmayne's portrayal as Lily. Activists felt that he had
06:05 taken the opportunity from a trans actor, and to his credit, Redmayne completely agreed,
06:10 acknowledging that the trans community has historically been overlooked by Hollywood,
06:14 and his casting only propagated that. Seeing him take accountability without
06:19 centering himself was genuinely refreshing, which led to swift forgiveness.
06:24 Number 14. Paul Newman - The Silver Chalice - When first starting out, actors don't get to
06:39 pick their jobs, meaning it's easy to get put in a bad film even if you're above it.
06:44 Despite being known on television already, Paul Newman experienced this in The Silver Chalice,
06:50 a historical piece about an ancient Greek artist. It was lambasted across the board,
07:03 from the direction to the tedious plot. Newman himself was candid about his contempt,
07:08 from referring to it as "the worst motion picture produced during the 1950s"
07:13 to putting out an ad asking people not to watch, he went out of his way to distance himself from
07:19 the project. Despite his outward hatred, his appearance was the catalyst for the rest of
07:24 his career, which must have been a tough pill to swallow. Number 13. Ryan Reynolds - Green Lantern
07:42 Appearing in one of the most adored yet simultaneously disliked action movies in
07:46 recent history is a feat that only someone like Reynolds could pull off.
07:50 While he may be known for playing Deadpool, his first starring role in a superhero flick was
08:03 Green Lantern. The film was heavily panned, leading to a critical and commercial failure.
08:09 He's admitted that both he and the studio completely missed the mark on bringing the
08:13 hero to life. He's continued to be self-aware about his past choices, and has even referenced
08:18 them in his more recent work. Between his willingness to laugh at himself and the
08:22 popularity of the Deadpool series, he's definitely redeemed himself in the eyes of comic book fans.
08:38 Number 12. Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan - The Fifty Shades Franchise
08:43 Some roles make you famous, others make you infamous. With Anastasia Steele and
08:50 Christian Grey, it was a bit of both. Given the popularity of E.L. James' novels,
09:03 whoever booked these coveted roles would be the talk of the town. Yet the subject matter and not
09:09 so hot writing would also lead to numerous jokes. Johnson and Dornan seemed to be in on the joke,
09:15 but these roles still came with a level of embarrassment for them.
09:18 While Johnson's regret comes in waves, she's happy that the trilogy led to more opportunities.
09:34 Dornan was also grateful for the benefits of playing Mr. Grey, although he stated, quote,
09:38 "I probably won't ever take a job with this much attention and scrutiny and public opinion
09:43 directed at it again." Number 11. Robert Reed - The Brady Bunch
09:53 The Brady Bunch is a perennial comfort food sitcom where any conflict could be resolved in roughly
09:59 25 minutes. In reality, Robert Reed wasn't as chipper as family patriarch Mike Brady.
10:06 "Oh look boys, I love you and I love Tiger too, but we are not taking a dog to a wedding."
10:11 The Shakespearean-trained thespian thought a light-hearted sitcom was beneath him,
10:15 but the money was too good to pass up. Reed tried taking the series in a more grounded direction,
10:20 frequently clashing with creator Sherwood Schwartz to no avail.
10:24 "Oh, gee, I'm glad you cleared that up. As long as you're smart enough to know what it means."
10:29 Things got so confrontational between them that Schwartz likely would have replaced Reed had the
10:34 show gotten a sixth season. While Reed wasn't a fan of the character or the show, he would develop
10:40 close bonds with his Brady co-stars, which might explain why he kept returning for the reunion
10:45 specials and films. "Sometimes when you make a deal and it turns out badly, the best thing to do is to
10:52 get out of it." Number 10. George Reeves - Adventures of Superman
10:58 Nowadays, almost every A-lister embraces the opportunity to play a superhero.
11:03 At one point, though, this was considered a potential career killer.
11:07 Not everyone could bounce back from Batman and Robin like George Clooney,
11:11 who still makes fun of that film. "But then you apologize to the crowd at Comic-Con for
11:15 Batman and Robin." "I always apologize for Batman." Even when an actor found success playing a
11:20 superhero, they risked being typecast. The most tragic example is George Reeves as Superman.
11:26 "See something?" "Yes. There's a man with a gun on the top of that hill."
11:30 This American actor rose to fame playing the Man of Steel, a title that one young fan took
11:35 too literally when he showed up to an appearance with a loaded gun. Nobody was harmed, but Reeves
11:41 regretted depicting the character as bulletproof. Reeves' life sadly ended from a gunshot wound.
11:47 Some believe this was self-inflicted, with Reeves' struggling career contributing to his depression.
11:53 "Well, we're going on a roller coaster, a merry-go-round, and a Ferris wheel all our very own."
