"This Is A Career-Ender" – 11 Actors That Took Roles They Now Hate, And Seven That Passed Up On Huge Parts

"I hated that film with a vengeance and could not believe how bad it was."

We all have our career regrets, and actors aren't immune to these either. Whether it's taking a role, or passing up on one, either can lead to some major regret, even for major movie stars.

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So, here are 11 Actors Who Massively Regret Taking A Role, And Seven Others Who Regret Turning Parts Down:

1. Viola Davis – The Help

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Viola's filmography is certainly nothing to be sniffed at. She's excelled in a number of roles and has become one of the best that Hollywood has to offer. But for all of her amazing, complex roles, she does have one regret; The Help. 

The film centres around a young white journalist who builds a relationship with two Black maids who are tormented by the white families they work for. While it received commercial and critical success, earning a Best Actress nomination for Viola, the movie was criticised for adhering to the white saviour narrative, and Viola, looking back, felt that the film didn't focus on Black voices. 

“I just felt that at the end of the day that it wasn’t the voices of the maids that were heard... They’re invested in the idea of what it means to be Black, but…it’s catering to the white audience." 

Have a look at the trailer here:

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2. Henry Winkler – Grease

ABC / Paramount Pictures

What became one of the most successful musicals ever made could have looked a whole lot different. Henry was actually offered the part of Danny, which of course went on to be played by John Travolta, but turned it down. His reasoning? He didn't want to be typecast, or at least play the same sort of character again. 

Henry of course was famous for playing the Fonz, and when the role of Danny came up, didn't fancy playing a similar character again: "I thought, I’ve played the Fonz, I don’t want to do it again.”

He later realised that he, in his own words, was "a damn fool" for turning the opportunity down. The success of the movie clearly lead to this regret, as he mentioned, saying: 

“I go home… and I have a diet Coke. John Travolta, who has done the movie, goes home and buys a plane.”

3. Zac Efron – High School Musical

Disney Chanel

While the cheesy teen film rocketed Zac to stardom, he does not look back fondly on the film, or his role in it. While insisting that he has nothing but love for the cast and fans, he doesn't enjoy thinking about his character, or the fame he got from playing him. 

Speaking about playing Troy Bolton and what it did for his career, here's what he had to say:

“I step back and look at myself and I still want to kick that guy’s ass sometimes. "He’s done some kind of cool things with some cool people – he did that one thing that was funny – but, I mean, he’s still just that f***ing kid from High School Musical."

Watch the trailer here:

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4. Denzel Washington – Se7en

Kurt Krieger/Corbis via Getty Images / New Line Cinema

When the movie was being cast, Denzel had the opportunity to play the part that would eventually go to Brad Pitt. There are multiple reasons why an actor may turn down a role, and Denzel, who's read his fair share of scripts, said that the writing wasn't one of them. The actor actually thought that it was one of the best he'd read in a while – "With [Michael] Clayton, it was the best material I had read in a long time."

His reservations lay with the director, specifically because it was a first-time director in Michael Clayton, and that put Denzel off the project. He later admitted this was a mistake, saying: I was nervous about a first-time director, and I was wrong. It happens."

5. Channing Tatum – G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

Paramount Pictures

Channing has pathed out quite the career for himself, particularly from his non-traditional route into acting. However, there is one particular role that he does not look back fondly on. It was the 2009 film, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, and despite turning it down seven times, they had an option on him so he had to agree to it.

On taking the role here's what the actor had to say:

“I was pushed into doing it. The script wasn’t any good. I didn't want to do something that was, one, bad, and two, I just didn’t know if I wanted to be GI Joe."

In fact, he hated it so much that, for the sequel, he asked to be killed off in the first 10 minutes in order to rule him out of any subsequent continuations of the franchise. 

Take a look at the trailer here:

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6. Matt Damon – The Bourne Ultimatum

Universal Pictures

Even though The Bourne Ultimatum turned out to be a huge financial success, taking home over $440 million, Matt wasn't happy about the production, the script, or any of it really. 

