Being an actor is not always glitz and glamor. Sure, in front of the camera, it looks like being an actor is a super shiny profession such that a lot of people want in. It seems that they can do almost anything that they want and don’t have to do the things that they don’t want, especially the big stars. It is easy to label them as prima donnas. Moreover, it appears that actors are always the ones who have the final say. Well, let us break it to you – this isn’t always the case.

Apparently, there are a lot of actors who didn’t always get what they wanted and there were those who were forced to play roles they really don’t want. Show business is really messy and sometimes deceiving, which is why we can easily believe that celebrities always get their way. Well, they don’t and here are several actors who, unfortunately, had to play roles that they find awful or even completely repulsive.

Look up and see who these stars are…

15. Roy Scheider as Sheriff Martin Brody (Jaws 2, 1978)

Roy Schneider’s role as Martin Brody on the first Jaws is what allowed him to make a mark in the entertainment industry. His iconic role on the film was his ticket to stardom. However, he never wanted to play the role again. Unfortunately, due to a multiple-movie contract with the studio, he had to make another movie with them. He was originally considered for the movie The Deer Hunter but he felt the script was uninspired and pulled out of the project. He was replaced by Robert De Niro. Unfortunately for him, due to his contract, he had no choice but to be in the second instalment of Jaws.

14. Val Kilmer as Iceman (Top Gun, 1986)

Apparently, Val Kilmer didn’t want to do anything with the movie Top Gun. It was also a product of having a three-movie contract with a studio that tied Val into doing it. Prior to Top Gun, he already finished two movies, Top Secret! and Real Genius. To finish his contract, he had to appear on Top Gun. To complete the contract, he took on the role of Iceman in the movie. Still, Val got fortunate with the movie and it is what shot him to stardom. After the movie, he even agreed to make another movie with the same director, the late Tony Scott. Moreover, there have been rumours that after three decades, a sequel of Top Gun might soon be in the works.

13. Whoopi Goldberg as Katie Coltrane (Theodore Rex, 1995)

The movie Theodore Rex starred Whoopi Goldberg as lead. However, it wasn’t a voluntary act on Whoopi’s side. The movie came after the success of Whoopi’s Sister Act 2. Although she had already agreed to appear in the film, it was more of a verbal agreement and along the way, she changed her mind.

Although it was just a verbal agreement, Whoopi had a difficult time getting out of the project because it might have been subject to litigation. In the end, Whoopi gave in and took the role. Unfortunately for the film, it still didn’t do well despite Whoopi’s presence boosting it.

12. Keanu Reeves as David Allen Griffin (The Watcher, 2000)

Good guy, Keanu, will always be a good guy. The reason behind how Keanu got involved on the film The Watcher is something you won’t believe. Basically, he was screwed over by his own friend. Apparently, Keanu’s so-called friend, Joe Charbanic, forged the actor’s signature to appear on the said movie. Joe was the director of The Watcher.

Instead of going on a long and tedious legal battle, Keanu just played the role. When the film was completed, he was not required to promote it but was required not to speak about it for 12 months. When 12 months was up, he held nothing back and even revealed that from the get-go, the script was “uninteresting”.

11. Edward Norton as Steve (The Italian Job, 2003)

It all started when Edward Norton got a breakout role in the movie Primal Fear in 1996. He got an Oscar nomination for that, which landed him a lot of other options. Unfortunately for him, that movie was part of a three-movie contract with Paramount Pictures. Even with lots of other offers, he had no choice but to follow the contract. Hence, he was first coerced to appear in the hit Fight Club in 1999. This annoyed Edward so much that he made Paramount Pictures agree to never force him to take a role he didn’t want ever again. However, to finally complete the contract, he had to appear in one more film – The Italian Job. Once again, he didn’t want to take the role but the other party lawyered up and Edward had no choice but to follow.

10. Mike Myers as Cat in the Hat (The Cat in the Hat, 2003)

Misunderstood, Mike Myers was called a diva while making the movie The Cat in the Hat. What many people didn’t know is that he was actually coerced to play the role.

The movie came after the first Austin Powers movie was released. At first, Mike resisted playing the part in the following film, which led to many lawsuits and countersuits. Eventually, he had to agree to play the lead role in The Cat in the Hat. However, he didn’t play it nicely, such that he was branded a diva on set. The film resulted in a disappointment, which is why Dr. Seuss’ widow, Audrey, said she would never agree to have another live-action adaptation of her husband’s works ever again.

9. Bill Murray as voice of Garfield (Garfield: The Movie, 2004)

Bill Murray is already a top notch actor who can easily pick out which roles to play and which ones to ditch. However, how he ended up being the voice of Garfield is a funny yet an unfortunate story.

Bill had been wanting to play a role in a cartoon production. So, when the script for the movie Garfield arrived at his doorsteps, which he thought was written by Joel Coen of The Big Lebowski and No Country for Old Men, he didn’t even check out the rest of the pages and signed the contract. Later did he learn that the writer was actually Joel Cohen of Cheaper by the Dozen. It was too late for him to back out.

