Famous movie roles that actors wish they hadn't taken

British actor Hugh Grant has slowly earned himself a reputation as a notorious Hollywood grump in recent years. Within the first few months of 2023, he appeared on 'The Late Late Show' for an interview with James Corden and fans weren't surprised to hear him drop some more negativity bombs. During a truth or dare style segment, he was asked to share the one film he regrets the most from his career.

"'The Lady and the Highwayman'... I'm a highwayman. I'm meant to be sexy. Low-budget, bad wig, bad hat, I look like Deputy Dawg," he recalled.

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Jason Momoa - 'Conan the Barbarian' (2011) - Jason Momoa is an action movie superstar, particularly since landing the role of Aquaman in the DC movies. However, some of his earlier roles weren't quite as impressive! The 2011 film 'Conan the Barbarian' was a very expensive flop, and more than a decade later, Momoa decided to share his real thoughts about it. "I've been a part of a lot of things that really sucked, and movies where it's out of your hands," he told British GQ. "Conan was one of them. It's one of the best experiences I had and it [was] taken over and turned into a big pile of s***."

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Eddie Redmayne - ‘The Danish Girl’ (2015) -

Eddie Redmayne told The Sunday Times that he "wouldn’t take" the role of a trans woman if he was offered it now, even if he made it with "the best of intentions." The actor received an Oscar nomination for his role as trans artist Lili Elbe.

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George Clooney - ‘Batman & Robin’ (1997) -

Big names like Michael Keaton and Christian Bale have successfully played the Caped Crusader on screen. However, George Clooney expressed regret over his role as Batman: "I thought at the time that this was going to be a very good career move. It wasn’t."

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Harrison Ford - ‘Blade Runner’ (1982) -

There are famously seven cuts of 'Blade Runner,' and Harrison Ford doesn't care for any version. "I didn't like the movie one way or the other," he said in 2017.

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Viola Davis - ‘The Help’ (2011) -

Viola Davis was nominated for an Oscar for 'The Help.' Yet she deeply regrets her role, saying her character’s voice is not heard enough in the film.

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Robert Pattinson - The Twilight Saga -

Before the final 'Twilight' film was even in theaters, the actor said of playing Edward: "It’s weird kind of representing something you don't particularly like." Shortly after, he even added how he would have "mindlessly hated" the series had he not appeared in it.

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Bill Murray - ‘Garfield’ (2004) -

Bill Murray only voiced Garfield the cat because of a misunderstanding: he thought Joel Coen, of the Coen brothers, had written the script, but instead it was by Joel Cohen.

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Daniel Craig - James Bond franchise -

Many believed that Daniel Craig wouldn't return as James Bond for the 25th film in the series. "I'd rather break this glass and slash my wrists," he told Time Out of returning to the role.

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Megan Fox - Transformers franchise -

Megan Fox told Entertainment Weekly that, "People are well aware that this is not a movie about acting." She's also stated what a nightmare it was to work with director Michael Bay.

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Sally Field - 'The Amazing Spider-Man' (2012) -

Sally Field was not thrilled with her role as Aunty May. About playing the character, she told Howard Stern that, "It’s really hard to find a three-dimensional character in it."

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James Franco - ‘Your Highness’ (2011) -

The same creators and star of 'Pineapple Express' (2008) did not succeed to make ‘Your Highness’ another laugh-out-loud film. Franco even said to GQ that the movie sucked.

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Bob Hoskins - ‘Super Mario Bros.’ (1993) -

When Bob Hoskins was asked by The Guardian "What is the worst job you've done?" and "What has been your biggest disappointment?" the actor had only one answer: 'Super Mario Brothers.'

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Timothée Chalamet - ‘A Rainy Day in New York’ (2019) -

Timothée Chalamet expressed regret for working with Woody Allen as allegations made against the director by his adoptive daughter Dylan Farrow were brought back into the spotlight following the MeToo movement. He apologized for accepting the role and donated his entire salary to charities.

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Shia LaBeouf - ‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’ (2008) -

Indiana Jones fans had high expectations for the fourth film, but were left disappointed, including Shia LaBeouf. "I feel like I dropped the ball on the legacy that people loved and cherished," LaBeouf told the Los Angeles Times.

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Zac Efron - High School Musical franchise -

Most people know Zac Efron as Troy Bolton from the High School Musical films, and that's something the actor wishes would change. "I step back and look at myself and I still want to kick that guy’s [butt] sometimes," he told Men's Fitness.

