8 Famous Actors Forced Into Roles They Never Wanted

3. Ryan Reynolds - X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Mystique X-Men Choke
20th Century Fox

Ryan Reynolds was able to redeem himself - and his character - with 2016's Deadpool, but considering the long, bumpy road the actor took to get there, it's a wonder he didn't give up halfway through.

While making Blade: Trinity in the early 2000s, Reynolds and writer-director David Goyer tried to forge a deal to make a Deadpool movie at New Line Cinema, something that never got off the ground. Reynolds would later get his chance to play Wade Wilson in 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but to say the character was mistreated here is a gross, gross understatement.

But the sewn-shut mouth, the laser eyes and the hand-blades were nothing to do with Reynolds, who was locked into playing a version of the character he fundamentally disagreed with. Speaking to EW, the actor recalled the studio approaching him and saying "play Deadpool in this movie [Origins] or we’ll get someone else to".

Of course, the movie was a colossal disaster, and it set Reynolds up for a stream of misfires, including Green Lantern and RIPD. Fortunately, he's now the toast of Hollywood thanks to Deadpool and its sequel.

Who doesn't love a happy ending?

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Contributor

Danny has been with WhatCulture for almost nine years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. He has been writing and video editing for 10+ years, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers and uploading them to YouTube (they're admittedly a bit rusty by today's standards). If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order or to tell you about the making of 1988's Remembrance of the Daleks, Danny is the person to ask.