10 actors who hated starring in Marvel movies
Marvel movies have been an absolutely dominant force in the film industry throughout the 21st century, especially since the beginning of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with 2008’s Iron Man. These movies offer global exposure and a hefty paycheck, and as such, being cast in a Marvel movie must be a dream come true for many actors.
Marvel movies, the cosmic juggernauts of contemporary cinema, have transcended mere entertainment, weaving themselves into the fabric of our cultural zeitgeist like a superhero cape billowing in the wind. Their meteoric rise to dominance isn’t just a result of capes, spandex, and dazzling CGI; it’s a testament to their ability to tap into our collective thirst for mythic storytelling and a yearning for larger-than-life narratives. However, not everyone can agree with that sentiment; just ask Martin Scorsese.
For those involved directly, acting in a Marvel movie will often involve a long, stressful and sometimes troubled production. As well as this, although Marvel movies contain many absolutely wonderful characters and stories, they are cinematic spectacles first and foremost, and as such, actors (particularly those cast in supporting roles) might feel overshadowed by the special effects or feel like they don’t get to do that much actual acting.
There will no doubt be plenty of actors who’ve been dissatisfied with their experience shooting a Marvel movie but haven’t spoken out – maybe out of fear of being backlisted by Hollywood exectives, or maybe just out of politeness. Nonetheless, these following ten actors have all been very open about hating their experience working on Marvel movies.
10 actors who hated starring in Marvel movies:
Ryan Reynolds – X-Men Origins: Wolverine
In Deadpool 2‘s brilliant and unforgettable credits scene, the titular character (Ryan Reynolds) time-travels and is seen literally killing off the version of Deadpool seen in 2009’s much-maligned X-Men Origins: Wolverine. In this particular film, the lovable superhero, commonly nicknamed the ‘Merch with a mouth’, has his mouth sewn shut for most of the film, a strange decision, to put it mildly. Not surprisingly, fans hated this version of Deadpool, which was completely unfaithful to the comics, and this must have felt cathartic for them. It was probably even more cleansing for Ryan Reynolds himself.
Reynolds has admitted his dissatisfaction with how Deadpool was handled before, and making the hugely successful Deadpool films, which were faithful to the comics and stayed true to the character’s R-rated nature, was perhaps his way of making up for that. Not that the X-Men Origins‘ treatment of Deadpool was in any way Reynolds’ fault of course, but the Deadpool movies have revitalised Reynolds’ career, so even if playing Deadpool had a bad start it has ultimately been really positive for the actor.
Jennifer Lawrence – The X-Men films
Earlier in her career, after securing her first Oscar nomination but before the Hunger Games movies made her a household name, Jennifer Lawrence made her debut as Raven / Mystique, the iconic shapeshifting mutant previously played by Rebecca Romijn in the first three X-Men films. She first played the role in 2011’s X-Men: First Class, and by the time she reprised the role in 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past, she’d already become one of the biggest stars in the world. Lawrence has had a stellar career, but as Mystique, she always seemed to be phoning it in a tad. As such, when it emerged that she didn’t really enjoy playing the part, it wasn’t altogether surprising.
Lawrence has emphasised that she really likes the movies themselves; the problem was the makeup. Playing Mystique required wearing body paint, which took eight hours to apply and made filming absolutely exhausting. Wearing the makeup also meant that Lawrence couldn’t even go to the bathroom, and she had to urinate into a funnel while standing up. Nonetheless, even though she was only contracted for three films, she did appear a fourth-time in the ill-fated X-Men: Dark Phoenix so that Mystique’s fate would not be left hanging, so good on her. Tellingly, though, Mystique is in human form in most of her scenes.
Edward Norton – The Incredible Hulk
Edward Norton only played the Incredible Hulk once before being recast, and though Norton claims he left voluntarily, others have suggested that it was because he clashed with Kevin Feige, the overall producer of the MCU.
