10 Actors Who Were Too Scared To Accept Movie Roles

7. Amanda Seyfried Was Scared Guardians Of The Galaxy Would Bomb

Amanda Seyfried Red Riding Hood
Warner Bros. Pictures

At the time, Guardians Of The Galaxy was the biggest risk Marvel Studios had ever taken.

An indie director, a massive budget, an unusual tone, and a group of unknown characters had the potential to be a recipe for disaster, but the gamble paid off (literally), and the Guardians are now up there with the biggest superheroes around.

Fans and pundits weren't alone in their doubt, either - there was even a lot of skepticism within the industry itself, with Mamma Mia star Amanda Seyfried actually turning down the Gamora role because she feared the movie would bomb:

"I didn't want to be part of the first Marvel movie that bombed. I said, 'Who wants to see a movie about a talking tree and a raccoon?' Which is clearly - I was very wrong. The script was great, it was all based on not wanting to be 'that guy'. Because if you're the star of a giant movie like that, and it bombs, Hollywood does not forgive you. I've seen that happen to people and it was a giant, giant fear. I thought, is it worth it?"

In the end, Seyfried's fear proved to be unnecessary: Guardians grossed an incredible $773 million worldwide, $59 million more than Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

To paraphrase Quicksilver, we did not see that coming.

Contributor
Contributor

Danny has been with WhatCulture for over ten years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. In 2022, he took charge of WhoCulture and has grown it into the biggest Doctor Who channel on YouTube, and one of the biggest Doctor Who communities on the web full-stop. He has been writing and video editing since his early teens, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers, off the back of a burning obsession with the Matt Smith era of the show. Like many his age, he first got into Doctor Who with the 2005 revival, but has since gone back and fallen in love with the classic years too. If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order, or to give you a random factoid about the making of Gridlock, Danny is the person to ask!