Actors Who Hated Their Most Profitable Performances

Film: Shallow Hal
Role: Rosemary
Est. Box Office Gross: $141.1 million*

Jack Black’s comedic venture Shallow Hal was supposed to shine a light on judging people based purely on how they look. Black starred as the titular character, while none other than Gwyneth Paltrow played the part of Rosemary. Audiences found the movie lovable, seeing it take over $140 million at the box office. 

Gwyneth Paltrow - Shallow Hal @zimbio / Pinterest.com

That’s hardly small change – but how does Gwynnie feel about the time she wore a fat suit on camera all these years later? As it turns out, she’s not all that keen. In an interview with Netflix Paltrow said that she found the entire experience “humiliating.” 

Paltrow might not be proud of her stint on the movie now, but fans still love the movie – even if it can be seen as slightly problematic. The actresses’ venture into health and wellness with her brand Goop in the years following Shallow Hal could be part of the reason why she isn’t eager to relive those particular glory days. 

Film: Criminal Minds (TV)
Role: Jason Gideon
Est. Box Office Gross: $1.1 billion* (TV sales)

It might go without saying that a TV show like Criminal Minds won’t be about the nicer things in life, but Mandy Patinkin didn’t exactly think it through when he signed on. The actor starred as Jason Gideon for the first two seasons of the hit show before ducking out of his contract as soon as he could. 

Mandy Patinkin - Criminal Minds (TV) @Freelineorlandoc / Twitter.com

Patinkin later said that he wished he had never signed up to the CBS show in the first place. According to Looper, the actor said, “I thought it was something very different… It was very destructive to my soul and my personality. After that, I didn’t think I would work in television again.” 

Some stars simply don’t enjoy working on a show, but Patinkin’s time on Criminal Minds went beyond that. He found the entire experience so abhorrent that it very nearly changed the trajectory of his career moving forward. Patinkin has never held back the true reason why he left the project and never looked back. 

Film: Titanic
Role: Rose
Est. Box Office Gross: $2.1 billon*

The role of Rose in James Cameron’s Titanic was an unprecedented huge deal for young Kate Winslet. At the time, she was still an up and comer in the industry. It was the part of the lovestruck passenger that really paved the way for her future career – so why does Winslet hate to look back on it? 

Kate Winslet - Titanic @oddsrasheed / Twitter.com

The multi-billion-dollar box office hit is loved by millions, but Kate isn’t all that keen on it. While she’s proud of her involvement in the movie, she told The Telegraph, “Every single scene, I’m like ‘Really, really? You did it like that?’” Looks like she’s a tough critic on her own performance.

Considering Winslet was in her early 20s when she starred as Rose and has since gone on to win an Oscar, it’s hardly surprising that he might look back and want to give her younger self some tips. The actress has come a long way since then – and so has her technique!

Film: Glitter
Role: Herself
Est. Box Office Gross: $5.3 million*

Mariah Carey has managed to establish herself as a bonafide queen over the last few years, but she’s definitely made more of a mark on the music industry than the acting world. In 2001, she starred in Glitter, a movie about a singer on the rise. 

Mariah Carey - Glitter @MC Feed / Youtube.com

Not only did the movie tank in the global box office – taking just $5.3 million against a $22 million budget – but critics notoriously hated it, too. Had the movie been a success, maybe Carey wouldn’t lament it as a particularly dark time in her career that took her years to live down. 

When talking to Jimmy Fallon in 2018, Carey admitted, “[The movie] almost ruined my life. It was a tough time when it came out. It was a whole thing; it was a drama.” Mariah may be worth $231 million, but she is very aware of just how big of a misstep the entire project was. 

Film: Stop, or My Mom Will Shoot
Role: Joe
Est. Box Office Gross: $70.6 million*

Sylvester Stallone has some truly impressive credits under his belt. For a start, he’s Rocky Balboa, having starred as the boxer in one of the most lucrative franchises of all time. Even though he’s a champ in the ring, Stallone isn’t proud of all of his accomplishments. 

Sylvester Stallone - Stop, or My Mom Will Shoot @wannamovie / Twitter.com

1992’s infamous comedy caper Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot made Comcast’s Universal Pictures a healthy $70 million, but Stallone wishes it had never been made. According to an interview he gave to GQ, Sly thinks it’s “maybe one of the worst films in the entire solar system.” 

