Actors Who Were Forced To Take Roles They Never Wanted

Making big-budget blockbuster movies is a complicated and insanely expensive endeavor.
And keeping the Hollywood machine running sometimes requires lengthy contracts to ensure
that the famous faces that attract theater-goers keep making their magic on the big screen.
But this means sometimes the high-profile actors attached to these projects are actually
working against their will, contractually obligated to take on a role they'd rather
not.
Actors such as ...
Jennifer Garner in Elektra
After the financial success of 2003's Daredevil, attention turned to a spin-off focusing on
Jennifer Garner's character, Elektra.
Daredevil writer and director Mark Steven Johnson discussed bringing Kevin Smith on
board to help with the screenplay, and Garner gushed in interviews about possible paths
the storyline could take in the sequel she was already under contract to complete.
Unfortunately, sometimes even the best-laid plans go south, and 2005's Elektra didn't
live up to anyone's expectations.
Johnson was replaced as the writer and director, the film bombed at the box office and was
panned by audiences and critics, and Garner herself even told her ex-boyfriend Michael
Vartan that the movie was "awful."
In an interview with US Weekly, Vartan explained, "She had to do it because of Daredevil.
It was in her contract."
Mike Myers in The Cat in the Hat
Following his first Austin Powers movie, Universal signed Mike Myers to appear in what was to
be a comedy based on his "Dieter" character from Saturday Night Live.
"I'm so full of anticipation that my genitals have sucked up into my body cavity."
He backed out of the part due to issues with the screenplay, which launched a series of
legal battles between the studio and the star.
Eventually, the sides reached an agreement—one that obligated Myers to play the title character
in a live-action adaptation of Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat.
Myers reportedly made no effort to play nice while on the set; his co-star Amy Hill revealed
that he acted like a "hermit" and a "diva" throughout the whole production.
The end result was so underwhelming that Dr. Seuss' widow, Audrey Geisel, stated in 2004
that she'd never allow Hollywood to make another live-action adaptation of one of his books
again.
Jessica Alba in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
When you agree to play a major character in a superhero movie, you'd better be prepared
to play that same role again in the future—even if the movie is a flop.
This was the case for Jessica Alba, who played Fantastic Four team member Sue Storm in the
2005 Fantastic Four movie.
Because of her three-movie contract, Alba was obligated to return for the 2007 sequel,
Rise of the Silver Surfer—an experience she hated so much that she actually considered
quitting acting for good.
Daniel Craig in Skyfall and Spectre
He's been enormously successful in his role as British spy James Bond, but Daniel Craig
has always been brutally honest about why he hates playing the character—and why he
keeps doing it.
After the release of Skyfall in 2012, Craig admitted that he was never keen on becoming
Bond in the first place, saying, "I've been trying to get out of this from the very moment
I got into it."
During the 2015 promotional tour for Spectre, Craig turned the Bond hatred up a notch, responding
to the prospect of more sequels by saying he'd rather "slash [his] wrists" than appear
in another Bond film, and saying if he did, it would just be "for the money."
In July 2017, the Mirror reported that Craig will indeed cash in and stay on to play Bond
for the fifth time, despite his well-publicized disdain for the part.
Roy Scheider in Jaws 2
He rose to worldwide fame with his role as Police Chief Martin Brody in 1975's Jaws,
but Roy Scheider wasn't particularly excited to reprise his role in the 1978 sequel.
So why was he the only member of the original cast to come back for the second Jaws film?
Simple: he was contractually obliged.
"I'm telling you and I'm telling everybody at this table that that's a shark.
I know what a shark looks like, because I've seen one up close.
And you better do something about this one, because I don't intend to go through that
hell again!"
Scheider had signed a multiple-movie contract with Universal Studios, and they'd originally
cast him as the lead in 1978's The Deer Hunter.
Unhappy with the script, he dropped out of the film, and was replaced by Robert De Niro—but
because of that contract, Universal was able to force Scheider to reprise his role as Chief
Brody in Jaws 2.
Marlon Brando in Désirée
You would think Hollywood legend Marlon Brando always got a say in which movies he made.
But even Brando had to deal with contractual obligations—perhaps most infamously when,
as a result of a lawsuit filed by a producer, he was forced to appear as Napoleon in 1954's
Désirée.
But Brando didn't take it lying down.
According to one biography, he made a point of "forgetting his lines or reciting them
with a nasal pseudo-British intonation and creating havoc between takes," including "squirting
extras with a fire hose."
According to Brando's costar, the late Jean Simmons, upon the film's release, Brando was
amazed at the movie's success, which included two Oscar nominations, one for art direction
and the other for design.
Had Brando put some effort into his role, he probably could have garnered a nomination
for himself ...
"I coulda been a contender!
I coulda been somebody."
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Actors Who Were Forced To Take Roles They Never Wanted

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