Movie Scenes That Actors Regret Doing
Some of the most unforgettable scenes in film history are hated by the actors who were featured in them. Many actors have regrets in their careers, whether it’s wearing a terrible costume, making an offensive joke or working with someone difficult on-set.
Superstars like Kate Winslet and Denzel Washington are a few examples of actors who are disappointed with some of their work. Check out movie scenes actors regret doing.
Ellen Page: Juno
Ellen Page’s breakthrough role was in the 2007 hit Juno. In the film, she stars as Juno, a pregnant teen who gives her baby to a deserving couple. If the movie launched Page to superstardom, why would she have any regrets about it?
The film actually has some homophobic jokes. In one scene, the couple suggests Madison as a baby name, but Juno rejects the name because it seems “a little gay.” Page became aware that her line was problematic. In response, she skipped that line at a script reading for Planned Parenthood.
Denzel Washington: The Equalizer
The Equalizer follows Robert McCall, a man who’s trying to live a quiet life but gets pulled into drama and ends up fighting some bad guys. The film’s star, Denzel Washington, had an epic performance, especially in the rain showdown sequence.
However, the amazing scene was crazy-hard to execute. After a 13-hour day of shooting, Washington had had enough. He was tired of getting soaked in artificial rain while the director and film crew remained dry in their comfy raincoats.
Zoey Deutch: Set It Up
How romantic is falling in love over pizza? This sweet moment was captured in Netflix’s rom-com Set It Up. The story is about two employees (Zoey Deutch and Glen Powell) who come up with a wild scheme to hook up their bosses.
As they carry out their plan, the two actually fall in love with each other and have a magical rendezvous while eating pizza. Deutch revealed she quickly tossed back four entire pies and threw up in the middle of filming. But the scene must go on, so she was forced to finish the rest of the sequence. Good news: Deutch still loves pizza.
Burt Reynolds: Deliverance
In one scene of Deliverance, the character Lewis Medlock paddles over a waterfall. Director John Boorman suggested using a dummy for this stunt. However, the actor who played Medlock, Burt Reynolds, thought he was tough enough to do the job himself.
Taking on the stunt was not a good idea. After going down the waterfall, Reynolds hit some rocks and got his clothes torn off. He also suffered from serious injuries and woke up in the hospital. In the end, he learned his lesson after filming the scene. Boorman told Reynolds it looked like a dummy tumbling over a waterfall.
Jim Carrey: Kick-Ass 2
Kick-Ass 2 is an action-comedy filled with superheroes and villains. As the title suggests, it’s a movie that also contains violence. Comedian Jim Carrey portrayed superhero Colonel Stars and Stripes but stopped supporting the film before it was released in 2013.
After the Sandy Hook tragedy in 2012, Carrey had a change of heart and realized he could no longer promote a film with so much brutality. As a result, he denounced Kick-Ass 2 and apologized for taking part in an extremely violent film.
Terence Stamp: Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace
Terrence Stamp didn’t get what he signed up for in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. When he agreed to work with filmmaker George Lucas, he thought he was going to meet Natalie Portman. But that never happened.
When Stamp arrived on-set for his cameo as Chancellor Valorum, Portman wasn’t there. Lucas told him to act with a piece of paper taped to the wall instead of Portman. Stamp called the experience boring. To make matters worse, he received lousy pay.
Emma Watson: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
The lead actors of the Harry Potter franchise grew up together and basically became family. However, filming got awkward for Emma Watson and Rupert Grint. Their characters Hermione and Ron started out as friends, but a romantic relationship blossomed towards the end of the series.
Both Watson and Grint weren’t looking forward to an inevitable kissing scene. But the time came in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. Grint said he didn’t want to do it, while Watson called it a weird experience. However, the two were thankful that the scene only required one take.
Sean Connery: Dr. No
Who wouldn’t like playing secret agent James Bond? Apparently, Sean Connery. The actor is notorious for talking trash about the films. According to The Guardian, he hated his role as 007 in Dr. No. He heavily criticized several scenes that showed Bond as a philanderer and a reckless man.
Connery thought Bond was super-boring and had no character development in the films. For years, the actor also feuded with the producer, Albert R. Broccoli. Their relationship grew worse and worse. When Broccoli arrived on-set, Connery would lock himself in his trailer.
Sharon Stone: Basic Instinct
The leg-crossing scene from Basic Instinct is iconic. Sharon Stone portrays Catherine Tramell, a smart, murderous maneater. When Tramell gets interrogated by police, she infamously flashes them as she uncrosses her legs. Moviegoers weren’t the only ones shocked about this exposed scene.
In fact, Stone had no idea how graphic the stunt would be. She was told the scene would be flirty, but not X-rated. However, that didn’t happen. When Stone first saw the finished film, she slapped the director, Paul Verhoeven.
Roger Moore:A View to Kill
Roger Moore was 57 years old when he starred as James Bond in 1985’s A View to Kill. The movie was physically demanding, especially for one romantic scene. Miserably, Moore worked with 35-year-old Grace Jones, who played the energetic May Day.
