10 Actors Who Despised Their Own Movies

We've all seen movies we hate, movies that awaken a primal, unstoppable rage if mentioned. Even thinking about X-Men Origins: Wolverine is enough to make me try and surgically remove my own eyes with homemade claws, just on the off chance that I may walk into a room one day where it's being played. You may not agree, and you may even think that X-Men Origins: Wolverine is an incredible work of art that's just been misunderstood... and that's ok. People have different tastes and it's impossible to like everything that you see in the cinema. Fortunately, we're not the ones who have to sell the movie and encourage others to watch it. Forget starving for your craft. Forget constant intrusion from the paparazzi. The worst thing about acting is being forced to sell a movie you despise. Some actors beat around the bush, trying not to openly sabotage their own film, while others publicly bite the hand that feeds them, condemning their projec after or even during their publicity campaign. Join us as we count down 10 actors who actively despised the movies they starred in. Let's just hope that the millions of dollars they earned go some way to help them feel better about their horrendous life choices. 10) Robert Pattinson - Twilight It's hard to tell what made Robert Pattinson hate Twilight more; playing a moody vampire who he described as "creepy in a serial killer kind of way" or that the franchise ignited a relationship with moody old Kristen Stewart. Personally, I'd assume the latter, but judging from interviews, Pattinson's certainly been far more open about his feelings towards Edward Cullen. According to Pattinson, the secret to playing the bloodsucker was simply to appear "slightly constipated and stoned," wise words all actors should hold close when starring in a million dollar franchise. Despite choosing a number of interesting roles post-Twilight, it appears that dear old R-Patz will ultimately be remembered most for playing the role of a douchebag vampire who sparkled like Ke$ha in the sunlight. Speaking of R-Patz, whoever came up with that nickname should keep their doors locked, as Pattinson has publicly stated his intention to strangle that particular wordsmith. 9) Katherine Heigl - Knocked Up Has there ever been a more irritating actress than Katherine Heigl? No. The answer is no. Obvious questions aside, it's hard to imagine why anyone would publicly denounce a successful and widely loved movie that helped propel them to stardom, but that's exactly what Heigl did after the release of Knocked Up, describing the film as... "…A little sexist. It paints the women as shrews, as humorless and uptight, and it paints the men as lovable, goofy, fun-loving guys.” Whether you agree that Knocked Up is sexist or not, it's hard to believe that Heigl didn't hold these views upon first reading the script and then performing in the actual movie. If this is what she really felt, perhaps she should have chosen not to appear in the film at all rather than wait to cash in her cheque and then reveal her views. Either way though, we're just fortunate enough that Heigl's part in Judd Apatow's smash hit comedy paved the way for her to take on a number of mediocre Hollywood roles that bored and irritated audiences the world over. Lucky us. 8) David Cross - Alvin & The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked This one may come as no surprise. Hell, even the parents of those responsible for this movie have since estranged themselves from their children. However, the breakout star of Arrested Development should be particularly ashamed for his role in Alvin & The Chipmunks, as the man actually has some talent. Fortunately, David Cross agrees, openly describing the Chipwrecked installment of the franchise as a “big commercial for Carnival Cruise Lines” during a promotional interview on Conan. It's one thing for an actor to openly declare hatred for their own film, but it's another thing entirely to urge people to stay away. It's not all bad for Cross though, as he admits that his appearances in the trilogy have paid more than all of his other projects combined, including books, TV and all of his other movies. 7) Jake Lloyd - Star Wars: The Phantom Menace Despite making his debut as one of the most iconic characters in movie history, only the hardcore among us would have a bloody clue who Jake Lloyd is. For those who can't be bothered to open up another tab or play Guess Who with the picture above, we'll save you the trouble and tell you that Lloyd played Anakin Skywalker in the universally hated Star Wars prequel, The Phantom Menace. Kids and even many unfortunate grown-ups would give up their entire action figure collection AND their Yoda duvet for the chance to star in a Star Wars movie, yet Lloyd describes the time after filming as “a living hell.” Those tempted to condemn Lloyd for being a spoiled kid who didn't know how good he had it should bear in mind that the young actor suffered merciless teasing at school and is still berated by fans who didn't like his performance to this very day. It's no wonder then that the now adult performer has shunned the spotlight, only appearing in one movie since. 