11:58 Number 9. George Clooney - Batman and Robin
12:01 Getting to play a popular superhero should have been the experience of a lifetime.
12:06 However, some renditions aren't as loved as others.
12:09 "I want a car. Chicks dig the car." "This is why Superman works alone."
12:18 Batman has been done many times since the 1960s, with each interpretation having a somewhat
12:23 different take on personality and aesthetic. George Clooney drew the short straw and portrayed
12:29 one of the most ridiculous versions. His performance, and the movie in general, was so goofy
12:34 that he was convinced they had killed the franchise. He even apologized to the original
12:40 actor, Adam West, which is hilarious considering he had also had a campy portrayal. Luckily,
12:46 Clooney has proven his acting chops in other work, but he came close to being
12:50 forever known as the guy who ruined the caped crusader.
12:53 "I've never done a film. I did one film, uh, Batman and Robin, which was a... yes."
12:59 "Well, now, now." "Thank you. This was a disaster."
13:03 Number 8. Katherine Heigl - Knocked Up
13:05 One of the major drawbacks to being a performer is having to sometimes ignore your values to
13:11 portray someone you don't like. This was the case for Katherine Heigl, who left Grey's Anatomy to
13:16 pursue the silver screen, among other reasons. She found work in romantic comedies like Knocked Up,
13:23 which saw immediate success in the box office and with critics.
13:26 "Hey, you want me to lose weight?" "I don't want you to lose weight."
13:31 "No, uh, we can't legally ask you to do that."
13:33 Despite that, she wasn't completely happy. She expressed that while she didn't hate the film,
13:38 the way the different characters were portrayed sometimes came across as sexist.
13:43 Her comments were met with backlash, and she was branded as being hard to work with.
13:48 While more people have come to agree with her in recent years,
13:51 her honesty came close to killing her entire career.
13:54 "I'm pregnant." "F*** off."
13:57 "What?" "What?"
13:58 "I'm pregnant." "With emotion?"
14:02 "With a baby." "You're the father."
14:04 Number 7. Kate Winslet - Titanic
14:08 Titanic became the highest-grossing movie of its time, and tied the record for the most Oscar
14:14 nominations, which included Kate Winslet's Best Actress nod for playing Rose DeWitt Bukater.
14:20 Like Rose, however, Winslet faced some struggles behind all the glamour.
14:24 "Don't presume to tell me what I will and will not do. You don't know me."
14:27 It's not so much that she regrets accepting the role. Rather, Winslet regrets how she played Rose.
14:33 Revisiting her performance, Winslet rolled her eyes at many of her decisions.
14:38 She was especially critical of her American accent, which she described as, quote, "awful."
14:43 "And even my American accent, I look at it and I'm like, 'Oh my God,
14:46 I can't even listen to myself. It's awful.'"
14:49 While Winslet wishes that she could do a retake, she acknowledges a lot of good came from Titanic,
14:54 including her enduring friendship with Leonardo DiCaprio. It also established a working
14:59 relationship with James Cameron, who'd re-team with Winslet for another water movie.
15:04 "I'm gonna let go, Jack."
15:05 Number 6. Viola Davis - The Help
15:08 Tackling racism on screen is a balancing act, and one that needs to be thought out carefully. The
15:15 Help, while receiving plenty of accolades, has also been criticized for essentially being a white
15:20 savior narrative. Viola Davis in particular has expressed that she regretted taking part in it.
15:26 "You is smart. You is important. You is smart. You is kind. You is important."
15:39 While she acknowledged that the film succeeded in entertainment value, she felt that it was at the
15:44 cost of an honest representation of a Black maid's experience during the Civil Rights Movement.
15:49 This led her to feel that she had done her own history a disservice. While speaking out couldn't
15:54 have been easy, her comments have helped shed light on why viewers have a hard time connecting
15:59 with it today. "My boy Trelaw always said we gonna have a writer in the family one day.
16:04 I guess it's gonna be me."
16:10 Number 5. Jeanette McCurdy - iCarly
16:13 McCurdy stole the show on iCarly as rebellious best friend Sam Puckett.
16:18 "Why have you been acting all weird since the party?"
16:20 "It's no big deal. Just forget about it."
16:22 Behind the scenes, though, she knew at a young age that she didn't want to act anymore.
16:26 It was her mother who was determined to make her a star. For McCurdy, the best thing to come out
16:31 of iCarly was probably her friendship with co-star Miranda Cosgrove, which lasted beyond the show's
16:36 conclusion. She wasn't as close with Ariana Grande on the spinoff Sam & Cat, which McCurdy was glad
16:43 to see end after a season. "Who's Nora?" "She's that insane chick that kidnapped me."
