Christopher Plummer called the 1965 classic film The Sound of Music “awful and sentimental and gooey” in a roundtable interview with The Hollywood Reporter. He told The Boston Globe that “although we worked hard to make him [Plummer’s character] interesting, it was a bit like flogging a dead horse.”
That didn't stop The Sound of Music from becoming one of the top movies of its decade, which says a lot since it came out in 1965 — the golden age of Hollywood. The film, and Christopher Plummer's role, have received backlash for the content, but no one can say that he didn't perform well.
Halle Berry’s role in the 2004 movie Catwoman landed her a Razzie award for Worst Actress. During her acceptance speech, she said, “I want to thank Warner Bros. for casting me in this piece of sh*t, god-awful movie. It was just what my career needed.”
It isn't all on Halle Berry, to be fair. While her role as Catwoman was truly one of the worst depictions of a comic book character ever made, the film itself was equally as terrible. Everything from the writing to the editing needed serious work to be considered just "bad." It nearly killed comic book movies!
The 1997 disaster film Titanic is one of the most iconic movies of all time. However, Kate Winslet criticized her “American accent,” saying it was “awful” in “every single scene.” She also regrets her “draw me like one of your friend girls” nude scene saying, “I wish I hadn’t shown so much flesh, but I was young, and I knew I had things to prove.”
This one came as a bit of a surprise since Kate Winslet was great in Titanic, and the movie itself became historically good both at the box office and with fans. Even decades later, the film has been rereleased in theaters to watch on the big screen once again.
Carrie Fisher has always been candid about her role as Princess Leia and how the infamous metal bikini turned her into a sex symbol. She told Today that if she knew how popular the Star Wars franchise was going to be, she would have turned it down.
Fisher warned her predecessor Daisy Ridley to not “be a slave like I was” and “keep fighting against that slave outfit.” That being said, there's no doubt that Carrie Fisher brought a sort of elegance to the role of Leia, and without her, Princess Leia wouldn't be who she is today. She made the film that much better just by being in it.
Sting admitted that the only reason he agreed to star in the 1984 fantasy film Dune was because of “[director David Lynch] and no other reason.” In an interview with Rolling Stone, he said, “I didn’t really want to do the movie because I didn’t think it was wise for me to be in an enormous movie.”
Sting certainly didn't know that Dune would end up being such a dud. Critics absolutely panned the film, but fans? They were a little more receptive. The film ended up being remade, and that one received much better reviews both for critics and fans.
Although The Help was met with critical acclaim upon its release, and Viola Davis was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance as a Black housemaid in the 1960s, people are starting to see the film in a new light since the murder of George Floyd in 2020—even Viola Davis herself. In 2018, she told the New York Times that she regretted the role, and in 2020, she expanded upon that statement to Vanity Fair: "I cannot tell you the love I have for these women, and the love they have for me. But with any movie—are people ready for the truth?"
"There’s no one who’s not entertained by The Help," she said. "But there’s a part of me that feels like I betrayed myself, and my people, because I was in a movie that wasn’t ready to [tell the whole truth]." She compares the story of The Help to To Kill a Mockingbird with the whole white savior narrative—because, "they’re invested in the idea of what it means to be Black, but…it’s catering to the white audience. The white audience at the most can sit and get an academic lesson into how we are. Then they leave the movie theater and they talk about what it meant. They’re not moved by who we were."
Even though Jessica Alba enjoyed filming the first movie, the 2007 Rise of the Silver Surfer sequel left a bad taste in her mouth. She said the director was rude and wanted her to just focus on looking pretty, which insulted her as an actress. Numerous stories have been released of Alba saying the director told her things like, "You're crying too ugly."
It sounds like the director took things a little too seriously for a film that ended up being as bad as it was — and it wasn't due to Alba's crying face. It was just a really terrible film. It was so awful that Alba considered giving up acting after the terrible experience, but luckily she didn’t.
The 1997 drama film Boogie Nights earned Burt Reynolds his only Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He reportedly turned down the role seven times and told Conan O’Brien that Boogie Nights “just wasn’t my kind of film.” Funnily enough, it was good enough to be many people's "kind of film" and is now considered a film classic!
He also criticized director Paul Thomas Anderson’s work as not “original.”
Sylvester Stallone’s role in Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot earned him a Golden Razzie Award for Worst Actor. We can see why critics and audiences alike rank this film as one of the worst, but it's hard not to laugh throughout. It's so bad that it's basically a comedy and actually really fun tow watch.
He told Ain't it Cool News that the film is “maybe one of the worst films in the entire solar system, including alien productions we’ve never seen and in some countries -- China, I believe -- running [the movie] once a week on government television has lowered the birth rate to zero.”
Red Sonja released in 1985 and received a 15% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Arnold Schwarzenegger has joked about it being “the worst film I have ever made." It's super formulaic and the writing is "stale," as reported by viewers on Rotten Tomatoes.
"When my kids get out of line, they’re sent to their rooms and forced to watch Red Sonja 10 times. I never have too much trouble with them.”