Speaking about the initial script he read, he had some damning things to say: 

“I don’t blame Tony [Gilroy] for taking a boatload of money and handing in what he handed in. It’s just that it was unreadable. This is a career-ender. I mean, I could put this thing up on eBay and it would be game over for that dude. It’s terrible. It’s really embarrassing. He was having a go, basically, and he took his money and left.”

Matt also had problems with the chaotic, disorganised filming process, saying, "we had a start date. Like, ‘It’s coming out August of next year.’ We’re like, ‘Hang on, we’ve got to figure out what the script is’.”

Here's the trailer:

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7. Matt Damon – Avatar

Jason LaVeris / FilmMagic via Getty Images / 20th Century Studios

If Matt regretted starring in The Bourne Ultimatum, the success of Avatar must have rubbed A LOT of salt in the wounds. According to Matt, he had to turn down the lead role in the box-office sensation in order to star in the Bourne movie. 

The price of not starring in the movie was more than just being a part of the franchise – Matt was offered 10% of the box office, which would have landed him around $270 million so far... While he recognised that he's earnt a lot of money in his career so he can't complain, that one's gotta sting.  

8. Stanley Tucci – The Lovely Bones

Paramount Pictures

For some actors, it isn't the actual movie itself that they regret being in, rather it's the character they played that they found difficult to deal with. For Stanley, it was the role of George Harvey, the sadistic serial killer that struck fear into the eyes of viewers. 

On playing the role, he said: "I would not play George Harvey again in The Lovely Bones, which was horrible. It's a wonderful movie, but it was a tough experience. Simply because of the role. I asked Peter Jackson why he cast me in that role. I tried to get out of playing the role, which is crazy because I needed a job."

Here's the trailer:

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9. Josh Hartnett – Batman Begins

Paul Mounce/Corbis via Getty Images / Warner Bros. Pictures

Josh's reasoning for turning down the Christopher Nolan adaptation was that he didn't want to keep being cast in similar roles, as he said: "I was so focused on not being pigeonholed and so scared of being considered only one thing as an actor.” 

After he said no, he felt like he inadvertently burnt some bridges with Nolan, and lost the opportunity to work with him: "I decided it wasn’t for me. Then he didn’t want to put me in The Prestige. They not only hired their Batman for it, they also hired my girlfriend (Scarlett Johansson) at the time.”

He later realised that he could have shaken off the 'blockbuster' tag that he was worried about getting, after seeing Christian Bale do just that, saying: “Watching Christian Bale go on to do so many other things has been just awesome. I mean, he’s been able to overcome that. Why couldn’t I see that at the time?”

10. Jessica Alba – Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer

20th Century Fox

Jessica was a rising star when she got the blockbuster role of Sue Storm, the Invisible Woman, in Fantastic Four. The movie's commercial success had the studio rush to release a sequel a couple of years later. It was this movie, Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer, that caused Jessica to consider leaving the industry all together, she hated it that much. 

Speaking about the experience of making it, she said: “I wanted to stop acting. I hated it. I really hated it. I remember when I was dying in Silver Surfer. The director was like, ‘It looks too real. It looks too painful. Can you be prettier when you cry? Cry pretty, Jessica’”. 

Here's the trailer:

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11. Halle Berry – Speed

Kurt Krieger/Corbis via Getty Images / 20th Century Studios

We all make misjudgements, and it must be pretty hard to look at an early script and decide whether a film's worth being in or not. Well, before Sandra Bullock was cast in the part that would propel her to stardom, it was actually offered to Halle. 

Speaking about getting the offer, she said: "I stupidly said no. But in my defence, when I read the script the bus didn't leave the parking lot. I was like no, no, no, no."

So, when she saw the final project, there was certainly a pang of regret – something she eluded to, saying, "then I see the movie and I'm like, arrrrghh,"

12. Michelle Pfeiffer – Grease 2

Paramount Pictures

Michelle admitted that, when she actually took the role, she was "young and didn't know better." Her main regret was to do with simply how bad she thought the film was, saying: "I hated that film with a vengeance and could not believe how bad it was."

