These actors regret their role

On King's Day, I was baking pizzas at a friend's house (in a pizza oven in the garden, how fun is that?) and I have no idea how we got onto the topic, but he said: ‘I'm really not woke enough.’ Maybe half of us didn't even know what ‘woke’ actually meant — so they immediately fall into the category of ‘not woke enough’ — we also talked about how important it actually was. Being ‘woke’ has become a lot more important in recent years. As far as I'm concerned, that's only a good thing. Being more aware of how certain words and actions can affect others, maybe thinking a little extra before you do something... I see nothing wrong with that.

The problem is that it's mainly something from recent years. Why is that a problem? Well, for example, if you're a professional actor and have experienced tremendous growth in recent years and have taken on roles in the past that you would probably think twice about now. Or maybe even refuse immediately. You can't just erase those roles, so now you're left dealing with the consequences. Yes, these actors regret their roles.

1. Halle Berry in Catwoman

Where Superman and Batman take on tasks like saving the world from its downfall, Halle Berry as Catwoman had to... Stop an evil cosmetics mogul. She herself said: ‘Why is she just saving women from a face cream that cracks their face off?’ A bit disappointing, indeed.

2. Katherine Heigl in Knocked Up

Heigl played Alison in the film Knocked Up, who became pregnant by Ben (Seth Rogen). The film was made by romcom expert Judd Apatow. In hindsight, Heigl would have preferred to skip this role; she found her role extremely sexist and was unhappy that she was portrayed as a nagging woman. Not exactly the image she wanted to present for women.

3. Michelle Pfeiffer in Grease 2

Only years after I saw the first part of Grease did I find out that there was also a sequel. A particularly unsuccessful sequel, I might add. Honestly, I secretly found it fun to watch as a guilty pleasure, but lead actress Michelle Pfeiffer sees it as a thorn in her side regarding her portfolio. ‘It’s a bad dream I want to erase from my memory.‘ Clearly.

4. Christopher Plummer in The Sound Of Music

This one always makes me a bit sad because I really love this music. Captain Von Trapp himself referred to it for years as ‘The Sound of Mucus’ and he also found Julie Andrews a nightmare: a kind of living Disney character who was always cheerful. He describes the film as ‘awful, sentimental and gooey’, which for me represents pure nostalgia with a top soundtrack. The good news: he made amends with Julie Andrews and remained good friends until his death.

5. Kate Winslet in Titanic

Eh, WHUT? Rose Dewitt Bukater regrets? It can't be anything other than regretting the fact that Jack could have easily fit on that door? Unfortunately not. Kate finds it terrible to hear her ‘awful American accent’ back and also regrets her famous scene where Jack draws her as ‘one of his French girls’. She says about this: ‘I wish I hadn't shown so much flesh, but I was young, and I knew I had things to prove.’

6. Carrie Fisher in Star Wars

Everyone knows the infamous outfit of Leia; a kind of metal bikini that made Carrie Fisher instantly seen as a sex symbol. She wasn't really looking forward to it; if she had known how popular Star Wars would become, she would have turned down the role, she said later. Daisy Ridley, who is currently seen in the Star Wars films, also received a warning: ‘Don’t be a slave like I was and keep fighting against that slave outfit.’

7. Viola Davis in The Help

This film received almost no bad reviews, but Viola Davis still feels uneasy about it. She was even nominated for an Oscar for the role in which she plays a black maid. In 2018, she already indicated that she regretted this role, and after the BLM movement, she spoke more extensively about it in Vanity Fair: ‘There’s no one who’s not entertained by The Help. But there’s a part of me that feels like I betrayed myself, and my people, because I was in a movie that wasn’t really to tell the whole truth. They’re invested in the idea of what it means to be black, but… It’s catering to the white audience. They’re not moved by who we were.’

8. Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct

Yes, we're going to talk about that one scene, the scene that Basic Instinct is known for; Sharon Stone without underwear. Of course, she knew she wasn't wearing underwear, but it all works a bit differently: director Paul Verhoeven said she had to take it off for the lighting and that it would look better on screen. He said nothing about the fact that we would all be able to watch, and she found that out at the film's premiere. Ugly. Completely justified, in my opinion, that she went straight to Paul Verhoeven and slapped him in the face.

9. Robert Pattinson in Twilight

Seriously: no one, I repeat NO ONE hates Twilight as much as Robert Pattinson. Of course, this meant his launch as an A-lister, but don't bring that up with him. He described the sound of all the screaming Twilight fans as ‘the sound you hear at the gates of hell’. Furthermore, he said about the films: ‘The more I read the script, the more I hated this guy. So that’s how I played him, as a manic-depressive who hates himself.’ Clearly. I hate Twilight too, but not as much as this guy.