A famously difficult actor to work with, Norton is well-known for demanding creative control of his projects, doing things such as sitting in on the editing process and rewriting the script. The Incredible Hulk was no different, and he was allegedly rewriting the film. Ultimately though, Norton’s work on the film’s script went uncredited, angering Norton. He was also upset when many of the more character-centric scenes in the film were cut, meaning that a lot of his work was left on the cutting room floor. It is said that he clashed with Kevin Feige because of this, and he refused to promote the movie. In all honesty, in stark contrast to Mark Ruffalo, who fit the role like a glove, Norton felt miscast as Bruce Banner / The Incredible Hulk, and it’s clear that the more collaborative process that goes into making a Marvel film didn’t fit Norton’s work ethic, so him leaving was probably for the best.
Numerous actors – The Thor films
The Thor solo movies, aside from Thor: Ragnarok, have never been especially popular with fans or critics, but the people who seem to hate the projects most are the people who acted in them.
Anthony Hopkins and Idris Elba have openly savaged their supporting roles in the movies. Hopkins described it as “pointless acting” and Elba said being in Thor: The Dark World not long after playing Nelson Mandela “ripped [his] heart out”. Christopher Eccleston, who played the villain, was even more emotive in his disdain, saying that doing the film was like “acting with a gun in my mouth”. Even Christian Bale, who played Gorr the God Butcher in Thor: Love and Thunder and was universally acknowledged as one of that film’s only highlights, had nothing positive to say. He described shooting as the “definition of monotony”.
Natalie Portman, who played Thor’s love interest in three of the four films, appears to have had a better time on Love and Thunder, but she did not enjoy working on the first two. One can tell that she doesn’t want to be there, especially in the second effort. Portman was very put-out in that case as she’d only agreed to return because Patty Jenkins (who later directed Wonder Woman) was making the sequel, but Jenkins was then let go; unfortunately for Portman, she was contractually obligated to do the movie. Her uncharacteristically phoned-in performance made her displeasure pretty clear, and it’s impressive that writer-director Taika Waititi managed to persuade her to return for the fourth instalment.
Terrance Howard – Iron Man
It may be hard to remember now, but Don Cheadle wasn’t actually the first actor to play James Rhodes / War Machine, Iron Man’s best friend and a fellow Avenger. No, he was originally played by Terrance Howard in 2008’s Iron Man but he was recast for 2010’s Iron Man 2. Why? Because of the same thing that often leads to a recasting: behind-the-scenes drama.
After the success of the first film Robert Downey Jr’s salary was hugely increased, and Howard was asked to take a pay cut. It’s also been rumoured that Howard was difficult on the first film set, and the producers decided to reduce the character’s role in the sequel as a result. Howard wasn’t prepared to go with this and left the film, leading to Cheadle being cast instead. The ever-outspoken actor has since savaged both Marvel Studios and Robert Downey Jr, and there’s clearly no love lost there.
Jessica Alba – Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Jessica Alba, with her early roles in films like Honey and Sin City, seemed to be quite the rising star in the early 2000s, but audiences haven’t seen an awful lot of her in the 2010s. It seems likely that this step back from acting was thanks to her terrible experience on Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, in which she played Sue Storm / The Invisible Woman, reprising her role from the film’s 2004 predecessor, Fantastic Four.
When she was acting out Storm’s death scene, director Tim Story told her: “It looks too real. It looks too painful. Can you be prettier when you cry? Cry pretty, Jessica.” This was a stupid, demeaning, and sexist piece of direction, and Alba was, understandably, hugely distressed by the experience. She recalls that she almost quit acting, saying, “It all got me thinking: Am I not good enough? Are my instincts and my emotions not good enough?… And so I just said, ‘F**k it. I don’t care about this business anymore”.
Kate Mara – Fantastic Four (2015)
In 2015’s beyond-infamous disaster of a Fantastic Four reboot, which has deservedly been remembered as one of the worst superhero films ever made, Kata Mara was brought in to play Sue Storm. Sadly, much like Jessica Alba before her, she also had an awful time on set. She wasn’t director Josh Trank’s preferred choice for Storm, and, apparently taking his frustrations out on her, allegedly bullied her throughout the shoot.
