Making a successful movie doesn’t always mean everyone involved is happy with the final result. Over the years, many actors have openly criticized their own films, expressing regret over taking the role or disappointment with how the project turned out. Here are 30 stars who hated their movie.
Alec Guinness – Star Wars
Although Star Wars made Alec Guinness a global icon, he privately criticized the dialogue and later admitted he wasn’t fond of the film itself. He even asked fans to stop asking him to sign Star Wars memorabilia.
Kate Winslet – Titanic
Winslet has repeatedly said she struggles to watch Titanic because she constantly notices her own performance and wishes she had delivered some scenes differently.
Robert Pattinson – Twilight
Before the film’s release, Pattinson openly mocked the story, described Edward Cullen as strange, and later admitted he found parts of the franchise ridiculous.
Halle Berry – Catwoman
Berry accepted her Razzie Award in person and jokingly thanked Warner Bros. for putting her in “a piece of crap movie,” becoming one of the few stars to embrace the criticism publicly.
George Clooney – Batman & Robin
Clooney has joked for years that he “destroyed the franchise” and has apologized to fans for his performance as Batman.
Charlize Theron – Reindeer Games
Theron has called the film “really bad” and admitted she accepted the role largely because she wanted to work with director John Frankenheimer.
Bob Hoskins – Super Mario Bros.
Hoskins described the movie as the worst job he ever did, saying it was the biggest disappointment of his career.
Viola Davis – The Help
Despite receiving an Oscar nomination, Davis later said she regretted making the film because she felt it failed to fully represent the experiences of Black domestic workers.
Marlon Brando – The Freshman
Brando reportedly dismissed many of his later films and often admitted he accepted projects mainly for financial reasons rather than artistic passion.
Christopher Plummer – The Sound of Music
Plummer famously nicknamed the film “The Sound of Mucus” and felt his character lacked depth, even though it became one of cinema’s biggest classics.
Shia LaBeouf – Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
LaBeouf publicly criticized the film, saying he believed it had failed to satisfy audiences and later apologized for speaking negatively about it.
Megan Fox – Transformers
Fox later described the films as visually impressive but criticized their storytelling, leading to a highly publicized falling-out with director Michael Bay.
Burt Reynolds – Boogie Nights
Despite earning an Oscar nomination, Reynolds disliked the finished film and reportedly fired his agent for persuading him to take the role.
Jim Carrey – Kick-Ass 2
Following the Sandy Hook school shooting, Carrey publicly distanced himself from the film, saying he could no longer support its level of violence.
Bill Murray – Garfield
Murray jokingly claimed he thought the screenplay had been written by Joel Coen rather than Joel Cohen, and later admitted he regretted accepting the role.
Ryan Reynolds – Green Lantern
Reynolds frequently jokes about Green Lantern, even poking fun at it in Deadpool, after the superhero film became one of DC’s biggest disappointments.
Sylvester Stallone – Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot
Stallone has repeatedly called the comedy one of the worst films ever made and said he only accepted it after being misled into thinking Arnold Schwarzenegger wanted the role.
Michelle Pfeiffer – Grease 2
Pfeiffer has admitted she wasn’t proud of the sequel and understood why it failed to live up to the original.
Daniel Craig – Spectre
Immediately after filming, Craig said he’d rather “slash my wrists” than make another Bond film, later explaining he was simply exhausted after production.
Dakota Johnson – Madame Web
Johnson later admitted the finished movie was very different from what she originally expected and said she wasn’t surprised by its poor reception.
Sean Connery – The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Connery reportedly became so frustrated with the troubled production that he retired from acting shortly after the film’s release.
Channing Tatum – G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Tatum admitted he never wanted to make the movie and said he only accepted it because of contractual obligations.
Matt Damon – The Bourne Ultimatum
Damon criticized an early screenplay by another writer, calling it nearly unusable before the script was extensively rewritten. He later praised the finished film.
Jessica Alba – Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Alba said the experience left her questioning whether she even wanted to continue acting after repeated criticism from the director during filming.
Carrie Fisher – Star Wars Holiday Special
Fisher joked that she kept a copy of the infamous special to play at parties when she wanted guests to leave.
Ben Affleck – Daredevil
Affleck later admitted he disliked the film, saying it motivated him to eventually take Batman more seriously.
Jamie Dornan – Fifty Shades of Grey
Dornan has joked that he has no desire to sit down and watch the films himself despite starring in the trilogy.
Jennifer Lawrence – Passengers
Lawrence later admitted she had reservations about accepting the role and questioned whether the film’s central romance worked as intended.
Edward Norton – The Italian Job
Norton made it clear he only appeared in the remake to fulfill a contractual obligation and has rarely spoken positively about it since.
Mark Wahlberg – The Happening
Wahlberg has openly acknowledged that The Happening didn’t work, joking in interviews that audiences probably wished they could forget it.