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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.
00:05Witches, exotic locations, fame and adoration, all that stuff is certainly nothing to sneak
00:10at, right?
00:11But 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
00:19will begin to veer.
00:20Off the rails, their money and adulation just blowing up in their face.
00:23Even putting those extreme...
00:25If they stream cases to one side, actors of all levels can feel nervousness and uncertainty
00:29or self-esteem.
00:30Like everybody else, they can sometimes have confidence or esteem issues and...
00:35Occasionally, can be unsure that what they're doing is the right thing for them.
00:38And these feelings have led...
00:40Actors to seriously consider quitting some rather famous movies from a wizarding world
00:44icon getting cold feet in the middle of the franchise to an entire superhero team confronting
00:49their...
00:49Of course, they ultimately didn't quit in the end, but for a moment, the...
00:54These stars were deadly serious about throwing in the towels.
00:57So let's take a look at them.
00:58As I'm Jules, this is WhatCulture...
00:59And these are 10 Actors Who Threatened to Quit Famous Movies.
01:0410.
01:04Mark Ruffalo
01:0513 going on 30
01:07One of the reasons that actors get...
01:09Paid the big bucks is because they often have to do things that are extremely uncomfortable
01:13like dangerous stuff...
01:14Guns, sex scenes, horse riding, and almost getting your nipple waxed off.
01:18You know, that sort of thing.
01:19In Mark Ruffalo...
01:19In the close case, that discomfort revolved around the dance scenes in his 2004 rom-com...
01:24team going on 30, which almost made him quit the film entirely.
01:28According to co-star Jennifer...
01:29Ruffalo felt like a bit of an idiot during the rehearsals for a dance scene that was
01:33set to Michael Jackson.
01:34Thriller, mainly because the people he was dancing with were far more experienced than
01:38he was.
01:39This, understandably, wasn't a nice situation to be in, and Ruffalo contemplated dropping
01:44out at...
01:44On the plus side, it all turned out great in the end.
01:47That dance scene is one of the most memorable moments...
01:49in the movie, and Ruffalo's career has been absolutely smashing it ever since.
01:549.
01:55Kellen Lutz
01:56The Twilight Saga
01:57When we think about movie stars, we often think about...
01:59Think of the red carpet premieres, the huge paychecks, the glitz, the glamour, and all-around
02:04fabulous...
02:04What we don't think about are the cold winter nights on set, where actors will often...
02:09have to sit around doing nothing, waiting for the crew to prepare the next shot.
02:14It was this waiting...
02:14a round that almost made Kellen Lutz walk out of the Twilight Saga during the production
02:18of the two-part...
02:19final chapter, with the actor recently revealing that he grew extremely frustrated with that
02:24part...
02:24of the process, which, in turn, caused his passion for the job to diminish.
02:28He said,
02:29I almost did...
02:29I didn't do the Breaking Dawn movies, because I was like, guys, mentally, I need to be doing
02:33something, and it was draining.
02:34I only have one life, and if I only live to be 30, I just spent a couple of months waiting
02:39on set.
02:39My agent was like, but all the money you're making?
02:42And I'm like, you can't take it with you.
02:44I really don't...
02:44I don't care about money.
02:45I've worked enough.
02:46I'm grateful we did the movies, but it got to the point where my passion...
02:49the twinkle in my eye wasn't there anymore.
02:52Now, 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
02:59of the...
02:59downsides of the Hollywood game, and in the end, he did appear in all five Twilight movies,
03:04so clearly...
03:04he mustered enough willpower to see the franchise through.
03:07Either that, or he just phoned it in like the rest of them.
03:09Number 8, Evangeline Lilly, Ant-Man
03:12Ant-Man made its way to cinemas in...
03:142015, as the final film in Phase 2 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but not before...
03:19it endured a rather tumultuous production cycle that saw original director Edgar Wright replaced
03:24with...
03:24Peyton Reed.
03:25Wright, of Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World fame, did a...
03:29lot of pre-production work on the film before exiting in May 2014 due to creative...
03:34differences, leaving Marvel Studios little time to right the ship for that aforementioned
03:392015...
03:39release.
03:40As you can imagine, there was a lot of pressure on everyone's shoulders, and there were lots
03:44of mixed emotions...