Moore had a hard time keeping up with Jones. Not only did Moore have a terrible time with her in that love scene, but he also clashed with her on-set before filming. His midday nap was interrupted by her blaring rock music.
George Reeves: Superman and the Mole Men
In the 1950s, George Reeves gained popularity for playing Superman. His schedule was packed with superhero business, starring in the TV series The Adventures of Superman and the movie Superman and the Mole Men. Many people admired Reeves, so how could he regret any part of his role?
Reeves disapproved of scenes depicting the hero as bulletproof. In one of his public appearances as Superman, a kid went up to him with a gun to see if the hero was really invincible. The incident was extremely disturbing for him.
Margot Robbie: Suicide Squad
Audiences were blown away by Margot Robbie’s performance as Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad. In 2016, her famous role inspired many Halloween costumes. But Robbie wasn’t exactly thrilled to wear that outfit. The attire actually made her feel “self-conscious.”
However, her breaking point had nothing to do with the outfit. Robbie thought the bleach scene was terribly unpleasant to film. In the scene, Quinn jumps into white bleach to prove her devotion to the Joker. Robbie explained the uncomfortable white liquid got into her nose and eyes, and that the experience was her least favorite.
Bruce Campbell: The Evil Dead
The Evil Dead was known best for its intense gore. Behind the scenes, the horror movie gave lead actor Bruce Campbell a horrible time. But he endured the ordeal because of the movie’s success. Although he was in two Evil Dead films, Campbell disliked the famous red blood.
To be specific, Campbell resented getting covered in the iconic red mixture. In fact, he was drenched in 55 gallons of it! This would probably make anyone sick. After shooting the scenes, the actor attracted many flies and had awkward moments while blowing his nose.
Julia Roberts: Pretty Woman
The romantic comedy film Pretty Woman shot Julia Roberts to superstardom. Her performance wowed audiences worldwide, so it’s hard to believe that she had any regrets about the film. Apparently, the love scene caused some trouble on-set.
Roberts was so nervous about the scene that a visible vein popped out of her forehead. The director got into the bed with her and her co-star to massage the issue. But more dilemmas kept arising. Roberts also developed a rash and hives during the scene.
Megan Fox: Transformers
Transformers is a billion-dollar franchise, so it’s easy to believe that any actor would be proud to be a part of it. However, that’s far from true for Megan Fox. The actor starred as Mikaela Banes for the first two films.
Fox almost starred in the franchise’s third film, but she was let go. The actor didn’t get along with the film’s director, Michael Bay. In fact, she described Bay as Hitler at first. Now, Fox regrets how bad things got on-set.
David Cross: Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked
In the Alvin and the Chipmunks cinematic universe, David Cross portrays the films’ villain, Ian Hawke. After Cross finished shooting the third film, he didn’t stop trash-talking the franchise. In the film, he wore a pelican costume on a Carnival cruise for a week.
But that wasn’t his tipping point. Cross explained that he had a problem with one of the producers. In 2012, he shared on Conan, “This last film was literally, without question, the most unpleasant experience I’ve ever had in my professional life.”
Zac Efron: High School Musical
Audiences were split over Disney’s High School Musical. Some people absolutely loved it, and others thought it was terrible. But the one person who hated the movie the most was in it. The actor was actually the star of it.
His name is Zac Efron. The superstar was featured as heartthrob Troy Bolton in not one High School Musical movie, but three. Efron revealed that if he could go back in time, he would beat his teenage self up for joining the film.
Jessica Alba: Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
The Fantastic Four comic books were brought to the big screen in 2005. Jessica Alba portrayed superheroine Susan Storm. The first film was a B movie with mixed reviews, but the superhero story continued in a sequel. That’s when the problems started.
Alba almost quit acting after the second film because of the director, Tim Story. According to Alba, Story was a nightmare to work with. In one scene, she was supposed to cry, but Story criticized that the cry looked too real and that she should look prettier when she cries.
Ian McKellen: The Hobbit Trilogy
Sir Ian Murray McKellen reached worldwide fame for his film roles, including Magneto in the X-Men films and Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings. The respected actor almost didn’t join The Hobbit trilogies but signed on anyway.
McKellen soon regretted his decision and broke down on-set. He said, “In order to shoot the dwarves and a large Gandalf, we couldn’t be in the same set. All I had for company was 13 photographs of the dwarves on top of stands with little lights — whoever’s talking flashes up. Pretending you’re with 13 other people when you’re on your own, it stretches your technical ability to the absolute limits. I cried, actually. I cried. Then I said out loud, ‘This is not why I became an actor.'”
Emma Stone: Aloha
People weren’t afraid to call out Aloha’s director and studio for their misguided casting choice. The film was caught in a whitewashing controversy when Emma Stone was selected to portray Captain Allison Ng, a character of Chinese and Hawaiian descent.
Later on, the director apologized for the film’s whitewashing. Stone also confessed that she regrets allowing herself to be miscast. “I’ve learned on a macro level about the insane history of whitewashing in Hollywood and how prevalent the problem truly is. It’s ignited a conversation that’s very important. I’ve become the butt of many jokes,” Stone told News.com.au.
