10 Actors Who Blamed Themselves For Films Failing

Shia LaBeouf takes full responsibility for the fourth Indiana Jones.

The Rock Baywatch
Paramount

The reasons for a film failing critically and/or commercially can be complex and multi-faceted: perhaps it was released at the wrong time, was poorly marketed, or suffered through production issues nobody could've seen coming.

It's rarely ever truly the fault of just a single person, though that hasn't stopped some actors throwing up their hands and fully accepting blame that things didn't work out as everyone hoped.

These 10 films, whether critical duds, box office flops, or simply maligned by the die-hard fans, are all considered failures in one way or another, and major cast members decided to take the brunt of the flak themselves.

In some cases it's clearly an act of humility on the actor's part, to spare their collaborators additional embarrassment, while in others there's a far more convincing case that they indeed were at least somewhat responsible for the disappointing end result.

Considering the colossal egos that exist in Hollywood, the fact that any name actor would even consider accepting the blame for a flop project is to be commended, whether they were truly at fault for how it turned out or not...

10. George Clooney - Batman & Robin

The Rock Baywatch
Warner Bros. Pictures

Batman & Robin is a rare film with no shortage of people involved willing to accept responsibility for its cataclysmic failure.

Director Joel Schumacher freely apologised to fans and accepted blame for its failure, and star George Clooney similarly decided to nobly leap on his sword.

Over the last 20-plus years, Clooney has frequently stated that the film fundamentally didn't work across-the-board, and largely placed the blame at his own two feet, declaring that he's "terrible in it."

Clooney also took the brunt of the flak for "destroying" the Batman movie franchise for the better part of a decade, until Christopher Nolan of course came along and salvaged it.

Legend even dictates that Clooney will still give a refund to anyone who comes up to him and claims they saw Batman & Robin at the cinema, such is the weight of his guilt about delivering such an emphatic dud of a superhero movie.

Contributor
Contributor

Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.