25+ Actors Who Seriously Regret Their Movie Scenes

Twitter // @JenLawFilms // Sony Pictures Releasing

We’ve all done things we wish we hadn’t, right? Unfortunately for actors, those moments are sometimes filmed and then shown to the world. That’s exactly what happened to these celebs who regretted filming certain scenes — which made it into the movie’s final cut anyway. Whether it be because of their own performance, a bad experience on set, or a changed perspective, these actors deeply regret participating in these iconic moments.

Jim Carrey – Kick-Ass 2

Originally, Jim Carrey loved being a part of the Kick-Ass franchise, but he had a change of heart with Kick-Ass 2. The action/comedy was filmed shortly before the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy.

IMDb // Kick-Ass 2 (2013) // Universal Pictures

Carrey believes movies like Kick-Ass, which glorifies violence, are part of the problem, and he’s taken a stance against participating in similar films in the future. His decision sparked tons of backlash from his colleagues, but we admire Jim’s willingness to stand up for his principles!

Emma Watson – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part 2

Emma Watson always knew that she’d have to kiss her co-star Rupert Grint at some point while filming the Harry Potter franchise, but it’s a moment she was dreading. The actress called filming that scene “horrifying” and says that it “felt wrong on every level.”

Tumblr // Serendipity-in-love // Warner Bros. Pictures

Emma clarified that this was because she and Grint had grown up together on set, so they felt like siblings. Despite that explanation, the public still felt pretty bad for poor Rupert.

Martin Sheen – Apocalypse Now

Martin Sheen so deeply regrets that trashing hotel room scene in Apocalypse Now that he hasn’t watched it since. In order to get himself in the right headspace, Sheen consumed some adult beverages, just like his character.

YouTube // Screenshot // All Out Action // United Artists

He then went into a rage that was more about his own demons than anything in the movie. The next day, he walked onto the set and saw what he’d done. Martin says that he was horrified to see the level of destruction he’s capable of.

Elliot Page – Juno

Elliot Page (then Ellen Page) filmed Juno before coming out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, which explains his change of perspective. Now, Elliot regrets the scene in which Juno is choosing baby names and rejects the name Madison because it’s “a little gay.”

IMDb // Juno (2007) // Fox Searchlight Pictures

At the end of the day, that’s the responsibility of the scriptwriters, not the actor, whose job it is to read the line. Don’t be so hard on yourself, Elliot!

Dakota Johnson – 50 Shades of Grey

Pretty much every 50 Shades fan regretted the lack of chemistry between the movie’s leads. As it turns out, Dakota Johnson regretted filming those intimate scenes too — but for different reasons.

Focus Features // Fifty Shades Freed

Filming scenes like that took several hours, and, oftentimes, Johnson had to be tied up and blindfolded — for hours. The actress referred to the experience as “emotionally taxing.” We guess that explains the total lack of spark between her and Jamie Dornan.

Burt Reynolds – Deliverance

Burt Reynolds insisted on doing all his own stunts in Deliverance, even for the waterfall scene, which is something he’s come to regret. Rather than letting production use a dummy, Reynolds dove down the waterfall himself.

Amazon // Deliverance // Warner Bros.

Unfortunately, the actor hit a rock on his way down and broke his tailbone. The injury continued to hurt throughout the rest of his life, and according to production, the final shot wasn’t worth it anyway.

Josh Brolin – Avengers: Infinity War

Tom Hiddleston fans everywhere were devastated when Loki passed away in Avengers: Infinity War. No one, though, was as upset as Josh Brolin. Brolin explained that it was his respect for Hiddleston’s work, and the knowledge that Loki was so beloved, that made it difficult to be the one to end his participation in the franchise.

Twitter // @McBDirect // Walt Disney Studios

“He had been with that character for so long. And he was so lauded for doing it. So choking him out wasn’t the most fun thing I had ever done.” Luckily, Hiddleston has been able to reprise his role in the Disney+ series Loki.

Terence Stamp – Star Wars: The Phantom Menace

Terence Stamp was looking forward to working with Natalie Portman on Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. However, his scenes with her ended up being his least favorite in the movie.

IMDb // Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) // Lucasfilm

That’s not Portman’s fault, though! In fact… Stamp never even met her. Producers used a paper cutout of Natalie, and Terence was forced to act with said cutout instead of the young star. Needless to say, he found the experience to be extremely boring.

Eva Mendes – Once Upon a Time in Mexico

Like everyone else in the world, Eva Mendes has had a crush on Johnny Depp at some point in time. Well, her dreams were about to come true when she found out she’d get to kiss the A-lister while filming Once Upon a Time in Mexico.