Stallone isn’t entirely wrong, but the movie wasn’t a straight-out flop. It didn’t take a huge amount at the box office, coming in at $70.6 million against a budget of $45 million. While the profit margin was minimal, it didn’t do nearly as badly as some other movies at the time.

Film: Grease 2
Role: Stephanie
Est. Box Office Gross: $15.2 million*

Classic movies like Grease are iconic for a reason. Filmmakers somehow managed to stumble on the right ingredients to create a lasting legacy, but it’s not an exact science. That’s why sequels are a risky business. Do them badly and they go down in history for all of the wrong reasons. Unfortunately for Michelle Pfieffer, she had a lead role in Grease 2. 

Michelle Pfeiffer - Grease 2 @Co_Mill/Twitter.com

In an interview with The Telegraph in 2007, Michelle admitted, “I hated that film with a vengeance and could not believe how bad it was. At the time I was young and didn’t know any better.” Thankfully, it didn’t hurt Michelle’s career and she went on to star in hits like AT&T’s Warner Bros. feature Batman Returns.

As for Grease, the second movie taught studio heads somewhat of a lesson. Even though Paramount Pictures announced they were seeking a third movie in 2003, it never came to fruition. Perhaps financiers watched Grease 2 in preparation and then decided against it. 

Film: G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra
Role: G.I. Joe
Est. Box Office Gross: $302.5 million*

For the better part of the last two decades, Channing Tatum has danced his way across the entertainment industry to make studios serious amounts of cash. However, despite how much money Tatum has helped generate, he hasn’t always been proud of his work. 

G.I. Joe (2009) @IMDB/Twitter.com

In 2009 he starred as G.I Joe in G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra. The movie itself was a box office success, taking over $300 million, but Tatum later told Howard Stern that he hated the entire project. “I was pushed into doing it. The script wasn’t any good.” 

Even though the script may have been a little bit battered and bruised, Tatum’s star pull saw movie-lovers flock to the theaters. It may not have been Channing’s favorite project, but G.I Joe still brought in an incredible amount of money. A follow-up, G.I Joe: Retaliation came along in 2009 and was even more successful than the first. 

Film: Stealth
Role: Lt. Purcell
Est. Box Office Gross: $79.3 million*

Jamie Foxx is an award-winning actor who has starred in critically acclaimed, career-defining movies like Ray and Collateral. While he’s hot Hollywood property, Foxx isn’t ashamed to admit when he’s slipped up. Case in point: in 2005 he starred as Lt. Purcell in Stealth. 

Jamie Foxx - Stealth @Movieclips/Youtube

Critics panned the Sony movie, but Foxx was still tasked with promoting it as part of his contract. He later admitted that he found it difficult to lie to interviewers as he was legally obligated to call it “the greatest.” Viewers didn’t exactly flock to theaters to see it, meaning it fell far short of its $135 million budget. 

Thankfully, Foxx’s reputation in the business was good enough to withstand this stinker of a movie. Not all actors can get away with this kind of bad press, but Foxx was lucky enough to be at a point in his career where it didn’t negatively impact his offers moving forward. 

Film: Batman & Robin
Role: Bruce Wayne
Est. Box Office Gross: $238.2 million*

When George Clooney was cast as Batman in 1997’s Batman and Robin, he was at the very start of his silver screen career, having only recently made the leap from ER to Hollywood films. Loyal Batman fans helped the Joel Schumacher picture take an impressive amount at the box office, but Clooney would be haunted by his panned performance as the Dark Knight for years. 

George Clooney - Batman & Robin @THR / Twitter.com

Clooney has been very vocal about how much he regrets ever taking the part in the first place. He once said the biggest lesson he learned was that he should never have done it at all. On the plus side, it did help Clooney realize his talents were better served in openly comedic movies like Disney’s O Brother, Where Art Thou? 

The actor managed to go on to create an enduring legacy as one of Hollywood’s finest leading men, but even diehard Clooney fans have to admit it was touch-and-go following his superhero stint. If given the chance to play Bruce Wayne again, Clooney admits he wouldn’t touch the batsuit with a 10-foot pole. 

Film: A Streetcar Named Desire
Role: Stanley Kowalski
Est. Box Office Gross: $8 million*

Marlon Brando may have passed away in 2004, but over the course of his decades-long career, he made an immeasurable mark on Hollywood. He first rose to prominence as Tennessee Williams’ brute Stanley Kowalski in 1951’s A Streetcar Named Desire opposite Vivien Leigh. 

