Even Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson can't handle the pressure sometimes...
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00:00So the life of a movie star is often viewed as glamorous and enviable.
00:04Riches, exotic locations, fame and adoration, all that stuff is certainly nothing to sneeze at, right?
00:10But at the same time, there can also be a much darker side to this lifestyle.
00:15Some actors, from child stars to seasoned veterans, just can't handle the pressure and will begin to veer off the rails,
00:20their money and adulation just blowing up in their face.
00:23Even putting those extreme cases to one side, actors of all levels can feel nervousness and uncertainty or self-doubt and fear.
00:31Like everybody else, they can sometimes have confidence or esteem issues and occasionally can be unsure that what they're doing is the right thing for them.
00:38And these feelings have led actors to seriously consider quitting some rather famous movies,
00:43from a wizarding world icon getting cold feet in the middle of the franchise to an entire superhero team confronting their director and threatening to bail.
00:51Of course, they ultimately didn't quit in the end, but for a moment, these stars were deadly serious about throwing in the towel.
00:57So let's take a look at them as I'm Jules, this is WhatCulture.com, and these are 10 actors who threaten to quit famous movies.
01:0410. Mark Ruffalo, 13 going on 30
01:07One of the reasons that actors get paid the big bucks is because they often have to do things that are extremely uncomfortable,
01:14like dangerous stunts, sex scenes, horse riding and almost getting your nipple waxed off, you know, that sort of thing.
01:18In Mark Ruffalo's case, that discomfort revolved around the dance scenes in his 2004 rom-com 13 going on 30,
01:26which almost made him quit the film entirely.
01:28According to co-star Jennifer Garner,
01:30Ruffalo felt like a bit of an idiot during the rehearsals for a dance scene that was set to Michael Jackson's thriller,
01:35mainly because the people he was dancing with were far more experienced than he was.
01:39This, understandably, wasn't a nice situation to be in, and Ruffalo contemplated dropping out as a result.
01:45On the plus side, it all turned out great in the end. That dance scene is one of the most memorable moments in the movie,
01:50and Ruffalo's career has been absolutely smashing it ever since.
01:549. Kellen Lutz, The Twilight Saga
01:57When we think about movie stars, we often think of the red carpet premieres, the huge paychecks, the glitz, the glamour,
02:03and all-around fabulous lifestyle. What we don't think about are the cold winter nights on set,
02:08where actors will often have to sit around doing nothing, waiting for the crew to prepare the next shot.
02:13It was this waiting around that almost made Kellen Lutz walk out of The Twilight Saga during the production of the two-part final chapter,
02:20with the actor recently revealing that he grew extremely frustrated with that part of the process,
02:25which, in turn, caused his passion for the job to diminish.
02:28He said,
02:29Now, it is easy for somebody who's making a lot of money to say,
02:54I don't care about money, but his comments are nonetheless a refreshingly candid take on some of the downsides of the Hollywood game.
03:01And in the end, he did appear in all five Twilight movies, so clearly he mustered enough willpower to see the franchise through.
03:07Either that, or he just phoned it in like the rest of them.
03:098. Evangeline Lilly, Ant-Man
03:12Ant-Man made its way to cinemas in 2015, as the final film in Phase 2 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe,
03:19but not before it endured a rather tumultuous production cycle that saw original director Edgar Wright replaced with Peyton Reed.
03:25Wright, of Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World fame,
03:29did a lot of pre-production work on the film before exiting in May 2014 due to creative differences,
03:35leaving Marvel Studios little time to right the ship for that aforementioned 2015 release.
03:40As you can imagine, there was a lot of pressure on everyone's shoulders, and there were lots of mixed emotions,
03:44with lead actress Evangeline Lilly even considering leaving the project with Wright initially believing his exit to be an injustice.
03:52Considering that it was Wright who cast her in the film, it's understandable why she felt that way,
03:56but after several lengthy creative discussions, she ultimately decided to stick around for Reed's own take on the material.
04:027. Paul Sovino, Goodfellas
04:05Few actors would turn down the opportunity to appear in a Martin Scorsese movie,
04:09and even less than that would sign up for one, do four weeks of pre-production,
04:13then quit three days before shooting was scheduled to begin.