8. Jennifer Garner as Elektra (Elektra, 2005)

The movie Elektra could have been a success especially since it was boosted by the fairly successful Daredevil film. Many anticipated for the spinoff of her character and this got a lot of people excited. Initially, Jennifer Garner was super stoked for the film such that she was even dreaming of different storylines where the movie can go and thrive. However, more often than not, the unexpected happened. When the movie was released, it got a lot of people disappointed. The story was just way below what people looked forward to such that Jennifer even described it as “awful”. Moreover, it felt like she just had to do the movie even if she didn’t want to because it was part of her contract for Daredevil.

7. Jessica Alba as Sue Storm (Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, 2007)

Having a role in a superhero movie is both a blessing and a curse. It is a blessing because it is just so cool, however, even if the movie tanks, expect to play the role over and over again in the future instalments. This was what happened to Jessica Alba on the Fantastic Four franchise. Jessica signed a three-movie deal to play Sue Storm. On the second instalment of the film, Rise of the Silver Surfer, Jessica didn’t want to play the role so badly that she even considered quitting acting.

Jessica was still a bit fortunate because the second movie was so bad that it became a financial burden for the studio. Hence, they decided to cancel the third instalment.

6. Shia LaBeouf as Sam Witwicky (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, 2009)

Like the other actors who were coerced to take on roles they didn’t like, Shia LaBeouf was somewhat a victim of multiple movie contract deals. For Transformers, Shia had a three-movie contract to appear as Sam Witwicky. However, on the second instalment of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Shia was already disappointed with what they created and even said he, “wasn’t impressed with what [they] did.” He even criticized the director, Michael Bay.

Despite all the negative criticisms of the Transformers franchise, they still made a few box office hits and included another instalment in the series, even after Shia left them after the third movie.

5. Emily Blunt as Princess Mary (Gulliver’s Travels, 2010)

The movie The Devil Wears Prada by Fox Studios was Emily Blunt’s ticket to stardom. After playing a role across from Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway, it opened up a lot of doors for Emily. She was even considered by Marvel to play Black Widow in Iron Man 2. Unfortunately, Emily had a contract with Fox Studios to appear on another movie after The Devil Wears Prada. Fox Studios required her to appear on Gulliver’s Travels. The film tanked but Emily was still lucky that it didn’t affect her career in any horrible way. She still received amazing offers after that.

4. Everyone on Movie 43 (Movie 43, 2013)

An all-star cast in a black comedy film, what can go wrong? Apparently, a lot. Like an entire cast a lot. Movie 43 was a notorious film because its top-tier lineup of actors was somewhat tricked into doing it. Members of the cast were Hugh Jackman, Emma Stone, Richard Gere, Halle Berry, Kate Winslet, Gerard Butler, and Naomi Watts.

The backstory: the producers were able to sign and shoot scenes with Hugh and Kate in 2009. Then, the other actors were shot with utmost patience that took a span of a year to finish. Apparently, in an instance, they even had to wait for Richard to be available even for just a day of shooting.

The end result was as expected – messy. Also, none of the actors in the film really understood what was happening the entire time.

3. Daniel Craig as James Bond (Skyfall, 2012, and Spectre, 2015)

Even if he was playing an iconic role, apparently, Daniel Craig was not a big fan of being James Bond. After Skyfall was released, he released that he had always been trying to quit the project, but his contract won’t let him. He had a multi-movie contract to appear on more James Bond films so he wasn’t able to get out of it that easy.

Then, when Spectre came out, Daniel was even more vocal about how much he doesn’t like being James Bond. Even on interviews, he says that he wants to get on with his real life than be 007. At present, it is still unknown if Daniel will still appear on more James Bond films in the future.

2. Natalie Portman as Jane Foster (Thor: The Dark World, 2013)

Natalie Portman taking part in the first Thor film has boosted it. To make her presence felt, she somewhat flexed a little muscle on the sequel. For Marvel to be able to get her back on Thor: The Dark World, she successfully swayed the studio to get Patty Jenkins to direct. However, Patty and Marvel’s relationship was doomed to fail and she was kicked out of the project while Natalie was already under contract. She finished shooting the film but later on revealed that she’s already done with them. Therefore, no Natalie for the third instalment of Thor.

1. Channing Tatum as Duke (GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra, 2015)

Channing Tatum looks like an all-around nice guy who never knows how to hate. However, apparently, he really hated being part of the movie GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra.

In the movie, he was forced to play Duke. In an interview with Howard Stern he described how he was “pushed into doing that movie.” He even revealed that he just had to do it to abide by his contract with Paramount Pictures. He detailed that although he was a big part of the cartoon series growing up, he always dreamed of becoming Joe. Unfortunately, he didn’t land that role.