Twitter // @JohnnyDeppLoveo // Columbia Pictures

Unfortunately for Mendes, she was extremely nervous and didn’t get to take in the moment. The kiss was actually extremely quick — which is something she regrets to this day.

Kurt Russell – The Hateful Eight

Communication is extremely important in a movie set, and the incident that happened while filming The Hateful Eight proves that. Kurt Russell was supposed to smash a guitar, but he needed to wait until the vintage one he was holding was swapped out for a fake.

IMDb // The Hateful Eight (2015) // The Weinstein Company

Well, it seems that someone forgot to give the actor the memo. Russell ended up smashing a guitar worth over $40,000 that was lent to the production by a museum. Oops!

Kate Winslet – Titanic

It can be difficult for actors to know how a certain scene will be received. Well, it seems that Kate Winslet gave the public a little too much credit when she agreed to a nude scene in Titanic.

Twitter // @archivesaoirse // 20th Century Studios

To this day, the actress has fans walking up to her asking her to sign autographs… on a picture of her from that famous scene. Some people even do this in front of Winslet’s kids! Understandably, the actress refuses to sign such photos.

David Spade – Grown Ups

Let’s be honest, no one expected Grown Ups to be a high-brow comedy, so it’s safe to say that David Spade knew what he was signing up for. Still, though, the actor feels that things went a bit too far — even for an Adam Sandler movie.

Relativity Media // Grown Ups // Sony Pictures Releasing

Spade says that showing his bare behind in the movie is the biggest regret of his career. Really, David? Of all the antics and all the movies, that’s the one you regret the most?

Chris Hemsworth – Thor

People often talk about how women get objectified in the entertainment industry, and that’s absolutely a real concern. What’s less discussed, though, is that men get objectified too. That’s what happened to Chris Hemsworth when he was consistently asked to be topless in Thor.

IMDb // Love and Thunder // Marvel Studios and co-producers

Hemsworth felt that his shirtless scenes were unnecessary to the story and put in the script for all the wrong reasons. We agree with him completely! But we’d be lying if we said we didn’t enjoy the view.

Denzel Washington – The Equalizer

What’s an action movie without a scene in which the protagonist stands around, looking tough and gloomy, in the rain? That’s exactly what producers had in mind when they decided to have some rainy scenes in The Equalizer.

Imgur //Noname // Columbia Pictures

Well, Denzel Washington wasn’t exactly thrilled about getting rained on for 13 hours of filming over the course of three days. Shhh, no one tell him the types of jobs other people do that are even more uncomfortable and earn way less pay.

Sharon Stone – Basic Instinct

While some celebrities’ gripes about movie scenes are… privileged, Sharon Stone has a very real reason to be upset about a particular scene in Basic Instinct.

Instagram // @vanitycoke // TriStar Pictures

In that famous part in which she crosses and uncrosses her legs while wearing a white dress, the director Paul Verhoeven insisted that Stone remove her underwear as it was “distracting.” He promised her that her privates wouldn’t be shown in the final film — but he lied. Sharon, rightfully, slapped Verhoeven the next time she saw him.

Reese Witherspoon – Water for Elephants

Filming schedules are complicated, and producers can’t just move things around over something as small as the sniffles. After all, the show must go on!

Facebook // Official Water for Elephants Movie // Fox 2000 Pictures

That’s how Reese Witherspoon ended up needing to film romantic scenes with Robert Pattinson for Water for Elephants while Robert had a serious cold. Poor Witherspoon called the experience “disgusting,” and Pattinson even admitted that he had to wipe his nose on Reese’s wig at one point!

Julia Roberts – Pretty Woman

Julia Roberts knew she’d have to film some intimate scenes in Pretty Woman. However, that didn’t stop her from being extremely nervous when the time came.

IMDb // Pretty Woman (1990) // Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

The actress’s body reacted to her stress, and she ended up developing a rash, hives, and the vein in her forehead (that’s almost as famous as she is) stuck out. Roberts certainly regrets how it all went down. But hey, we can’t control how our bodies react to things!

Roger Moore – A View to Kill

Roger Moore was 57 years old when he starred in A View to Kill. So, naturally, by Hollywood logic, his on-screen love interest was played by 35-year-old Grace Jones. Moore was miserable working with Jones and found it difficult to keep up with her, particularly in intimate scenes.

IMDb // A View to a Kill (1985) // MGM/UA Entertainment Co.

