8 Famous Actors Forced Into Roles They Never Wanted
Jennifer Lawrence REALLY hates blue paint.
While watching a film, we usually assume that the actors involved want to be there. After all, they're being paid handsomely for their services, they're working in exotic locales, and they get to entertain millions and millions of people around the globe. Seems like a pretty good deal.
But sometimes, those actors you see onscreen - who might seem like they're enjoying themselves a lot, and might even be delivering a good performance - don't really want to be there at all.
Maybe they think the script is awful or perhaps they can't get along with the director, but occasionally, the situation can be a lot more complex than this, with a number of actors and actresses having genuinely been tricked or forced into appearing in movies by deals, lawsuits or other external factors.
Moviemaking is a fickle business, and big stars have to make concessions to find success. But acting in a movie unwillingly - whether to please a studio, fulfil a contract, or because you really want to play Deadpool in a solo movie - is a bit too far, right?
8. Mike Myers - The Cat In The Hat
The Cat In The Hat isn't exactly Mike Myers' finest work, but maybe that's because he never wanted to be in the movie in the first place.
And funnily enough, he has Austin Powers to thank for it. After the spy parody series became a smash-hit and cemented Myers as a bankable star (2002's Goldmember made nearly $300 million off a $63 million budget), the actor was offered $20 million to lead another comedy vehicle: Dieter, a character Myers often played on SNL.
However, as the movie was being set up, Myers backed out of the project and relinquished his pay packet, citing issues with the script. In response, studio Universal hit the actor with a couple of expensive lawsuits, with the two parties unable to reach an agreement.
After a lot of back and forth, Myers settled with Universal, but there was a catch: he had to appear in The Cat In The Hat. Were a bunch of Razzies and a 10% Rotten Tomatoes score better than sticking with the lawsuits? Who knows.