There is no denying that Hollywood is an intense industry, and the polished films we get to see are never the full story. Behind the glamour, actors often find themselves tricked into starring in films, sometimes with enticing scripts and at other times through outright lies.
But contractual binds always force them to stay trapped in the films that they regret as the biggest eyesore in their career. Here are the 10 times actors were tricked into starring in films.
10. John Cusack in ‘Better Off Dead’ (1985)
‘Better Off Dead’ was a critical and commercial success, but its lead actor, John Cusack, didn’t see it that way. In the early screening of the film, exclusive for the cast and crew, Cusack walked out 20 minutes in and never returned.
He later told the filmmakers that it was the worst thing he had ever seen. Cusack felt used and made a fool of himself. Yet, it was never revealed precisely why he felt that way. In a Reddit AMA, Cusack addressed the controversy, saying that he felt that the movie could have been better.
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9. Chris Rock in ‘Bee Movie’ (2007)
The 2007 ‘Bee Movie‘ has become an endless source of memes, but you can’t deny that its voice cast was stacked. Written by and starring Jerry Seinfeld, the film also featured Renée Zellweger, Matthew Broderick, John Goodman, and Chris Rock. However, reports suggest that convincing Rock to join the project wasn’t easy, and Seinfeld had to get a little creative.
To persuade him, Seinfeld reportedly emphasized Steven Spielberg’s involvement in the film, which ultimately influenced Rock to sign on. In reality, though, Spielberg’s role was limited—he had only helped Seinfeld connect with DreamWorks Animation and supported the promotion of the live-action trailers. That’s where his involvement ended.
8. Sylvester Stallone in ‘Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot’ (1992)
Sylvester Stallone stars as a police sergeant with his mother tagging along on a brutal case in this movie that felt like a fever dream. Stallone’s involvement in the movie was all thanks to his then-cinematic rival, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Schwarzenegger was offered the script first but recognized it immediately as a flop.
But knowing that Stallone was also being offered a part, he kind of laid a trap. He called his agent and feigned interest, which was reported back to Stallone, who jumped at the opportunity. It was years later, after the film had bombed and the two stars had become friends, that Stallone found out he had been duped.
7. Ryan Reynolds in ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ (2009)
Ryan Reynolds was given an ultimatum: if he wanted to play Deadpool, he’d have to be in ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’. Reynolds had to write and ad-lib every line of Wade Wilson, as the script had nothing prepared for him.
He was told that if he didn’t play the character, someone else would play him. This is what happened anyway in the end. Later, Scott Adkins was brought in to play the transformed version of the character in the film’s final sequence.
6. Bill Murray in ‘Garfield: The Movie’ (2004)
Bill Murray voicing the iconic comic strip character Garfield remains memorable, but the story behind his casting is just hilarious. Murray has revealed that this film was the bane of his career. This was all because of a small mistake on his part.
When he saw writer Joel Cohen’s name on top of the script, he immediately thought him to be Joel Coen. He was thinking of the legendary filmmaker’s movies like ‘Fargo’ and ‘The Big Lebowski’. He had high hopes, thinking it would be the funniest and smartest films of the decade. All he found was a script lacking good writing and the real person behind it.
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5. Halle Berry in ‘X-Men: The Last Stand’ (2006)
‘X-Men: The Last Stand’ might have spoiled the franchise in many ways, but the worst thing happened behind the scenes. Reportedly, Berry was lured back into the franchise with a padded, false script. In this version, her character, Storm, was front and center in the story.
But as the movie went on, that turned into her being a smaller part of a large ensemble cast. Matthew Vaughn was actually supposed to write the movie. But when he found out about the fake script, he washed his hands of the project completely.
4. The Entire Cast of ‘Movie 43’ (2013)
‘Movie 43’ was something we all felt relieved to erase from our memories. Yet, it features an ensemble cast like no other. This included Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet, Halle Berry, Uma Thurman, Emma Stone, and more. Reportedly, they were all duped into starring in the movie.
They never realized what the movie would be like. The actors were all convinced by small, casual pitches at different events. Neither did the filmmakers themselves know what they would be shooting, and they kept going more and more unhinged. By the end, the creators knew that actors would want out of the project. But it was too late for that to happen anyway.
3. Kate Mulgrew in ‘The Principle’ (2014)
‘The Principle’ was an independent film that rejected the Copernican principle and supported the long-debunked notion that Earth is at the center of the universe. ‘Star Trek: Voyager’ actress Kate Mulgrew, who is prominent in the sci-fi community, narrated the film and deeply regretted it.
Mulgrew revealed that she was misled about the project’s content and tricked into lending her voice. She is in no way sympathetic to the controversial geocentric movement the documentary was trying to promote, and her claims were backed by several scientists who also felt misled into working on the movie.
2. Paula Abdul in ‘Brüno’ (2009)
Paula Abdul has revealed that she was straight-up scammed into appearing in ‘Brüno’, Sacha Baron Cohen’s 2009 mockumentary. She had no idea that she was being shot for the movie. Instead, she was told she was being interviewed for the International Artist of the Year award.
Things started to turn when Baron Cohen showed up to interview her dressed as his Eurotrash character, Brüno. Paula Abdul was invited to sit atop human chairs. The encounter came to an end when a naked man was rolled out on a gurney covered in sushi.
1. Keanu Reeves in ‘The Watcher’ (2000)
The bizarre reason Keanu Reeves had to star in ‘The Watcher’ was that his so-called friend forged his signature. He never found the script interesting and felt the role didn’t fit him at all. The friend in question is none other than the director of ‘The Watcher’, Joe Charbanic.
He forged Reeve’s signature on the contract without his knowledge and also ensured he accepted a lower salary than his co-stars. Reeves had no proof of his signature being forged and didn’t want a lawsuit against him. Hence, he was forced to work on the movie. ‘The Watcher’ was panned by critics, especially Reeves’ character, which seemed seriously underdeveloped.
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