Marlon Brando’s role in the 1951 film A Streetcar Named Desire catapulted him into Hollywood stardom. He earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor but told Time he “detested the character.” Fans, on the other hand, loved it. With a 97% audience review score, it's difficult to imagine one of the lead actors hating the role.
Marlon’s distain for the character Stanley stems from Marlon’s opinion of what Stanley represents. In Marlon’s view of the character, he says that Stanley is brutish, animalistic and abusive to women. He regretted the role’s success because it sensationalized such a terrible kind of man.
Katherine Heigl is known to voice her opinion on the projects she takes on, and the 2007 film Knocked Up was one of her biggest regrets. Apart from it being terribly cringe and rife with mixed reviews, we can see why people aren't fans... including the lead actress.
Her biggest complaint was that the movie made women seem “humorless and uptight while making men look goofy and fun-loving.”
Harrison Ford didn’t hate his role as Han Solo in the Star Wars franchise, but he thought his character should have died at the end of Star Wars: Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. That couldn't be further from the wishes of fans, since Star Wars is one of the most beloved franchises of all time and well-deserved in it's popularity
Ford eventually asked director George Lucas to kill off his character and was “glad to see that costume for the last time.”
The first James Bond film, Dr. No, was released in 1962. Following its success, Sean Connery starred as James Bond for seven movies in total. According to fans, it's not the most impressive or "elaborate Bond film, but it's decent enough to have a 95% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Connery eventually became “fed up to here with the whole Bond bit.” He told The Observer that he had “always hated that damned James Bond.”
Attempting to ride on the success of the first film, Grease 2 was considered a cinematic flop when it released in 1982. We can't agree more! This film is one of the reasons we hate unnecessary sequels... Just let the original have its time to shine!
Even Michelle Pfeiffer, the new leader of the Pink Ladies reportedly said, “I hated that film with a vengeance and could not believe how bad it was. At the time I was young and didn’t know any better.”
With a 12% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s no wonder that George Clooney regrets his role in the 1997 film Batman & Robin. He told Total Film Magazine in 2011 “...that [Batman & Robin] was really sh*t and I was really bad in it. It was a difficult film to be good in.” This film seemed to be one of those “perfect storms.” It had a star-studded cast, with lazy writing, poorly executed scenes and overall odd visuals.
Despite the well of talent the cast possessed, no one found it easy to give a good performance in the film due to the other factors holding it back. Besides, how could you keep a straight face staring at the nipples on Batman’s chest plate?
Matt Damon starred in The Bourne trilogy and enjoyed the first two movies, but he absolutely hated the 2007 film The Bourne Ultimatum. We don't see what was so bad about the role, as it was an action-packed sequel that audiences loved.
His biggest complaint was the script, which he called “really embarrassing.” It was so bad that Damon was worried the movie would be a career-ender for him.
Harrison Ford called being in the 1982 neo-noir science fiction film as “tough.” He and director Ridley Scott butted heads on set. The film itself is a masterpiece and solidified itself into film history, but Ford — as he always does — isn't afraid to speak up about how he's "done" with a franchise.
Ford was particularly taken aback by the voice narration, saying he was “very, very unhappy with their choices and with the quality of the material.”
Alec Guinness wrote about his time in the Star Wars franchise. He called it “fairytale rubbish” and that he “just couldn’t go on speaking those bloody awful lines.” Well... That's a tough blow for Star Wars fans. And while it may be a "fairytale," the franchise certainly isn't rubbish... At least, not until Disney got involved.
He eventually tossed out unopened mail from Star Wars fans because he was tired of being only being known as Obi-Wan Kenobi.
The original Superman, George Reeves, felt that his role as the fictional superhero was “beneath his dignity.” In our opinion, the original film is still the best one they've ever made. Heck, it's the best superhero movie in general!
He thought that being cast in the 1950s TV show Adventures of Superman would be a waste of his time since he believed TV was “unimportant” and “few would see his work.”
The infamous interrogation scene in the 1992 film Basic Instinct angered Sharon Stone, who was told it would be an innuendo. This is one of the best erotic thrillers of all time, but the intrigue of this noir is hampered by sexual exploitation.
Stone watched her scene on the big screen and realized she was exposed and filmed without her knowledge and consent. After the showing was over, Stone went into the booth and slapped the director, who had pushed her to shoot the scene as it appears in the movie.
Better Off Dead starring John Cusack was released in 1985 and was poorly received by Cusack himself. He reportedly walked out of the screening and confronted the director saying it “was the worst thing I have ever seen. I will never trust you as a director ever again, so don’t speak to me.” We think the movie is funny, but we agree that it's objectively bad, too.
Cusack spent the summer helping the director edit the movie into what it would ultimately become, despite all this he was still extremely disappointed with the end result. Steve Holland, the director saw nothing wrong with the movie and even said it was hilarious! Cusack apparently thought it was juvenile and didn’t even promote the movie after it’s release.