Even though it garnered a rather poor reaction, Michelle was at least pleased to find out that the movie has become somewhat of a cult classic!

Take a look at the trailer here:

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13. Colin Farrell – Miami Vice

Universal Pictures

There are a number of reasons why Colin doesn't look back fondly on the 2006 movie, one of which was the personal turmoil that he was facing during the filming. It acts as a reminder of a particularly trying time for him, as he'd been feeling the effects of 16 years of being "drunk and high," and immediately checked himself into rehab after filming concluded. 

The film itself though is also something Colin’s not proud of, with the actor saying that he didn't like it and called it "style over substance." He accepted his fair share of the responsibility but also felt like they missed an opportunity, saying: 

“It was never going to be Lethal Weapon, but I think we missed an opportunity to have a friendship that also had some elements of fun. ”

Watch the trailer here:

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14. Michael Keaton – Groundhog Day

Mitchell Gerber/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images / Columbia Pictures

The hit movie is pretty much synonymous with Bill Murray, and it would be very tricky to picture anyone else playing the role. But we could have seen an entirely different portrayal, as Michael Keaton actually said no after reading the script. 

He revealed that, upon reading the plot, he just "didn't get it," and thus turned the role down. He did see the character sort of suiting him, but ultimately agrees that Bill played it perfectly: 

"This guy sounds like the kind of wry, sardonic, glib young man I've played—and it ended up being so great. But you can't do it better than Bill Murray did it."

15. George Clooney – Batman & Robin

Warner Bros.

While the competition for "worst superhero movie" is stiff, Batman & Robin is certainly a contender, and it seems that George, who starred in the film, agrees. In fact, the legendary actor hates the film and his performance so much that he wouldn't let his wife watch it. 

Speaking about whether he'd reprise his role for The Flash, he simply replied, "they didn't ask me." He added, “When you destroy a franchise the way I did, usually they look the other way when The Flash comes by”.

On "destroying" a franchise, he doubled down on this, saying: 

“Let me just say that I’d actually thought I’d destroyed the franchise until somebody else brought it back years later and changed it. I thought at the time that this was going to be a very good career move. Ummmmm, it wasn’t.”

Watch the trailer here:

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16. Madonna – The Matrix

Evan Agostini / Getty Images / Warner Bros.

It's one of the most iconic movies of modern times, but it could have looked soooo different. I for one couldn't picture the legendary singer in the movie, but according to her, it was on the cards. 

Speaking about the (few) regrets she has about her career, she singled out rejecting the opportunity to be in The Matrix as one of them. Revealing that she turned the role down, she said: "Can you believe that? That's like one of the best movies ever made. A teeny-tiny part of me regrets just that one moment in my life."

17. Ben Affleck – Daredevil

20th Century Fox

The critic and audience responses to Daredevil clearly suggest that no one was a big fan of this movie, and that's something Ben Affleck, wholeheartedly agrees with. 

He certainly didn't mince his words when talking about the film, saying, "I hate Daredevil so much." He spoke about why the movie didn't work, saying: 

"That was before people realised you could make these movies and make them well. There was a cynical sense of ‘put a red leather outfit on a guy, have him run around, hunt some bad guys, and cash the cheque’.”

In fact, Ben's feelings about the movie played a part in his accepting the role in Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice, saying, "Part of it was I wanted for once to get one of these movies and do it right – to do a good version."

Here's the trailer:

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18. Sylvester Stallone – Judge Dredd

Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

Sylvester has had some major highs in his career, most notably the knockout success of Rocky. He does, however, have a number of notable regrets, the most severe of these is the 1995 comic book movie Judge Dredd. 

He called the movie "The biggest mistake I ever made." He also described the handling of the film as "sloppy." A lot of the regret comes from his idea of what the film could have been, saying: "It could have been a fantastic, nihilistic, interesting vision of the future – judge, jury and executioner. That really bothered me a great deal.”

Watch the trailer here:

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What other actor regrets have you heard about? Let us know in the comments below!