You have chosen... wisely. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the lucky actors who dodged a bullet after turning down or dropping out of disastrous films.
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00:00 "Just before noon's not a moment to say..."
00:04 "BOOM!"
00:05 Welcome to WatchMojo!
00:08 And today we're counting down our picks for the lucky actors
00:11 who dodged a bullet after turning down or dropping out of disastrous films.
00:16 "Don't worry, I won't go far."
00:18 "Hey, don't forget about us."
00:21 Number 10.
00:25 Jake Gyllenhaal - Suicide Squad
00:28 While it was released at the height of the superhero boom,
00:31 Suicide Squad didn't fare particularly well.
00:35 It received middling reviews from both critics and general audiences,
00:39 and many scenes were relentlessly mocked on social media.
00:43 The film was written and directed by David Ayer,
00:46 who had recently found critical success with his cop drama, End of Watch.
00:50 "Drink more coffee."
00:54 That film starred Jake Gyllenhaal,
00:56 who was given the option to reunite with Ayer on Suicide Squad,
01:00 being offered the role of Rick Flagg.
01:02 "We'll get involved in more capers in one deployment period
01:04 than most cops see their entire career."
01:06 Gyllenhaal decided to pass on the project,
01:09 and the role eventually went to Joel Kinnaman.
01:12 It was probably a good career move.
01:14 "Seriously, what the hell's wrong with you people?"
01:21 Number 9.
01:23 Mike Feist - Dear Evan Hansen
01:26 A hugely successful stage performer,
01:29 Mike Feist originated the role of Connor Murphy in Dear Evan Hansen,
01:33 and received a Tony nomination for Best Featured Actor.
01:36 So, naturally, he was approached to reprise his role for the 2021 movie adaptation.
01:42 "I climb till the entire sun shines on my face."
01:52 Feist declined the offer, telling the New York Times,
01:54 "I just felt like I couldn't do it."
01:56 Wise choice for a wise man.
01:59 "It's past time for a rumble.
02:00 For all in, all out, once and for all,
02:04 when it takes all, high noon, shoot out at the open, corral rumble."
02:08 The role eventually went to Feist's Broadway understudy, Colton Ryan,
02:12 and the movie became an abject failure.
02:14 It received scathing reviews and four Razzie nominations,
02:18 while also bombing at the box office with a gross of just $19 million.
02:23 It doesn't get much smarter than turning down
02:26 one of the most maligned musicals of the 21st century.
02:29 "We start with stars in our eyes.
02:31 We start believing that we belong.
02:34 But every sun doesn't rise.
02:38 And no one tells you where you went wrong."
02:41 Number 8.
02:43 Zendaya
02:45 Aaliyah, the princess of R&B.
02:47 Making a biopic about the legendary Aaliyah seemed like a slam dunk,
02:52 but it was an airball from the off.
02:54 For one, Aaliyah's family hated the idea of a lifetime movie.
02:58 And since said family has ownership of Aaliyah's masters,
03:02 the filmmakers were forced to record grossly inferior covers.
03:05 "I have no experience in the studio.
03:07 What if I mess up?"
03:10 Furthermore, it was announced that Zendaya would be playing Aaliyah,
03:14 and the decision was met with widespread condemnation.
03:17 Most of the criticism stemmed from Zendaya's physical features,
03:21 with neither her face nor her light-colored skin matching that of Aaliyah.
03:26 No matter, the actress eventually dropped out,
03:28 citing significant concerns with the messy production.
03:32 "I know it was my idea, but I just don't think it's a good idea anymore."
03:35 And she was right to do so,
03:36 as the movie opened to disastrous reviews and fierce mocking on social media.
03:41 Number 7.
03:51 Zach Galifianakis.
03:52 R.I.P.D.
03:54 "This is where I keep all my things.
03:55 I get a lot of compliments on this.
03:57 Plus it's not a man purse, it's called a satchel."
03:59 Zach Galifianakis had blown up in 2009 with The Hangover,
04:03 and his career was in full swing by 2013.
04:07 That year saw him wrapping up The Hangover trilogy,
04:09 and in the next he was starring in the Oscar-winning Birdman.
04:13 "You know I'm proud of you, don't you?"
04:14 And to think, he could have been Roy Pulsifer in R.I.P.D.
04:19 Galifianakis was pegged to star in the paranormal thriller alongside Ryan Reynolds,
04:24 but he decided to pass for other commitments.
04:27 The role eventually went to Jeff Bridges,
04:29 and it has to be a career low for the legendary actor.
04:32 R.I.P.D. was both a critical and commercial failure,
04:36 and its 2022 prequel went straight to DVD.
04:39 "And where exactly do you think your tragedy ranks on the scales of cosmic injustice?"
04:44 Number 6.
04:45 Charlie Hunnam.
04:47 Fifty Shades of Grey.
04:48 "I'm a dominant."
04:49 "What does that mean?"
04:51 "It means I want you to willingly surrender yourself to me."
04:54 Could you imagine a Fifty Shades of Grey without Jamie Dornan?
04:58 Believe it, because if the studio got their way,
05:00 it would have been Charlie Hunnam playing the erotic billionaire.
05:04 "Come, I think you're gonna like what I have to show you."
05:08 Hunnam was very excited to play Christian Grey,
05:10 but his casting drew some criticism from fans of the book.
05:14 And while the film's producer defended Hunnam's involvement,
05:16 the fans got their way in the end.
05:19 The actor was forced to drop out owing to prior commitments with Sons of Anarchy
05:23 and Guillermo del Toro's Crimson Peak.