Even though the 1979 film Manhattan was well-received, Woody Allen told Associated Press that his script was “too preachy” and “too self-righteous.” While we agree that the script is definitely self-righteous, that kinda fits with Allen's entire persona. It's a good film, and Allen should stop overthinking it.
He went on further to say, “When I saw it, I was not crazy about it. To this day, I have memories of it being as disappointing to me.” If given a chance to redo it, Allen would choose to rewrite the screenplay.
You might know Emilia Clarke from her iconic role as Daenerys in Game of Thrones. Clarke has been in a variety of movies and TV shows and doesn’t regret any of them—except for one. We love Emilia, but god this sequel was terrible. She hated it, and you should hate it, too!
The 2015 film Terminator Genisys is her biggest regret because of the bad directing. Clarke said that the mood on set was always tense, making this role one of her most difficult and unpleasant.
Molly Ringwald wrote an article in 2018 about sexual assault for The New Yorker after reflecting on her films. Her young daughter asked to watch her 1985 film The Breakfast Club, and Ringwald was hesitant because of its sexual content.
Ringwald said that she feels the need to “examine the roles that these movies have played in our cultural lives...and what they might mean now.” Despite a couple of questionable scenes, this film is a cult classic and should stay that way. It's a wonderfully raw and emotional insider look into the lives and struggles of teenagers.
Alec Baldwin took on a role in the 2012 musical comedy Rock of Ages—and deeply regretted it. After about a week into filming the movie, Baldwin realized he made a mistake when he accepted the part.
In interviews, he called it “a complete disaster," and now Baldwin tries to forget he was ever in the film. Honestly, how can you forget that performance?! The film is memorable, but not good enough to deserve much praise. If you have some time on a Friday night, go ahead and give it a watch, but be prepared for a mediocre time.
Critics and fans both hated the 2010 film adaptation of The Last Airbender —and so did Dev Patel, the actor who played Prince Zuko. Patel felt like his voice wasn’t being heard throughout the filming process, and, as a result, Patel said that he “saw a stranger on the screen that I couldn’t relate to.”
The bad experience caused Patel to lose his faith in big-budget movies. Honestly, it made the rest of us lose faith in them, too. Better just rewatch the animated series rather than subject yourself to this garbage.
Bill Murray is no stranger to children’s comedy movies, and he took the starring role in the 2004 version of Garfield. Murray said that he only took the role because he thought it was written by Joel Coen, an accomplished filmmaker responsible for films like Fargo.
Garfield was actually written by Joel Cohen, who has had a hand in many family movies such as Cheaper by the Dozen. No wonder it was so mediocre! Murray even referenced this experience in the film Zombieland when he said he regretted doing Garfield.
Edward Norton played Steve Frazelli in the 2003 remake of The Italian Job alongside other A-list actors. He never even wanted to take the role, but he had a five-year contract with Paramount Pictures and risked being sued if he turned down the part.
He ended up delivering a great performance despite hating the entire process. It didn't go much better after release, either. Bad remakes will always be what they are — cheap copies of the original.
Many people hated the 2003 Daredevil movie, including Ben Affleck. Affleck played the title character but hated every second of it, stating that the film is his only career regret. We regret ever wasting two hours watching it!
There’s a silver lining, though: the terrible role motivated him to audition for his iconic role as Batman.
Nicole Kidman starred in the 2008 film Australia alongside fellow Aussie Hugh Jackman. She isn’t proud of her work, though, and openly admits that her performance was lacking. Unfortunately, her lack of passion and chemistry is obvious, making it a lackluster watch.
Kidman wishes she had never auditioned for this role, saying that “it’s just impossible for me to connect to it emotionally at all.”
iCarly star Jennette McCurdy has decided to pretty much quit acting and the show biz after she states she's "embarrassed" by most of her roles. It's no surprise considering all she's been through. Apparently, she tried to go for the main role in Because of Winn-Dixie, but her agent stated, "They want an ethereal beauty. Jennette is not an ethereal beauty. She is homely. She reads homely."
All this came to light when McCurdy went on record, saying she wasn't going to appear in the iCarly reboot. She's attempted to direct, but that hasn't gone well either. She isn't giving up just yet, and we hope she gets some success under her belt soon. Plenty of her roles spark nostalgia among audiences, and were praised at the time for being some of the best shows at the time.
From being ashamed of the character he played to despising the series finale, it's an understatement that Penn Badgley regretted his yeas-long Gossip Girl role. In fact, he turned down the role of Dan Humphrey when he was first offered it! He only accepted his fate in the show when they couldn't find anyone else to cast. Josh Safran, a Gossip Girl showrunner, put it plainly, telling Harper Bazaar, "Penn did not like being on Gossip Girl."
When he finally landed a role that he wanted, Bagdley told Salon, "To be proud of something is a really nice feeling... And it’s a new feeling, and it’s something that I wanna keep going with. I can walk a little taller feeling that I don’t have to be constantly apologizing for the work that I’ve done in the past.” Yikes... Either you love Gossip Girl or you hate it... but it will always be a cult classic.
