10 Actors Who Didn't Understand Their Own Movie

10. Sean Penn - The Tree Of Life

The Tree of Life was an epic drama film from 2011, which was directed by Terrence Mallick, and starred Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain, and many more. The film deals with the origins and meaning of life via a middle-aged man's childhood memories from growing up in Texas in the '50s.

Sounds simple enough, right? Well, for Sean Penn, who played Jack O'Brien, the man whose memories the film follows, he had no idea what was going on. Penn spoke out about the film while he was promoting it, and his comments don't exactly reflect positively on the film:

"The screenplay is the most magnificent one that I've ever read, but I couldn't find that same emotion on screen. A clearer and more conventional narrative would have helped the film without, in my opinion, lessening its beauty and its impact. Frankly, I'm still trying to figure out what I'm doing there and what I was supposed to add in that context! What's more, Terry himself never managed to explain it to me clearly."

If the director never managed to fully explain the character to the principal actor, that's a bit of a problem. Still, Penn went on to say, "Nevertheless, it's a film that I recommend provided one goes in without preconceptions."