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Michelle Pfeiffer - ‘Grease II’ (1982) -

"I hated that film with a vengeance and could not believe how bad it was," Michelle Pfeiffer said of the sequel to 'Grease.' Thankfully her next film was the cult classic 'Scarface' (1983).

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Christopher Plummer - ‘The Sound of Music’ (1965) -

Christopher Plummer hated playing Captain von Trapp in the beloved musical. "I think that part in 'The Sound of Music' was the toughest," he told The Hollywood Reporter. "It was so awful and sentimental and gooey. You had to work terribly hard to try and infuse some miniscule bit of humor into it."

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Kate Winslet - ‘Titanic’ (1997) -

While Kate Winslet doesn't mind the film, she has been very critical of her performance as Rose. "Every single scene, I’m like really, really? You did it like that? Oh my God. Even my American accent, I can’t listen to it. It’s awful," she once told The Telegraph.

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Brad Pitt - ‘The Devil's Own’ (1997) -

Speaking to Newsweek in 1997, the actor criticized the film, calling it a "disaster" and "the most irresponsible bit of filmmaking, if you can even call it that, that I've ever seen."

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Matt Damon - ‘The Bourne Ultimatum’ (2007) -

Matt Damon’s Bourne trilogy won applause from critics around the world. But the making of it wasn't a smooth process. Damon spoke unkindly about the original script by Tony Gilroy, saying it was awful and unreadable. Gilroy didn't participate further, and the script was rewritten during filming by Scott Z. Burns and George Nolfi.

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Paul Newman - ‘The Silver Chalice’ (1954) -

Paul Newman knew before the movie premiered that it wasn't his best work. The Oscar-winning actor took out adverts from the press urging people to not watch the television broadcast of the film. He later called it "the worst motion picture produced during the 1950s."

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Ben Affleck - ‘Daredevil’ (2003) -

"'Daredevil' didn't work at all," the actor told Entertainment Weekly in 2007. "If I wanted to go viral, I would be less polite. That was before people realized you could make these movies and make them well."

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Daniel Radcliffe - ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’ (2009) -

Daniel Radcliffe has looked back at his role as the famous wizard and criticized his performance in 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.' "I hate it. My acting is very one-note, and I can see I got complacent and what I was trying to do just didn’t come across," he told Playboy in 2012.

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Halle Berry - ‘Catwoman’ (2004) -

Halle Berry accepted her Golden Raspberry award in person and spoofed her own Oscar acceptance speech by thanking her manager. "He loves me so much that he convinces me to do projects even when he knows that it is s h i t."

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Jessica Alba - Fantastic Four franchise -

Jessica Alba didn't enjoy her experience playing Invisible Woman, and even considered quitting acting altogether. "I hated it. I really hated," she told Elle.

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Colin Farrell - ‘Miami Vice’ (2006) - About the 2006 blockbuster, Colin Farrell said: "'Miami Vice'? I didn't like it so much. I thought it was style over substance, and I accept a good bit of the responsibility."

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Katherine Heigl - ‘Knocked Up’ (2007) -

Katherine Heigl found the whole film to be sexist and told Vanity Fair it paints "the women as shrews, as humorless and uptight, and it paints the men as lovable, goofy, fun-loving guys."

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Ryan Reynolds - ‘Green Lantern’ (2011) -

Ryan Reynolds has never watched 'Green Lantern' all the way through, and even went as far as having his Deadpool character shoot a fictional version of himself in the head for taking on the role!

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Josh Brolin - ‘Jonah Hex’ (2010) -

Before playing Thanos in the Avengers movies, Josh Brolin portrayed another comic book character, Jonah Hex. However, it was not well received by critics or Brolin himself. "I think it deserved that bashing for reasons that those critics will never know," he told Total Film in 2014.

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Sylvester Stallone - ‘Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot’ (1992) -

Known for his Rocky and Rambo films, the 1992 buddy-cop comedy was not his biggest moment of pride. Speaking about the film in 2006, he called it "maybe one of the worst films in the entire solar system, including alien productions we’ve never seen."

Sources: (Independent)

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Hugh Grant - 'The Lady and the Highwayman' (1988) -

"'The Lady and the Highwayman'... I'm a highwayman. I'm meant to be sexy. Low-budget, bad wig, bad hat, I look like Deputy Dawg," he recalled.