Seth Rogen: The 40-Year-Old Virgin
The 40-Year-Old Virgin was a successful comedy with never-ending laughter and jokes. But not all of the jokes were great. Actor Seth Rogen told GQ that one joke upset many of his fans — his “How I Know You’re Gay” moment with Paul Rudd
Rogen shared, “I’ve had people come up to me and be like, ‘That made me feel like sh*t when I was in the movie theater and everyone was laughing about that.’ I don’t want anyone to have that experience watching our movies.”
Robert Pattinson: Twilight
There are many actors who regret one scene or a couple in a film they’ve starred in. However, it seems as if Robert Pattinson regretted all his scenes in the Twilight franchise. No one hated Twilight more than the lead actor.
Pattinson starred as vampire Edward Cullen in all of the Twilight films. But fans clearly saw his disdain for the role in interviews and videos. For instance, he once called the fairytale romance a “nightmare.” Plus, he declared he would “mindlessly hate” the films if he wasn’t starring in them.
Tippi Hedren: The Birds
Tippi Hedren had a painful experience working with director Alfred Hitchcock. Hedren said Hitchcock was a complete nightmare on-set and off-set, but one of the worst moments was during a scene in The Birds. Hitchcock violated her contract.
When Hedren signed up for the movie, her contract said only mechanical birds would be used. But Hitchcock wanted the experience to show real horror and directed the crew to throw real birds at her for an attack scene. The act hurt Hedren’s face and mentality. She broke down on-set and was carried to a doctor.
Brad Pitt: Interview With the Vampire
One of Brad Pitt’s juicy secrets is that he had a miserable experience filming Interview With the Vampire. In fact, the actor tried to get out of the film. He called producer David Geffen about the situation, and Geffen said Pitt would have to shell out $40 million to quit.
Pitt was still in the early stages of his career, so he decided to stick it out. The actor hated his uncomfortable yellow contact lenses, pounds of makeup and messy hairdo. But he despised filming in the dark the most. According to Pitt, he spent six months in pitch black.
John Cena: 12 Rounds
Widely known for wrestling in the WWE, John Cena is one of the toughest men in the ring. It’s easy to believe the king of the ring isn’t scared of anything, but everyone has their own fears.
Cena moved from the ring to the big screen. But the actor was close to quitting the film 12 Rounds. In one scene, Cena had to slip down a skyscraper and dangle from a rope in mid-air. On the DVD’s extra video, Cena said filming this scene caused so much anxiety.
Dick Van Dyke: Mary Poppins
Disney’s Mary Poppins is supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. In other words, it’s a massively successful film with many awards. Appearing as chimney sweep Bert, Dick Van Dyke was applauded for his performance, but he was also mocked for his accent by audiences and critics worldwide.
Commenters say Van Dyke inflicted the “most atrocious cockney accent in the history of cinema.” In response, he regrets his bad accent in Mary Poppins, but it wasn’t entirely his fault. No one told him how bad it was during production.
Brandon T. Jackson: Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son
In an interview with Comedy Hype, Brandon T. Jackson looked back at his career and talked about some of his great moments and regrets. Big Momma’s House 3 is one film that the actor disapproves of. Jackson believes wearing a dress in the film ruined his career.
Jackson recalls, “Everything went wrong when I put on that dress. I was cursed by it. I believe it was a curse that went with that personally, cause nothing went right since then.” But Bad Boys star Martin Lawrence, who also wore a dress in the film, may disagree.
Gwyneth Paltrow: Shallow Hal
Gwyneth Paltrow took on the character of Rosemary in the romantic comedy Shallow Hal, with Jack Black as Hal. For the role, Paltrow had to wear a 25-pound fat suit and lots of prosthetic makeup. She wasn’t fond of wearing the offensive fat suit.
Paltrow recalled an unpleasant experience while wearing the costume. She told W magazine, “The first day I tried [the fat suit] on, I was in the Tribeca Grand [hotel in New York City] and I walked through the lobby. It was so sad; it was so disturbing. No one would make eye contact with me because I was obese.”
Kate Winslet: Titanic
Considered one of the most epic love stories of all time, Titanic follows Rose and Jack, portrayed by Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio. It was a big hit, so you would think no one had any regrets about the film.
There are many unforgettable moments in Titanic. However, Winslet is repulsed by one scene: the “draw me like one of your French girls” affair. Even now, fans won’t stop asking Winslet to sign photos of that artistic nude scene.
Eva Mendes: Once Upon a Time in Mexico
Eva Mendes had a long-time crush on Johnny Depp, so imagine how excited she felt after landing a role with him in Once Upon a Time in Mexico. Even better, the script included a kissing scene between their characters.
Depp starred as CIA agent Sheldon Sands while Eva Mendes was vicious AFN operative Ajedrez Barillo. In the sequence, the pair kiss before Sands eliminates Barillo. Mendes wishes the kiss lasted longer, but she was just too intimidated by Depp.