03:44with lead actress Evangeline Lilly even considering leaving the project with Wright, initially believing
03:49his...
03:49exit to be an injustice.
03:52Considering that it was Wright who cast her in the film, it's...
03:54understandable why she felt that way, but after several lengthy creative discussions,
03:58she ultimately decided...
03:59stick around for Reed's own take on the material.
04:027.
04:03Paul Sovino
04:04Goodfellas
04:04Few 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, then quit
04:13three days before...
04:14shooting was scheduled to begin, but that was the position that Paul Sovino found himself
04:19in while working...
04:19on Scorsese's 1990 crime epic Goodfellas, with the actor finding it difficult to bring out...
04:24his character's aggressive, brutish nature, which gave him cold feet.
04:28At a film festival in...
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04:34an opera singer, I'm an author. I'm considered one of Scorsese's best movies and one of the
04:38greatest achievements in cinema.
04:40It was also nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture, so yeah, he was probably quite
04:44relieved.
04:44He believed that he didn't jump ship.
04:466. Emma Watson, Harry Potter
04:48We often forget how difficult it must have been for the young stars of Harry Potter to
04:53spend 10 of the
04:53most important years of their lives working under that glaring Hollywood spotlight, and
04:57it really isn't a surprise.
04:58The pressure was too much for them at some points. In fact, there was even a time where
05:02Emma Watson was seeing
05:03considering quitting the role of Hermione Granger, as revealed during the recent Potter reunion
05:08special.
05:08According to director David Yates, who was at the helm of the franchise from the Order
05:12of the Phoenix onwards,
05:13and has also made all three Fantastic Beasts films, it was the fifth movie where Watson
05:18wasn't sure
05:18whether she wanted to come back. Watson herself added that Order of the Phoenix was where
05:23things
05:23started to get spicy. I think I was scared. With co-star Rupert Grint also claiming that he had
05:28similar moments
05:28of doubt
05:29all the way through the series. Again, it isn't surprising that such young kids found this
05:33arduous 10-year process difficult, so full credit to them for finding the strength to see it through.
05:385. The entire cast, X-Men 2
05:42The 2000 X-Men movie
05:43and its 2003 sequel were instrumental in propelling the comic book movie genre to the height
05:48that we see it today, but they were reportedly a pain in the arse to make. In a retrospect,
05:53about the many bits of drama behind those original X-Men movies, The Hollywood Reporter detailed a
05:58troubling incident that occurred during the production of X-Men 2, wherein director Bryan Singer
06:03became incapacitated after taking a narcotic, which a couple of the crew members also took.
06:08Naturally, there were concerns that somebody could be injured if Singer continued to work while under the influence.
06:13And that's exactly what happened when star Hugh Jackman was left bleeding after a stunt went wrong.
06:18This prompted producer Ralph Winter to halt production, but bizarrely, the studio then
06:23appeared to side with Singer, essentially telling executive producer Tom DeSanto, who was on set
06:28during all of this commotion to get out of Singer's way. Enter the majority of the movie's main
06:33cast members who confronted Singer while dressed in their full X-Men costumes and threatened to quit the first
06:38film if DeSanto was removed. Singer's reps deny that this happened, but showing up at your boss's
06:43trailer in black spandex is certainly a good way to make your voice heard.
06:47Number 4, Nicole...
06:48The Kidman...
06:49The Others
06:50Actors often have to jump between movies with wildly different...
06:53Tones...
06:54One week, you could be doing some voiceover work for a family animation, and the next you
06:57could be filming a blood...
06:58Thirsty death scene in an R-rated slasher flick. It was this tone of whiplash that gave Nicole
07:03Kidman's second thoughts about appearing in her 2001 horror film The Others, with the action
07:08actress finding it difficult to transition from the colourful and upbeat Moulin Rouge to the dark and
07:12disturbing...
07:13psychological thriller, which takes place almost entirely inside a creepy old house. She's
07:18said, when I got there and was just about to start rehearsals, I really didn't want to do it. My
07:22whole being, my whole...
07:23Psyche was rejecting it, and I was desperate to try and get out of it. I begged them to let me
07:27out. All I wanted...
07:28All I wanted to do was make love stories and musicals and be happy. Spoiler alert for a 20-year-old
07:32movie...
07:33But considering that The Others involves Kidman's character murdering her own children by suffocating
07:37them with a pillow...
