10 Actors Who Visibly Hated These Movie Roles

9. Edward Norton - The Italian Job

Edward Norton has never been quiet about the fact that he only appeared in 2003's remake of The Italian Job because of a contractual requirement with Paramount.

As a young man, Norton signed a three-picture deal with the studio, with the first film being his breakthrough movie Primal Fear, which resulted in his first Oscar nomination.

Norton kept rejecting other movies Paramount offered him within the deal, until he and the studio came to an agreement that he would only have to star in one additional movie to fulfil the contract.

Paramount offered Norton the villain role in The Italian Job, and after he refused, they effectively litigated him into appearing...for a mere $1 million (compared to his usual $10 million fee at the time).

And watching the movie, Norton's displeasure is palpable throughout. It's not fair to say that he gives a bad performance, but given how much he cares about his work in projects he actually wants to work on, this is probably the closest to phoning it in that he's ever done.

He looks utterly miserable, and not merely in the way that a villain's supposed to look - there's nothing behind the eyes to suggest he's remotely engaged with the role he's playing.

One of Norton's lawyers perhaps put it best: "If you want the best possible performance and the best possible movie, you wouldn’t want to force an actor of his caliber to perform against his will."