Most celebrities do not reveal what happened behind the scenes of a movie right after filming it. Sometimes, it takes a few years, or even decades, before they publicly express regret about taking a role, working with a particular director, or making an embarrassing mistake on set.
Other times, the regret isn’t about a role they accepted but about one they turned down—one that could have changed the course of their careers, like playing Neo in The Matrix.
Here’s a list of 25 celebrity confessions about their careers that might make you see certain films in a whole new light.
#21 Robert Pattison - ‘Twilight’
Robert revealed that he wanted to make the first Twilight movie as emo and edgy as possible, but the studio didn’t go with his vision.
“I spent so much time [on set] infuriated… I can’t believe the way I was acting half the time,” he said of his role as vampire Edward Cullen, which he played at age 21.
His managers would visit him on set and ask him to smile more and not take things that seriously, warning him that he could get fired if he played his original, darker version of Edward.
Another interesting fact about the film is that director Catherine Hardwicke was initially unsure about casting Robert because he had “black bangs for hair” and was out of shape from going to the pub all the time.
“I spent so much time [on set] infuriated… I can’t believe the way I was acting half the time,” he said of his role as vampire Edward Cullen, which he played at age 21.
His managers would visit him on set and ask him to smile more and not take things that seriously, warning him that he could get fired if he played his original, darker version of Edward.
Another interesting fact about the film is that director Catherine Hardwicke was initially unsure about casting Robert because he had “black bangs for hair” and was out of shape from going to the pub all the time.
31points
#22 Megan Fox - ‘Transformers’
In the wake of the Me Too movement, the Jennifer’s Body actress said she exposed the predatory behind-the-scenes actions toward women years before the Harvey Weinstein scandal but wasn’t taken seriously.
“I was always speaking out against some of the ab*sive, misogynistic, patriarchal things that were going on in Hollywood back in 2008 and 2009, way before people were ready to embrace that or tolerate it. And I actually got ridiculed for doing it,” she told Glamour magazine in 2022.
Megan had accused Transformers director Michael Bay of being a “nightmare to work for” and that the movie set was an unsafe space.
The star added that there are many names that deserve to be getting “cancelled” but are instead “safely stored in the fragmented recesses of my heart.”
“I was always speaking out against some of the ab*sive, misogynistic, patriarchal things that were going on in Hollywood back in 2008 and 2009, way before people were ready to embrace that or tolerate it. And I actually got ridiculed for doing it,” she told Glamour magazine in 2022.
Megan had accused Transformers director Michael Bay of being a “nightmare to work for” and that the movie set was an unsafe space.
The star added that there are many names that deserve to be getting “cancelled” but are instead “safely stored in the fragmented recesses of my heart.”
Report
30points
#23 Dave Franco - ‘Neighbors’
The actor called filming an intimate scene in Neighbors, the first one of his career, “awkward” and “nerve-wracking.”
He said he had met his co-star the day before their scene. “You meet each other and then you're grinding—you don't even know her name, barely. You have 20 crewmembers who are also watching you do it.”
But Dave also had an awkward moment with his makeup artist, who was a stranger to him as well. The morning of the big scene, he woke up to find a “giant pimple” on his bottom.
“I had to go to the makeup artist who I had also met that week and be like, 'Can we go in the other room and you'll put makeup literally on my a**?'”
He said he had met his co-star the day before their scene. “You meet each other and then you're grinding—you don't even know her name, barely. You have 20 crewmembers who are also watching you do it.”
But Dave also had an awkward moment with his makeup artist, who was a stranger to him as well. The morning of the big scene, he woke up to find a “giant pimple” on his bottom.
“I had to go to the makeup artist who I had also met that week and be like, 'Can we go in the other room and you'll put makeup literally on my a**?'”
Report
26points
#24 Macaulay Culkin - ‘Rushmore’
Between 1994 and 2003, the Home Alone actor took an acting hiatus, during which he attended high school and married his first wife, Rachel Miner.
Though he wasn’t acting, he still received many scripts for projects he was offered. But there were a couple that just “slipped through,” Macaulay said on the YouTube Channel Hot Ones. One of them was the script for Wes Anderson's 1998 sophomore film, Rushmore.
“I saw that the one that I didn't read was Rushmore. And I was like, 'Oh, dang. I probably could have done that one.'
"I mean, I can't imagine anyone but Jason Schwartzman doing that part," he added. "But at the same time — oh, man, that would have been a ball and a biscuit, that one."
Though he wasn’t acting, he still received many scripts for projects he was offered. But there were a couple that just “slipped through,” Macaulay said on the YouTube Channel Hot Ones. One of them was the script for Wes Anderson's 1998 sophomore film, Rushmore.
“I saw that the one that I didn't read was Rushmore. And I was like, 'Oh, dang. I probably could have done that one.'
"I mean, I can't imagine anyone but Jason Schwartzman doing that part," he added. "But at the same time — oh, man, that would have been a ball and a biscuit, that one."
26points
#25 Will Smith - ‘The Matrix’ & ‘Inception’
Will is known for many blockbuster films, including Men in Black, Independence Day, Ali, and The Pursuit of Happiness. But there are two films he could have added to his resumé that he’s still “hurt” to have turned down.
One of them was the role of Neo in The Matrix, famously played by Keanu Reeves. Will said “no” to the project to star in Wild Wild West, which was commercially unsuccessful and panned by critics.
“I probably would have messed The Matrix up. I would have ruined it," Will said in 2019. "So, I did y'all a favor!"
The other role he regretted turning down was the main character in Inception, which went to Leonardo DiCaprio.
One of them was the role of Neo in The Matrix, famously played by Keanu Reeves. Will said “no” to the project to star in Wild Wild West, which was commercially unsuccessful and panned by critics.
“I probably would have messed The Matrix up. I would have ruined it," Will said in 2019. "So, I did y'all a favor!"
The other role he regretted turning down was the main character in Inception, which went to Leonardo DiCaprio.
Report
26points