Those scenes proved to be quite physically demanding for the actor, causing conflict between him and his co-star. Of course, Hollywood could’ve just cast an age-appropriate love interest — but that’d be ridiculous!

David Cross – Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked

David Cross hated working on Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked so much that he refers to it as the “most miserable experience I ever had in my professional life.” Apparently, Cross didn’t get along with a certain producer who was able to make his life extremely difficult.

Twitter // @RomanCzapiga // 20th Century Fox

One of the issues David had was that he was required to spend an entire week on a cruise ship dressed in a pelican costume when “There was no reason for me to be there.”

Megan Fox – Transformers

Megan Fox’s issues with the Transformers movies are less about the franchise itself and more about her own behavior. Fox famously had disagreements with director Michael Bay and those conflicts went very public.

IMDb // Transformers (2007) // Paramount Pictures

In all honesty, both sides were wrong, and both celebs said some pretty ugly things. Megan has since expressed regret for her share of the drama. “All I had to do was apologize – and I refused. I was so self-righteous at 23, I couldn’t see [that] it was for the greater good.”

Jessica Alba – Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

Jessica Alba’s performance in Fantastic Four was so bad that it earned her a Razzie nomination! That being said, it truly wasn’t the actress’s fault. Alba says that the movie’s director, Tim Story, kept telling her, “It looks too real. It looks too painful. Can you be prettier when you cry?”

Twentieth Century Fox //  Fantastic Four

“Cry pretty, Jessica. Don’t do that thing with your face. Just make it flat. We can CGI the tears in.” Ah yes, because looking beautiful while crying is super realistic.

Hugh Jackman – Movie 43

Pretty much every single actor associated with Movie 43 has expressed deep regret in their participation. In fact, most of the actors tried to get out of their contracts, as many of them had been duped into the project with not-so-honest information about it.

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Well, Jackman was one of the many A-listers who wished he’d never done this film. We can’t blame him, seeing as he had to strap a fake pair of private parts to his neck for a dinner date scene.

Taylor Lautner – Twilight

Taylor Lautner took his shirt off quite a few times throughout the Twilight movies, to many young people’s delight. Lautner, however, wasn’t nearly as thrilled about it. The actor was worried about being typecast into eye candy roles.

Facebook // Jacop black // Summit Entertainment

“I don’t want to become known as just a body. If I had to choose, I would never take my shirt off again in a movie, but I guess that’s not very realistic. I certainly won’t be asking to do it, though.”

Ian McKellen – The Hobbit

If Ian McKellen could go back in time, he’d never have reprised his role of Gandalf in The Hobbit movies. In order to get the size discrepancy between the dwarves and Gandalf, McKellen had to be alone on set and the other actors were added in post-production.

Twitter // @TheHobbitMovie // Warner Bros. Pictures

“Pretending you’re with 13 other people when you’re on your own, it stretches your technical ability to the absolute limits. I cried, actually. I cried. Then I said out loud, ‘This is not why I became an actor.’”

Tippi Hedren – The Birds

Alfred Hitchcock was known for being a nightmare to work with, and the production of The Birds was no exception. Tippi Hedren had a clause in her contract saying that only mechanical birds would be used while filming.

The Birds // Universal Pictures

Of course, that didn’t stop Hitchcock from instructing the crew to throw real birds at the actress anyway. Hedren aptly calls the five days of filming that scene “brutal and ugly and relentless.”

John Cena – 12 Rounds

John Cena doesn’t look like a guy who gets easily scared, but the wrestler-turned-actor does have a fear of heights. While filming 12 Rounds, Cena had to hang onto a rope, dangling in mid-air, from a skyscraper.

MUBI // Screenshot // 12 ROUNDS // 20th Century Fox

That scene almost caused John to quit the film altogether. He went through with it in the end, though, and did the stunt without the use of a double or CGI. That being said, Cena says he’ll never do anything like that again.

Brad Pitt – Interview With the Vampire

Like most actors, Brad Pitt had to take whatever was offered to him when his career was just starting. That’s how the actor got stuck starring in Interview With the Vampire, an experience that he’s called “miserable.”

Tumgik // Starfish-Locks // Warner Bros.

Pitt had to film in the dark — there weren’t even windows on the set. To make matters worse, he’d leave for work before dawn, and by the time he finished, the sun had already set. All in all, Brad spent six months in darkness — not unlike a vampire.

Brandon T. Jackson – Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son

If you don’t know who Brandon T. Jackson is, don’t worry, you’re not the only one, and Jackson blames a dress for that. The actor dressed up as a woman in Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son, a decision which he says ruined his career.