04:16But that was the position that Paul Sovino found himself in while working on Scorsese's 1990 crime epic Goodfellas,
04:23with the actor finding it difficult to bring out his character's aggressive, brutish nature, which gave him cold feet.
04:28At a film festival in 2015, Sovino stated that portraying thug Paulie was,
04:32So far from me, I'm a poet, I'm an opera singer, I'm an author, none of it's gangster.
04:37So he called his manager and asked for him to be released from the movie,
04:40but when he found the character after noticing his own stern expression in the mirror,
04:44he decided to continue with the project.
04:47Now, Goodfellas is widely considered one of Scorsese's best movies,
04:50and one of the greatest achievements in cinema.
04:52It was also nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture,
04:55so yeah, he was probably quite relieved that he didn't jump ship.
04:58Number 6. Emma Watson, Harry Potter
05:00We often forget how difficult it must have been for the young stars of Harry Potter
05:04to spend ten of the most important years of their lives working under that glaring Hollywood spotlight,
05:09and it really isn't a surprise that the pressure was too much for them at some points.
05:13In fact, there was even a time where Emma Watson was seriously considering quitting the role of Hermione Granger,
05:18as revealed during the recent Potter reunion special.
05:21According to director David Yates, who was at the helm of the franchise from the Order of the Phoenix onwards,
05:25and has also made all three Fantastic Beasts films,
05:28it was the fifth movie where Watson wasn't sure whether she wanted to come back.
05:32Watson herself added that Order of the Phoenix was where things started to get spicy,
05:37I think I was scared,
05:38with co-star Rupert Grint also claiming that he had similar moments of doubt all the way through the series.
05:43Again, it isn't surprising that such young kids found this arduous ten-year process difficult,
05:47so full credit to them for finding the strength to see it through.
05:50Number 5. The Entire Cast
05:52X-Men 2
05:54The 2000 X-Men movie and its 2003 sequel were instrumental in propelling the comic book movie genre
06:00to the heights that we see it today, but they were reportedly a pain in the arse to make.
06:05In a retrospective about the many bits of drama behind those original X-Men movies,
06:09the Hollywood Reporter detailed a troubling incident that occurred during the production of X-Men 2,
06:14wherein director Bryan Singer became incapacitated after taking a narcotic,
06:18which a couple of the crew members also took.
06:20Naturally, there were concerns that somebody could be injured if Singer continued to work while under the influence,
06:25and that's exactly what happened when star Hugh Jackman was left bleeding after a stunt went wrong.
06:31This prompted producer Ralph Winter to halt production,
06:34but bizarrely, the studio then appeared to side with Singer,
06:37essentially telling executive producer Tom DeSanto,
06:39who was on set during all of this commotion, to get out of Singer's way.
06:44Enter the majority of the movie's main cast members who confronted Singer while dressed in their full X-Men costumes,
06:49and threatened to quit the film if DeSanto was removed.
06:52Singer's reps deny that this happened,
06:54but showing up at your boss's trailer in black spandex is certainly a good way to make your voice heard.
06:59Number 4. Nicole Kidman – The Others
07:02Actors often have to jump between movies with wildly different tones.
07:06One week, you could be doing some voiceover work for a family animation,
07:09and the next, you could be filming a bloodthirsty death scene in an R-rated slasher flick.
07:13It was this tonal whiplash that gave Nicole Kidman second thoughts about appearing in her 2001 horror film The Others,
07:20with the actress finding it difficult to transition from the colourful and upbeat Moulin Rouge!
07:24to the dark and disturbing psychological thriller,
07:27which takes place almost entirely inside a creepy old house.
07:30She said,
07:30When I got there and was just about to start rehearsals, I really didn't want to do it.
07:34My whole being, my whole psyche was rejecting it, and I was desperate to try and get out of it.
07:38I begged them to let me out.
07:40All I wanted to do was make love stories and musicals and be happy.
07:43Spoiler alert for a 20-year-old movie,
07:45but considering that The Others involves Kidman's character murdering her own children by suffocating them with a pillow,
07:50it's not hard to understand why she couldn't enter that headspace easily.
