The dream role: every actor wants to find an iconic role that marks the peak of their career. Reality, however, is that Hollywood does not always make that possible. Sometimes scripts fail, characters turn out to be unstable, and films fail to come together. In this list, we have a glimpse into how ten actors confessed to having regrets about films that have ended up infamous but for the wrong reasons.
10. Dakota Johnson – Madame Web
After Madame Web, Dakota Johnson made a short foray into the world of superhero cinema, but now claims she wasn’t suited for such a role and finds herself disillusioned with the experience, having come to a crushing realization about the types of movies she just doesn’t belong in. In fact, she is adamant she won’t make the same mistake again, clearly not having the same zeal for superhero action she would have for, say, hairstyling products.
9. Sally Field – The Amazing Spider-Man
The motherly figure of Aunt May might be a direct recognizable reference to the work of Sally Field; however, her heart was never quite with the character. She disclosed that she did it only out of kindness for the director and that it was almost impossible to feel the character. Therefore, it was more of a conceptualization of need in place of a personal performance for her.
8. Zac Efron – High School Musical
To the public, Zac Efron will always be Troy Bolton. But from Efron’s perspective, however, the whole Disney Channel thing turns out to be a cancerous spot on his memory. He has admitted that he is not free from wincing at the memory sometimes and feeling irritated that people still refer to him as “that kid” rather than the actor he has tried to be.
7. Sandra Bullock – Speed 2: Cruise Control
No way, Sandra Bullock never made her criticism regarding the sequel to Speed quieter. She does not hesitate to call it stupid, jumbled, and humiliating. The first movie may have been a classic, but the second one is a disaster that she cannot escape from.
6. George Clooney – Batman & Robin
Whimsical as “bat-nipples” are, the costume is one of the jokes George Clooney makes to himself over and over again. He has said that he was not excited about the idea of taking on the role, le but went ahead anyway for all the wrong reasons and keeps a photo of himself as Batman in his office—not for being nostalgic about it, but to remind himself what not to do.
5. Eddie Redmayne – The Danish Girl
Though he got an Oscar nomination for his part, Eddie Redmayne confessed that his portrayal of trans legend Lili Elbe was a misstep. He’s been emphatic that with the present knowledge, he’d refuse the role and that he accepts the casting of trans actors for trans characters as the most logical solution. He admitted that not even good intentions could get rid of the errors.
4. Zoe Saldaña – Nina
Critics found very little that was good about Zoe Saldaña’s performance as Nina Simone in Nina. One of the reasons for this was the use of prosthetics and skin-darkening makeup, which was condemned by a majority of people, and then Saldaña expressed regret that she accepted the part. She has since come out to say that the life of Simone should have been portrayed through a black actress with the right background and that it should have been authentic.
3. Viola Davis – The Help
Viola Davis was universally acclaimed and nominated for her first Oscar for The Help. However, she has voiced out her displeasure with the plot of the film, stating that it did not go far enough in amplifying the women’s voices. Davis was left with the feeling that she had compromised her truth after that experience.
2. Rooney Mara – Pan
The selection of Rooney Mara as Tiger Lily in Pan led to a vehement whitewashing protest. One of the responses that Mara said was very painful to her was that she couldn’t see why the people were not right to be mad at her. She marked this as one of her regrets and promised she would be more cautious in the future while selecting roles.
1. Ryan Reynolds – Green Lantern
Ryan Reynolds is often responsible for the laughter that comes from Green Lantern, a joke of the kind that he is one of the main culprits of, to which he also contributes. In short, the mishandling of the huge budget almost pushed him out of the business, and then he admitted that it was his watching it again years later as a way of dealing with the failure. Fortunately, Deadpool gave him the comeback he needed.
Unseen are the actors who despise the roles they played when the camera keeps flashing, and the crowd is applauding. Besides mishandled sequels and disputed casting, these stories attest to the fact that even the most luminous stars sometimes look back, albeit with a grimace.