05:26 Hunnam still regrets leaving the project,
05:28 even in the midst of its critical and cultural thrashing,
05:32 calling it "the most emotionally destructive and difficult thing
05:35 that I've ever had to deal with professionally."
05:37 "On a club level, Sons of Anarchy, the Redwood original, is here for you."
05:42 Number 5.
05:43 Varius.
05:44 Cutthroat Island.
05:46 Do you know about this 1995 flick?
05:49 Probably not.
05:50 No one does.
05:51 In unmitigated disaster, the film had an immensely troubled production,
05:56 was widely hated, became one of the biggest box office bombs in movie history,
06:00 and killed the pirate genre for nearly 10 years.
06:03 So, no, it wasn't very good.
06:07 "Have you no charity, ma'am?"
06:08 "I bring with charity, Mr. Sharp. I am charity, it's very so."
06:13 A slew of notable actors dodged a bullet by refusing to do the movie,
06:17 including Tom Cruise, Keanu Reeves, Charlie Sheen, Jeff Bridges, and Daniel Day-Lewis.
06:23 All were offered the role of William Shaw, and all turned it down.
06:27 "I've abandoned my child! I've abandoned my child!"
06:32 Poor Geena Davis wasn't so lucky.
06:35 While she attempted to drop out of the film,
06:37 she was contractually obligated to continue.
06:40 And Cutthroat Island is often blamed for killing her career.
06:44 "You like to wash things, do you? Start with your mouth."
06:48 Number 4. Rachel Weisz.
06:51 The Mummy. Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.
06:55 "Hello, excuse me. We both found your puzzle box, and we've come to ask you about it."
07:02 How many Brendan Fraser Mummy films did they make?
07:05 Did you answer two?
07:06 If so, you're wrong.
07:09 They actually made three, with the third being Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.
07:13 We'll forgive you for not knowing, as the movie has long been forgotten.
07:17 While Fraser returned as Rick O'Connell,
07:19 Rachel Weisz decided to pass on the project for both professional and personal reasons.
07:24 "But I am proud of what I am."
07:28 She reportedly hated the script, and besides,
07:31 she didn't want to leave her family behind to go shoot in China.
07:34 She was eventually replaced by Maria Bello.
07:37 "I know, but I spend my nights staring at a blank page completely blocked."
07:42 It was no skin off of Weisz's back, as the third film received terrible reviews
07:46 and became the lowest grossing entry in the Mummy trilogy,
07:49 effectively killing all plans for future movies.
07:52 Number 3. Hugh Jackman.
07:55 Cats.
07:56 "Is there another way to go? I am reaching, but I fall."
08:06 Someday, in the far distant future when we're all gone,
08:10 Cats will still be remembered as one of cinema's greatest monstrosities.
08:15 A complete mess on all levels, Cats is one of those legendary bad films.
08:20 A movie that will forever live in infamy for its quality and confounding creative decisions.
08:26 "But a monster of depravity."
08:32 Hugh Jackman lucked out by refusing to do the flick, and that's putting it mildly.
08:37 Jackman had worked with Cats director Tom Hooper on Les Miserables
08:40 and even received an Oscar nomination under his direction.
08:43 But Jackman declined the offer to appear in his new film,
08:46 perhaps sensing the disaster that was to come.
08:50 "There are words that are better unheard, better unsaid."
08:56 Number 2. Keanu Reeves.
08:58 Speed 2. Cruise Control.
09:02 "There is a bomb on this bus. If we slow down, it'll blow."
09:07 You just know from the pun-filled title that this movie is going to be sloppy.
09:14 A schlocky B-movie with a grand Hollywood budget, Speed 2 concerns a hijacked cruise
09:19 ship and the hero's attempts to stop it from crashing into an oil tanker.
09:24 The movie would never have worked even with Keanu Reeves,
09:27 but his absence is sorely felt nevertheless.
09:30 "Nothing. It's a game. If he gets the money, he wins. If the bus blows up, he wins."
09:36 "What if you win?"
09:37 "Then tomorrow we'll play another one."
09:39 Reeves was offered a handsome $12 million to star in the sequel,
09:43 but declined for a number of reasons, both financial, professional, and personal.
09:48 "Give it up! You're out of options!"
09:50 One of the big reasons was that he thought the script stunk, and well, yep.
09:57 Speed 2 is widely regarded as one of the worst sequels ever made,
10:00 and Sandra Bullock later expressed a regret in working on it.
10:04 "And isn't it true that the captain goes down with the ship?"
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10:22 1. Varius – The Adventures of Pluto Nash
10:27 It seems like no one liked this movie. Not even the people who worked on it.
10:32 Director Ron Underwood, actors Eddie Murphy, Alec Baldwin, and Joe Pantoliano all hated the movie
10:38 and knew it was a pile of irredeemable junk. "I'm looking for the owner, Pluto Nash."
10:44 "Why would you be looking for a lowlife like that?"
10:45 Baldwin hated it so much, he wanted his name removed from the credits,
10:49 and Murphy later claimed that he only did it for the money. Numerous actors rightfully passed on
10:54 the project, including Jennifer Lopez and Halle Berry, who prioritized her wedding to Eric Benet.
11:00 "You sure you're on the right side?" "At least I've chosen a side."
11:04 It's even been rumoured that Harrison Ford was interested in the film,
11:08 but ultimately passed for an unknown reason. Whatever the reason, it was certainly the right
11:13 decision. "I did not sign up for this." Do you think they made the right decision?
11:21 Let us know in the comments below. "I'm the worst thing that ever happened to you,
11:24 and I just ruined your life, okay?" Did you enjoy this video? Check out these
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11:32 about our latest videos.