Thankfully, one good thing came from working on this film for Mara. She met her now-husband Jamie Bell, who plays the Thing, on this film. Ironically, their characters don’t speak to each other once throughout the film, one of many examples of the titular team’s fatal lack of chemistry. Because of this, Mara has said that she doesn’t regret starring in the film but she does wish she’d handled certain situations differently. After the #MeToo movement began, Mara revealed she’d done some reflecting on her experiences with Trank and a second male director who she didn’t name, and said she had new awareness of what she went through and what she wouldn’t tolerate again.
Ben Affleck – Daredevil
Many people disliked 2003’s Daredevil, a largely disastrous early Marvel movie that remains infamous to this day. And one of its biggest haters is its star, Ben Affleck, who plays the titular blind superhero in the film. In a later interview, he described Daredevil as the only film he actually regrets, which is pretty damning when you remember he’s also been in movies like Gigli and Pearl Harbour.
Daredevil was made in the days before the superhero genre was taken as seriously as it is now, and Affleck felt that there wasn’t enough effort put into the film as a result. It was a painful failure for him because he really loved the character, and although he initially swore never to return to superhero cinema, he would eventually play Batman in the DC Extended Universe. He said his disappointment over Daredevil partly motivated him to do this. It doesn’t sound as though he liked playing Batman much either, but he should be proud of his work in that case, as he was legitimately a really good Batman.
Wesley Snipes – Blade Trinity
One doesn’t hear much from actor Wesley Snipes these days, as he’s mostly working in direct-to-DVD and limited-release films, but back in the ’90s he really was an action star. Perhaps his most celebrated role is as Eric Brooks / Blade, a half-man, half-vampire superhero in the Blade films, which were among the first major films based on Marvel Comics. Despite the success that the role brought him, Snipes did not enjoy working on the third film, Blade: Trinity. Unhappy with the script and with David S. Goyer being brought in as director, Snipes proceeded to make the shoot what Goyer would go on to call “the most personally and professionally difficult and painful thing I’ve ever been through”.
It has been alleged that Snipes spent most of the shoot smoking weed in his trailer and refusing to come out and film, meaning that Goyer had to rely on stand-ins and CGI for most of the production. Apparently, in one instance, Goyer literally had to use CGI to show Blade opening his eyes since Snipes refused to open his eyes on camera. It has also been said that he refused to interact with the cast and crew directly and was verbally abusive whenever he actually did. When asked about another allegation against Snipes – that he’d throttled Goyer at one point – Goyer chose not to confirm or deny that report but did concede that he never spoke to Snipes again once filming wrapped. As for Snipes himself, he sued New Line Cinema and Goyer, feeling that he hadn’t been paid his full salary and that many key creative decisions had been made against his consent. The lawsuit was later settled.
Mickey Rourke – Iron Man 2
Iron Man 2 was the MCU’s first dud, and quite frankly, it’s lucky this didn’t kill off goodwill towards this franchise before it had even properly begun. Like many other underwhelming superhero films, the sequel was undermined by studio interference and the result was an overstuffed mess of a movie that was telling far too many stories without doing justice to any of them. Perhaps nobody was more short-changed than its villain Whiplash, who was played by the brilliant Mickey Rourke.
Rourke, immediately making it clear to the studio that he didn’t want to play a one-dimensional bad guy, spent a lot of time preparing for the role. He even visited some Russian prisons to get into character, and spent ages working on the Russian accent. Rourke has since claimed that much of his screen time, including moments that added depth to the villain, were dropped from the film and given how oddly small his role in the movie is, that’s easy to believe. What’s left of Rourke’s performance is OK, but the character himself was exactly what Rourke wanted to avoid: a one-dimensional bad guy. Rourke has absolutely savaged the film since, and it’s hard to blame him for feeling frustrated. “If they want to make mindless superhero movies, then I don’t want to be a part of it,” he later stated.
This film was around the time of Rourke’s much-publicised comeback in the late 2000s, but ever since Iron Man 2, he’s largely disappeared once again, working mostly in direct-to-DVD movies, and it seems quite possible his dissatisfaction with this movie played a part in that. Well, it’s not like we needed another reason to dislike Iron Man 2, but there’s one anyway.