Brianorndorf // Film Review – Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son // 20th Century Fox

“Everything went wrong when I put on that dress. […] For me, once I put the dress on and I had that fire, that fire was put out.” Honestly, Brandon? It was just a bad movie altogether.

Gwyneth Paltrow – Shallow Hal

Gwyneth Paltrow had to wear a 25-pound body suit and prosthetic makeup in Shallow Hal, in order to change her appearance. Paltrow despised the costume, as she had a tough time having a different body type.

Facebook // The Body Optimist // 20th Century Fox

“The first day I tried the fat suit on, I was in the Tribeca Grand and I walked through the lobby. It was so sad; it was so disturbing. No one would make eye contact with me because I was obese. […] I felt humiliated because people were really dismissive.”

Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio – The Abyss

Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio couldn’t take any more of director James Cameron’s antics on the set of The Abyss, and we really can’t blame her. In the CPR scene, Mastrantonio had to lay on the cold, wet floor while her co-star Ed Harris slapped her in the face to get her character to wake up.

IMDb // The Abyss // 20th Century Fox

At one point, the camera stopped working, but Cameron didn’t cut. Harris explained, “They were going to let me just keep slapping her around!” Well, Mary Elizabeth walked off the set instead.

Mike Myers – Wayne’s World

Mike Myers had to fight to get producers to pay for the rights to use the Queen song “Bohemian Rhapsody” in Wayne’s World. Perhaps that’s why the actor stuck to his decision, even when it became clear that everyone involved regretted it.

Reddit // u/rlaw1234qq // Paramount Pictures

The core cast, including Myers, had to headbang for so long that they required Advil in order to keep going. We guess Mike just didn’t think that one through…

Michelle Rodriguez – Fast & Furious

Michelle Rodriguez doesn’t regret what she did in Fast & Furious but what she didn’t do. The actress complained that the women in the franchise weren’t given enough action scenes, and she even threatened to quit.

Facebook // Fast & Furious. // Universal Pictures

Rodriguez got her wish, as Furious 7 featured an epic fight scene between her and MMA star Ronda Rousey. As for Michelle’s other request, for the female characters to have more meaningful conversations, that’s yet to come. Are any of the conversations in Fast & Furious meaningful, though?

Bruce Campbell – Evil Dead II

Bruce Campbell didn’t want to use special effects for the gore in Evil Dead II. Instead, he insisted on using Karo syrup, which is a standard choice for fake blood in the movie industry. Campbell has since said he regrets not taking the special effects option.

Quora // Jason Jimenez // Rosebud Releasing Corporation

The actor had over 55 gallons of syrup poured on him and nearly drowned. He also admits to having attracted a lot of flies throughout the experience and, two weeks later, was still blowing fake blood out of his nose.

Robert Pattinson – Twilight: Breaking Dawn, Part 2

A lot of people hate the Twilight movies, but no one hates them as much as Robert Pattinson. While Pattinson seems to despise the entire franchise, there was one scene in Breaking Dawn, Part 2, that really broke him.

Pinterest // @benedettaalfonzi // Summit Entertainment

“It’s nuts. I had to give her a cesarean by chewing through a placenta. […] No, it’s wild. Once you got it in your head you’re like, ‘Oh, this is just the thing for little girls.’ And then, like, it’s difficult to get past.”

Carl Weathers – Rocky IV

The aggression between Carl Weathers and Dolph Lundgren in Rocky IV wasn’t all acting. The two men truly didn’t get along. The tension hit its limit during a fight scene in which Weathers broke character and hit Carl for real (as opposed to a staged punch).

Gliacchiappafilm // Rocky IV // Mattia // MGM/UA Entertainment

Well, Lundgren hit back, knocking Weathers unconscious. Carl wanted to quit the movie after that, and production was halted for four days. Thankfully, director Sylvester Stallone managed to help his colleagues reconcile.

Margot Robbie – Suicide Squad

Margot Robbie’s portrayal of Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad solidified her place in Hollywood. But Hollywood isn’t all glitz and glamour, as evidenced by the scene in which Robbie dives into a vat of chemicals.

Twitter // @HarleyMovieNews // Warner Bros. Pictures

“It was like this gluggy paint stuff that was so far in my ears and up my nose, and I was choking on it underwater, and I couldn’t breathe, and I tried to open my eyes, and it would glaze over my eyeballs, and I could only see white. It was horrible.”

Daisy Ridley – Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Daisy Ridley’s first major role was in the highly anticipated Star Wars: The Force Awakens. However, she must’ve never seen a Star Wars movie before signing on, because the actress complained that her thighs burned from running in the sand so much while filming.