16:48 The actress was also glad when her mom died, inspiring the title of her memoir.
16:53 When Cosgrove asked her if she'd like to appear on the iCarly revival,
16:57 McCurdy said she'd rather leave her acting career in the past.
17:01 "I don't need a partner. I need Sam. But she's off following her bliss with that biker gang."
17:06 Number 4. Robert Pattinson - The Twilight Saga
17:10 "I'm just trying to figure you out. You're very difficult for me to read."
17:14 Twilight is a franchise that people either love or hate with a passion.
17:19 Leading up to the release of Breaking Dawn Part 1, Robert Pattinson opened up about his
17:23 true feelings regarding playing Edward Cullen. In one interview, Pattinson candidly said that
17:29 if he was just a casual viewer watching Twilight, he'd, quote, "mindlessly hate it."
17:34 "But I think I am a judgmental and cynical person who would just mindlessly hate it without
17:38 ever having seen anything. So, like, I just think I'm a bad person."
17:42 And Pattinson wasn't the only one to express regret. Other castmates of his,
17:47 such as Anna Kendrick, have mentioned a few negative experiences on set,
17:51 and Kristen Stewart has openly questioned the story and characters.
17:56 Still, each actor has outgrown their role, with Pattinson taking on parts in other blockbusters
18:01 and critical darlings. Although he doesn't seem eager to ever play Edward again, he did defend
18:07 the franchise in 2022. It wasn't the highest praise, but Pattinson said that making fun of
18:13 Twilight was so 2010.
18:15 "Or not."
18:17 Number 3. Marlon Brando. A streetcar named Desire.
18:21 Before he was a silver screen star, the stage was Marlon Brando's stomping ground,
18:27 and nobody could play Stanley Kowalski with the raw intensity he brought to the role.
18:32 "Hey, Stanley!"
18:35 So much so that when the play was adapted to film in 1951, Brando reprised his role. Although
18:41 Stanley marked an essential turning point in Brando's career, he'd come to detest the
18:46 character. Brando described Stanley as, quote, "the Neanderthal man," and, quote, "a blue-jeaned
18:52 slobbermouth." As acclaimed as Brando's performance was, scoring him an Oscar nomination,
18:58 some people scoffed at the idea of sloppy Stanley Kowalski playing Mark Antony in Julius Caesar
19:04 years later.
19:05 "I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him!"
19:08 Brando proved his range, but it was difficult to disassociate him from Mr. Kowalski,
19:13 especially since he shared some similarities to the character.
19:16 "Pray forever."
19:18 Number 2. Alec Guinness. The Star Wars original trilogy.
19:26 Alec Guinness was among his generation's finest actors, winning the Academy Award for
19:32 the bridge on the River Kwai. For younger generations, however, he's best known for
19:36 playing Obi-Wan Kenobi.
19:38 "You don't need to see his identification."
19:40 We're not sure how Guinness would feel about that if he were alive today,
19:44 but he made his thoughts on Star Wars clear during his life. Not a huge fan. During the
19:49 filming, Guinness recalled telling George Lucas that he, quote, "couldn't go on speaking those
19:54 bloody, awful, banal lines."
19:56 "Now I am the master."
19:58 "Only a master of evil does."
20:01 Guinness accepted the role under the condition that he wouldn't have to do any promotions for
20:05 the film, although the fandom became inescapable. While Guinness had reservations about Star Wars
20:10 and the publicity that followed, he couldn't deny that the income was a blessing.
20:15 "And it's made more money than any other movie ever made."
20:18 "Same time."
20:18 "And you got yourself a thought of the action."
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20:35 1. Christopher Plummer - The Sound of Music
20:40 The Sound of Music is one of the most joyous films ever made. We can't imagine anyone not
20:46 being charmed by this timeless musical, except maybe Captain Von Trapp himself.
20:50 "I'm out of that water at once!"
20:53 Well, not the real life Captain Von Trapp. We mean actor Christopher Plummer,
20:58 who notoriously called the film, quote, "so awful and sentimental and gooey."
21:03 Plummer didn't think highly of his character either,
21:06 finding him boring and even comparing him to a dead horse.
21:09 He'd skip the film's 40th reunion, although he agreed to the 45th on The Oprah Winfrey Show.
21:23 The Canadian actor did take pride in being in a film that brought so many people happiness,
21:28 he just didn't understand the appeal. In his eyes,
21:31 The Sound of Mucus would have been a more appropriate title.
21:34 "One day I called it, well, The Sound of Mucus."
21:36 Have any of your favorite actors regretted taking on a role? Let us know in the comments.
21:43 "Now I just feel bad for you."
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21:55 [Music]