Marlon Brando - A Streetcar Named Desire @fan_haute / Twitter.com

The part of Stanley remains one of Brando’s best-loved performances – so what didn’t the actor like about it? It wasn’t so much that the actor hated the movie, but he was a life-long critic of his own work. Marlon famously told one of his co-stars that he felt being an actor wasn’t a “respectable” line of work for a man.

That might come as a surprise to many movie fans that have appreciated Brando’s work in movies like Apocalypse Now and The Godfather. For someone that didn’t fully believe in his craft, he was incredibly good at it. Marlon later formed a friendship with Johnny Depp that lasted right up until his passing in 2004. 

Film: Love Actually
Role: Mark
Est. Box Office Gross: $177 million*

Love Actually became one of the biggest Christmas movies of all time when it was released in 2003. With a great ensemble cast and a heartwarming story, the feature became an instant classic. A baby-faced Andrew Lincoln starred as Mark, the man hopelessly in love with his best friend’s fiance. 

Andrew Lincoln - Love Actually @CHULelang / Twitter.com

While movie lovers thought Mark’s feelings for Juliet were sweet, Lincoln had a slightly different take on his character. He later admitted that he felt Mark was diving into “stalker territory.” Luckily, fans of the Comcast flick didn’t get that vibe. 

Apparently Lincoln expressed his concern about his character’s behavior to the director, only to be told that he would be able to get away with it. Thankfully, many fans didn’t get the same first impression that Andrew did when he read the script. If they had, the movie may not have done so well. 

Film: Daredevil
Role: Daredevil
Est. Box Office Gross: $179.2 million*

Ben Affleck is no stranger to playing superheroes. He only recently gave up the Batman mantle and handed it over to Robert Pattinson. Back in 2003, he donned the Daredevil costume in a blockbuster action caper that took a respectable $179.2 million. However, as you might have guessed, Ben isn’t a fan. 

Ben Affleck - Daredevil @POPSUGAREnt / Pinterest.com

During an interview a few years ago, Affleck said that part of the reason he decided to do Batman was so he could make up for Daredevil. Not one to mince his words, he simply stated, “I hate Daredevil so much.” Disney probably wasn’t thrilled to hear that. 

His feelings about the movie did influence his decision to take on the part of Bruce Wayne, so some might argue that it wasn’t all bad. Affleck reportedly wanted another chance to do a superhero justice as he felt he failed miserably the first time around. 

Film: Reindeer Games
Role: Ashley
Est. Box Office Gross: $32.2 million*

With a title like Reindeer Games, you might think that the 2000 movie starring Charlize Theron, Ben Affleck, and Gary Sinise is a lighthearted animated Christmas caper. In fact, it’s a hard-hitting action flick that famously tanked at the box office.

Charlize Theron - Reindeer Games @selcukurav / Pinterest.com

Theron starred as Ashley Mercer – but while it may have seemed like a good idea to team up with Affleck at the time, it turned out to be a dud that the actress continues to regret. She has openly touted Reindeer Games as a “bad, bad movie.” Critics say she’s not wrong.

Of course, Theron went on to star in many other highly-rated movies, proving that one bad flick doesn’t put you out to pasture. Just three years after the release of Reindeer Games she starred as serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster, a part that would win her the Academy Award for Best Actress. 

Film: Knocked Up
Role: Alison
Est. Box Office Gross: $219.9 million*

Katherine Heigl was rarely far from theaters in the 2000s after she found widespread recognition after starring in Grey’s Anatomy. Knocked Up was one of the first comedy hits that she starred in, pairing up with Seth Rogen and writer/director Judd Apatow. 

Katherine Heigl - Knocked Up @tvovermind / Pinterest.com

The movie was a huge success, but Katherine feels differently about the project now. When talking to Vanity Fair years later, Heigl berated the movie for its one-sided portrayal of women as “humorless and uptight.” She explained, “It was hard for me to love the movie.” 

Rogan later reacted to his co-star’s version of events when talking to Howard Stern, expressing disappointment that Heigl didn’t enjoy it. “I thought we had a great dynamic…I was having a really good time, and then when I heard afterwards that she didn’t like it….your trust feels somewhat betrayed.”