07:38It's not hard to understand why she couldn't enter that headspace easily.
07:423. Chris Hemm...
07:43Hemsworth Ghostbusters 2016
07:45Chris Hemsworth received a ton of praise for his...
07:48fun performance in the 2016 reboot of Ghostbusters, but the actor himself was terrified that...
07:53he just wouldn't be any good. The role of hunky receptionist Kevin required a lot of on-screen...
07:58improvisation, primarily because the script didn't flesh the character out at all. Naturally, this...
08:03was a major concern for Hemsworth, who touched base with the director and was promised that Kevin would be written...
08:08up before shooting officially began. But that didn't happen. Nervous at the prospect of having to build...
08:13his character on the fly, Hemsworth then strongly considered pulling out of the project the night before production...
08:18started but was convinced at the last minute. Hemsworth later told Variety...
08:22I had no...
08:23real plan and I just felt ridiculous, so I just used that. So his lack of preparation actually helped him...
08:28in the end.
08:292. Dave Bautista
08:30Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
08:32Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
08:33is the only movie on this list that actually hasn't come out yet, and that's because production...
08:38has been plagued with setbacks. Initially set for 2020, the movie was delayed when writer-director...
08:43James Gunn was fired in 2018, but then when he was rehired in 2019, he signed a...
08:48deal to direct The Suicide Squad, which pushed back Vol. 3 even further.
08:53Fortunately...
08:53Sadly though, the movie finally started shooting in 2021, so everything kind of worked out in
08:58the end. But...
08:58during that time when Gunn was fired and everything was up in the air, certain cast members, namely
09:02Dave Bautista...
09:03weren't too chuffed with Disney in the least, and even threatened to quit the film if Gunn's
09:07script wasn't...
09:08isn't used.
09:09He said,
09:10where I'm at right now is that if Marvel don't use that script, then I'm going to ask them
09:13to release...
09:13release me from my contract, cut me out, or recast me. I'd be doing James a disservice
09:17if I did...
09:18but he didn't.
09:19Bautista was by far the most outspoken cast member in the wake of Gunn's firing, even
09:23accusing...
09:23Disney of empowering a smear campaign by cyber-Nazis. Jeez, Dave, come on, tell us how you...
09:28really feel.
09:291. Dwayne Johnson, Pain and Gain
09:32Dwayne The Rock
09:33Johnson doesn't seem like the type of guy to throw in the towel on anything he does,
09:37and yet, according to...
09:38director Michael Bay, the star came surprisingly close to quitting his 2013 movie, Pain.
09:43and Gain.
09:44In fact, Bay claims that Johnson did actually quit the project roughly one week before...
09:48shooting was scheduled to begin, forcing Bay to give him a pep talk to bring him back
09:52on board. He told...
09:53Johnson, you are my secret weapon, and assured him that the movie would be worth his time. He
09:58said...
09:58he literally quit the week before, and he goes,
10:00I can't do this, and I'm like, Dwayne, you are my secret weapon.
10:03on this movie, and I wrote him this long letter of all the actors I worked with who said that they
10:08were scared...
10:08do something, and how it turned out. And he goes, okay, okay, alright. Though joining a...
10:13Michael Bay movie is something of a gamble in terms of the final product's quality. I mean, for every Armageddon...
10:18there's also a Transformers 2. Johnson's gamble definitely paid off here. Not only is Payne and Gain...
10:23one of the better Bay movies is also one of the best performances of Johnson's career. And there we go, my friends.
10:28Those were 10 actors who threatened to quit famous movies. I hope that you enjoyed that. And please let me know what you thought about it.
10:33Let it down in the comment section below. As always, I've been Jules. You can go follow me over on Twitter at RetroJ...
10:38with a 0, or you can swing by Live and Let's Dice, where I do all of my streaming outside of work, and it'd be great to see...
10:43you over there. But before I go, I just want to say one thing. Hope that you are treating yourself with...
10:48love and respect, my friend, because you deserve all of the best things in life. Like love, happiness...
10:53success, and I don't want anything or anyone else to tell you otherwise, alright? You are a massive legend...
10:58and absolutely smash it today. As always, I've been Jules. You have been awesome. Never...
11:03forget that, and I'll speak to you soon. Bye.
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