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Eddie Redmayne - ‘The Danish Girl’ (2015) -

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George Clooney - ‘Batman & Robin’ (1997) -

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Harrison Ford - ‘Blade Runner’ (1982) -

There are famously seven cuts of 'Blade Runner,' and Harrison Ford doesn't care for any version. "I didn't like the movie one way or the other," he said in 2017.

NL Beeld

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Viola Davis - ‘The Help’ (2011) -

Viola Davis was nominated for an Oscar for 'The Help.' Yet she deeply regrets her role, saying her character’s voice is not heard enough in the film.

NL Beeld

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Robert Pattinson - The Twilight Saga -

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Bill Murray - ‘Garfield’ (2004) -

Bill Murray only voiced Garfield the cat because of a misunderstanding: he thought Joel Coen, of the Coen brothers, had written the script, but instead it was by Joel Cohen.

NL Beeld

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Daniel Craig - James Bond franchise -

Many believed that Daniel Craig wouldn't return as James Bond for the 25th film in the series. "I'd rather break this glass and slash my wrists," he told Time Out of returning to the role.

NL Beeld

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Megan Fox - Transformers franchise -

Megan Fox told Entertainment Weekly that, "People are well aware that this is not a movie about acting." She's also stated what a nightmare it was to work with director Michael Bay.

NL Beeld

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Sally Field - 'The Amazing Spider-Man' (2012) -

Sally Field was not thrilled with her role as Aunty May. About playing the character, she told Howard Stern that, "It’s really hard to find a three-dimensional character in it."

NL Beeld

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James Franco - ‘Your Highness’ (2011) -

The same creators and star of 'Pineapple Express' (2008) did not succeed to make ‘Your Highness’ another laugh-out-loud film. Franco even said to GQ that the movie sucked.

NL Beeld

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Bob Hoskins - ‘Super Mario Bros.’ (1993) -

When Bob Hoskins was asked by The Guardian "What is the worst job you've done?" and "What has been your biggest disappointment?" the actor had only one answer: 'Super Mario Brothers.'

NL Beeld

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Timothée Chalamet - ‘A Rainy Day in New York’ (2019) -

NL Beeld

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Shia LaBeouf - ‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’ (2008) -

NL Beeld

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Zac Efron - High School Musical franchise -

NL Beeld

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Michelle Pfeiffer - ‘Grease II’ (1982) -

"I hated that film with a vengeance and could not believe how bad it was," Michelle Pfeiffer said of the sequel to 'Grease.' Thankfully her next film was the cult classic 'Scarface' (1983).

NL Beeld

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Christopher Plummer - ‘The Sound of Music’ (1965) -

NL Beeld

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Kate Winslet - ‘Titanic’ (1997) -

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Brad Pitt - ‘The Devil's Own’ (1997) -

Speaking to Newsweek in 1997, the actor criticized the film, calling it a "disaster" and "the most irresponsible bit of filmmaking, if you can even call it that, that I've ever seen."

NL Beeld

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Matt Damon - ‘The Bourne Ultimatum’ (2007) -

NL Beeld

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Paul Newman - ‘The Silver Chalice’ (1954) -

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Ben Affleck - ‘Daredevil’ (2003) -

NL Beeld

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Daniel Radcliffe - ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’ (2009) -

NL Beeld

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Halle Berry - ‘Catwoman’ (2004) -

NL Beeld

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Jessica Alba - Fantastic Four franchise -

Jessica Alba didn't enjoy her experience playing Invisible Woman, and even considered quitting acting altogether. "I hated it. I really hated," she told Elle.

NL Beeld

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Katherine Heigl - ‘Knocked Up’ (2007) -

Katherine Heigl found the whole film to be sexist and told Vanity Fair it paints "the women as shrews, as humorless and uptight, and it paints the men as lovable, goofy, fun-loving guys."

NL Beeld

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Ryan Reynolds - ‘Green Lantern’ (2011) -

Ryan Reynolds has never watched 'Green Lantern' all the way through, and even went as far as having his Deadpool character shoot a fictional version of himself in the head for taking on the role!

NL Beeld

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Josh Brolin - ‘Jonah Hex’ (2010) -

Getty Images

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Sylvester Stallone - ‘Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot’ (1992) -

Sources: (Independent)

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