6) Jackie Chan - Rush Hour Jackie Chan had already been a huge star for decades in his native China, but the success of the Rush Hour franchise took his career to a whole new level, exposing the martial arts star to an international audience who lapped up his unique fighting style and comic timing. Despite this, Chan later wrote on his blog that, “When we finished filming, I felt very disappointed because it was a movie I didn’t appreciate and I did not like the action scenes involved. I felt the style of action was too Americanized and I didn’t understand the American humor.” So basically, Chan hated the whole thing, yet he still ended up making two sequels. What's perhaps most surprising though is that Chan has considered returning for a fourth installment of the Rush Hour franchise on the condition that the script actually has to be halfway decent. It's a shame that the actor didn't take such things into consideration before signing up for Rush Hour 3, a tired rehash of the first two movies that scored 18% on Rotten Tomatoes. Screw Rush Hour 4. Give me more of the Jackie Chan Adventures any day. 5) Mark Wahlberg - The Happening Action star Mark Wahlberg may not seem like the obvious choice to play a science teacher who runs away from plants, but M. Night Shyamalan may not seem like the obvious choice to direct any movie these days, as his career continues to spiral into painful mediocrity. Wahlberg doesn't hold a particularly high opinion of The Happening, openly ridiculing the films plot in a hilarious interview. "F***ing trees, man. The plants. F*** it. You can’t blame me for not wanting to try to play a science teacher. At least I wasn’t playing a cop or a crook." Fair play to you Wahlberg. Your heart was in the right place and even if the role didn't turn out exactly how you wanted, at least your performance gave the world this now classic scene, one which will be forever remembered in centuries to come, even after killer pot plants eventually take over the earth. 4) George Clooney - Batman & Robin With campy performances that stick out more than the plastic nipples on Batman's chest, it's become almost too easy to poke fun at Batman & Robin. Almost. One could pick apart the horrendous puns, embarrassing acting or the shoddy special effects, but even the biggest fans of George Clooney must admit that the now critically acclaimed actor also had a part to play in this travesty. Clooney himself recognized this as well, stating in an interview with Empire Magazine that, "I am the least qualified person to comment on anyone playing the role of Batman since I so terribly destroyed the part." Those who are already ripping Ben Affleck apart before they've even seen him in the upcoming Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice need to back the hell off and reserve judgement until the film is actually released. Whether Affleck pulls the part off or not, at least we know we'll never get another Clooney Batman. Silver linings people. 3) Alec Guinness - Star Wars "Star Wars AGAIN?!" I hear you scream in high pitched astonishment. It's true. Apparently, playing iconic roles in the most popular movies of all-time isn't always what it's cracked up to be. Perhaps Alec Guinness was just jaded by the time he took on the part of Obi-Wan Kenobi, as the thespian had already made a name for himself in such classics as The Bridge on the River Kwai and Lawrence of Arabia. Many performers would be overjoyed to play a widely loved part such as Kenobi, even with the ridiculous name, but Guinness admitted that he regretted taking on the role even during production, stating that, "it's not an acting job, the dialogue - which is lamentable - keeps being changed and only slightly improved, and I find myself old and out of touch with the young." While this may be understandable to a point, Guinness's hatred of the role reached new heights when the actor infamously met a hardcore fan who bragged that he had watched Star Wars over 100 times. Guinness signed his autograph, but on the condition that the boy promised to never watch the film again. This story illustrates two important points. 1) Guinness has no shame in telling the world how shitty he can be to his fans and 2) Some movie fans need to be told by their idols how lame they're being in order to rejoin the rest of us in the real world. 2) Sean Connery - James Bond James Bond. Women want him. Men want to be him. But Sean Connery wishes to god that he had never been him in the first place. After the release of each Bond movie, Connery became more and more reluctant to sign up again and was only persuaded to do so by the sheer amount of money thrown his way. I know what you're thinking... Poor bastard. Now at 84 years old, the aging actor still refuses to record DVD commentaries for his iconic films or participate in any form of promotion for Bond. The snub arises from a decades long feud Connery has held with Bond producers Albert Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, who he felt cheated him out of a small fortune after continuing to use his image for promotional purposes after he had left the franchise. Connery probably couldn't afford that nineteenth house because of those money grabbing producers. The charity for 'Poor Rich People' starts here, folks. Tell your friends. 1) Bob Hoskins - Super Mario Bros Video game adaptations tend to suck. We all know this by now, even if the Resident Evil franchise is a guilty pleasure for some... (averts eye sheepishly). Back in the early 90's though, the rising popularity of video games was a relatively new phenomenon, so Bob Hoskins and co. must have felt pretty hopeful about a movie adaptation of Mario, the world's most recognizable gaming character at the time. Oh if only they'd known. Hindsight is a beautiful thing, something which Hoskins demonstrates beautifully in an interview with The Guardian newspaper about his career so far. Q. "What is the worst job you've done?" A. "Super Mario Brothers." Q. "What has been your biggest disappointment?" A. "Super Mario Brothers." Q. "If you could edit your past, what would you change?" A. "I wouldn't do Super Mario Brothers." There will never be a better interview about a more terrible film. Good on ya Hoskins! So, do you think actors should be more honest about their movies? Are some of these performers being ungrateful? And why is Katherine Heigl still making movies? Remember to let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!

10 Actors Who Despised Their Own Movies

4) George Clooney – Batman & Robin