9 Actors Who Prepared For Movie Roles In The Worst Possible Way

Poor preparation produces p*ss poor performances...potentially.

By Gareth Morgan /

As with many other significant jobs and tasks in this thing we call life, it's vital that an actor is fully prepared before stepping into the shoes of the character or real-life figure they are playing on the big screen. A lot of time and money goes into making sure the project they are a part of is a bonafide success, so the least they can do is show up to set with their bodies and minds ready to rumble from day one.

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Sadly, though, that isn't always the case in the land of movie-making, and sometimes performers arrive to film their first few scenes either looking anything but the part, or without the skills necessary to pull off the work required of them.

From mighty mutants letting their excitement get the better of them beforehand, to committed thespians taking their art a little too seriously, each of the following stars thought they knew exactly what they signed up for upon landing the role, but soon realised that they were either completely out of their depth, or seriously ill-equipped for the important job at hand.

9. James McAvoy Shaves His Head - X-Men: First Class

James McAvoy was understandably over the moon when he first got wind of the fact he would be playing a young Charles Xavier in Matthew Vaughn's X-Men: First Class. Lining up alongside the likes of Michael Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence, the star would take his place as one of the core members of the prequel era of X-Men as the films explored the early beginnings of the relationships forged between Professor X, Magneto, Raven/Mystique and many more.

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However, his over-exuberance upon signing on the dotted line ultimately led to him deciding to part ways with his luscious locks before shooting, in an attempt to give himself that signature Xavier dome look. McAvoy quickly found out during his first day of shooting on the film, however, a month on from shaving his head, that this was definitely not the look they were going for.

Instead, Vaughn and co. wanted Xavier to be sporting a mane for this particular flick, so the actor was required to wear hair extensions throughout the shoot. He'd finally get the chance to go full-Xavier in X-Men: Apocalypse, though, keeping the lack-of-hairstyle for Dark Phoenix too.

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