07:54Number 3. Chris Hemsworth – Ghostbusters 2016
07:57Chris Hemsworth received a ton of praise for his fun performance in the 2016 reboot of Ghostbusters,
08:03but the actor himself was terrified that he just wouldn't be any good.
08:07The role of hunky receptionist Kevin required a lot of on-screen improvisation,
08:11primarily because the script didn't flesh the character out at all.
08:15Naturally, this was a major concern for Hemsworth,
08:17who touched base with the director and was promised that Kevin would be written up before shooting officially began.
08:22But that didn't happen. Nervous at the prospect of having to build his character on the fly,
08:27Hemsworth then strongly considered pulling out of the project the night before production started,
08:31but was convinced at the last minute.
08:33Hemsworth later told Variety,
08:35I had no real plan and I just felt ridiculous, so I just used that.
08:38So his lack of preparation actually helped him in the end.
08:41Number 2. Dave Bautista – Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
08:45Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is the only movie on this list that actually hasn't come out yet,
08:49and that's because production has been plagued with setbacks.
08:52Initially set for 2020, the movie was delayed when writer-director James Gunn was fired in 2018,
08:58but then when he was rehired in 2019, he signed a deal to direct The Suicide Squad,
09:02which pushed back Vol. 3 even further.
09:05Fortunately, though, the movie finally started shooting in 2021,
09:08so everything kind of worked out in the end.
09:10But during that time when Gunn was fired and everything was up in the air,
09:13certain cast members, namely Dave Bautista, weren't too chuffed with Disney in the least,
09:17and even threatened to quit the film if Gunn's script wasn't used.
09:21He said,
09:21Where I'm at right now is that if Marvel don't use that script,
09:24then I'm going to ask them to release me from my contract, cut me out, or recast me.
09:28I'd be doing James a disservice if I didn't.
09:31Bautista was by far the most outspoken cast member in the wake of Gunn's firing,
09:35even accusing Disney of empowering a smear campaign by cyber-Nazis.
09:39Jeez, Dave, come on, tell us how you really feel.
09:41And number 1. Dwayne Johnson – Pain and Gain
09:44Dwayne The Rock Johnson doesn't seem like the type of guy to throw in the towel on anything he
09:49does, and yet, according to director Michael Bay, the star came surprisingly close to quitting
09:53his 2013 movie Pain and Gain. In fact, Bay claims that Johnson did actually quit the project roughly
09:59one week before shooting was scheduled to begin, forcing Bay to give him a pep talk to bring him
10:04back on board. He told Johnson,
10:06You are my secret weapon, and assured him that the movie would be worth his time.
10:10He said, He literally quit the week before, and he goes, I can't do this, and I'm like,
10:14Dwayne, you are my secret weapon on this movie. And I wrote him this long letter of all the
10:18actors I worked with who said that they were scared to do something and how it turned out.
10:22And he goes, Okay, okay, alright.
10:25Though joining a Michael Bay movie is something of a gamble in terms of the final product's quality,
10:29I mean, for every Armageddon there's also a Transformers 2, Johnson's gamble definitely
10:33paid off here. Not only is Pain and Gain one of the better Bay movies, it's also one of the
10:37best performances of Johnson's career. And there we go, my friends. Those were
10:4110 actors who threatened to quit famous movies. I hope that you enjoyed that. And please let me
10:45know what you thought about it down in the comment section below. As always, I've been Jules. You
10:48can go follow me over on Twitter at RetroJ with a zero, or you can swing by Live and Let's Dice,
10:53where I do all of my streaming outside of work, and it'd be great to see you over there.
10:56But before I go, I just want to say one thing. Hope that you are treating yourself with love
11:00and respect, my friend, because you deserve all of the best things in life, like love,
11:05happiness, and success. And I don't want anything or anyone else to tell you otherwise,
11:09alright? You are a massive ledge. Now go out there and absolutely smash it today.
11:13As always, I've been Jules. You have been awesome. Never forget that. And I'll speak to you soon.
11:17Bye.