Starloggers // The Negativity Towards Modern Star Trek & Star Wars // Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Um, we’re not sure why she thought a major adventure movie taking place on another planet wouldn’t have running, sand, or long days of filming, but okay.

Sean Connery – Dr. No

Sometimes, actors become so synonymous with a character that they can never escape them. That’s what happened to Sean Connery from the very first scene he played James Bond in Dr. No.

Facebook // Curated Vintage Event // United Artists

Connery hated the character, as he felt Bond objectified women (true) and didn’t have any real character development throughout the series (arguable). Connery even went as far as to say, “I have always hated that […] James Bond. I’d like to kill him.” It seems that 007’s biggest enemy is… himself!

Zoey Deutch – Set it Up

One of the cuter scenes of Set it Up has Zoey Deutch and Glenn Powell’s characters bonding while eating pizza. Of course, the scene had to be filmed multiple times, and Zoey truly ate the pizza each cut. By the time they were done, the actress had consumed four whole pizzas!

The m0vie Blog // Darren // Netflix

Unsurprisingly, Deutch got sick, much to the displeasure of Powell, who had to continue the scene with her. We’d say there were no winners here — including those who only watched Set it Up.

Adam Brown – The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

The entirety of The Hobbit trilogy is very CGI-heavy, so it’s interesting that the director chose not to use CGI for the fish barrel scene. Yes, the actors are actually in fish barrels, along with real fish, which proved to be a problem for Adam Brown.

Tumblr // Evenstaredits // Warner Bros. Pictures

Brown has a fish phobia and was absolutely horrified at the prospect of filming that scene. To be fair, we don’t have a fish phobia, but we wouldn’t want to be covered in fish juice, either!

Seth Rogen – The 40-Year-Old Virgin

Being a comedian is tricky, as the best comedy is edgy, but you also don’t want to be so offensive that your audience can’t enjoy themselves. Unfortunately, Seth Rogen missed the mark with the “how I know you’re gay” scene in The 40-Year-Old Virgin.

Twitter // @gamesyouloved // Universal Pictures

“I’ve had people come up to me and be like, ‘That made me feel like […] when I was in the movie theatre and everyone was laughing about that.’ I don’t want anyone to have that experience watching our movies.”

Maria Schneider – Last Tango in Paris

Given Last Tango in Paris’s plot, one can assume that it’d be emotionally challenging to film the extremely intimate movie. Such projects require the utmost sensitivity — something Maria Schneider’s colleagues lacked.

IMDb // Last Tango in Paris // United Artists

Changes were made to the script last minute, which Schneider was pressured to consent to and sometimes wasn’t even informed of at all. “Even though what Marlon was doing wasn’t real, I was crying real tears. I felt humiliated and to be honest, I felt a little […], both by Marlon and by Bertolucci.”

Michael Fassbender – X-Men: Days of Future Past

Nobody seems to have an issue with Michael Fassbender’s acting in X-Men: Days of Future Past. Nobody, that is, except Michael Fassbender. The actor is particularly embarrassed by the plane scene in which his character gets upset, shouts, and shakes the plane.

Tumblr // Casian // 20th Century Fox

“I don’t actually like that performance there, to be honest … I just think it’s me shouting. It’s just like, ‘some dude shouting.'” Well, it is a superhero movie; that’s pretty much what people are looking for.

Jennifer Lawrence – Passengers

Jennifer Lawrence was extremely nervous to film intimate scenes with Chris Pratt in Passengers as she was very close friends with both him and his then-wife, Anna Faris. In order to calm her nerves, Lawrence consumed some adult beverages before filming a particularly intimate scene with Pratt.

Twitter // @JenLawFilms // Sony Pictures Releasing

Unfortunately, she had a bit too much and claims she doesn’t remember filming and worries that she went too far. Chris and Anna divorced shortly after Passengers was released, leaving fans to draw their own conclusions.

George Reeves – Adventures of Superman

Anyone who’s seen Adventures of Superman knows that bullets simply bounce off the superhero without any issues. Well, a young fan didn’t quite understand that Superman isn’t real and tried to ‘recreate’ those scenes at George Reeves at a meet-and-greet in order to see the Man of Steel in action.

Pinterest // @glasswhistle // Motion Pictures for Television

Luckily, Reeves managed to convince the child not to go through with it by saying that others may get hurt from the bullets bouncing off of him. After that, George stopped doing bulletproof Superman scenes altogether.