Some actors get their big break from one popular movie or show. In fact, sometimes they are better known by their character’s name than their real one. While some actors talk about their most famous roles with pride, others dislike the character or franchise that made them famous. Here are 6 actors who admit they hate their most famous role.
6. Angus T. Jones (Jake Harper in Two and a Half Men)
After joining the show at only 10 years old, Angus T. Jones quickly became a huge success. He won several awards for his performance and is currently worth $20 million at 27 years old.
Despite the show’s huge success, Jones quit his role during season 10 due to his newfound religious beliefs. He joined the Seventh-day Adventist Church and took a deep dive into his faith life. “It was making light of topics in our world that are really problems for a lot of people,” Jones explained. “I was a paid hypocrite because I wasn’t okay with it, but I was still doing it.”
The actor not only distanced himself, but he actively encouraged fans to stop watching the show, calling it “filth.”
5. Penn Badgley (Dan Humphrey in Gossip Girl)
While other actors grew to dislike their roles after years of playing them, Badgley never wanted the iconic role of Dan Humphrey in Gossip Girl. Reportedly, he only accepted the role because they could not find a replacement. In 2013, after the show ended the year prior, he said, “I can walk a little taller feeling that I don’t have to be constantly apologizing for the work that I’ve done in the past.”
While showrunner Josh Safran said that Badgley “was Dan,” Badgley felt differently. When asked why he did not like the role of Dan Humphrey, Badgeley explained, “It’s just, after a while, you’re known as somebody that you’re just not … It sucks when people call me ‘Dan’ and think that I’m him.”
4. Christopher Plummer (Captain Georg Von Trapp in The Sound of Music)
In an interview with The Boston Globe, per CBR, Plummer would not even refer to the movie by its title. Instead, he referred to it simply as “the film,” or even, “the sound of mucus.”
He explained that he was bored with the uninteresting character and that the subject matter “wasn’t his cup of tea.”
Largely, Plummer admitted he was unhappy with the classic film aside from working alongside Julie Andrews.
3. Alec Guinness (Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars)
Guinness is another actor who was skeptical of his role from the beginning. In fact, he accepted the role partly because he would receive 2.25 percent of the film’s backend profits.
Similar to Badgley, Guinness found that after his performance, he became defined by his famous character. After building a reputation as a serious actor with great range, his career became reduced to his time in Star Wars.
He was even known to throw away Obi-Wan fan mail without reading it, and, on one occasion, agreed to sign an autograph for a young boy if he promised to stop watching Star Wars.
2. Sean Connery (James Bond)
James Bond is an iconic character that many people recognize. However, Sean Connery grew to dislike the character and the attention that came along with it. He could not simply walk down the street without someone pointing him out as James Bond.
As the films continued, Connery expressed his dislike for the film’s reliance on “bigger and better gimmicks,” and compared them to “comic strips.”
Eventually, Connery declared that his fourth James Bond movie, Thunderball, might have been his last. He wanted a salary of one million dollars and a cut of the gross profits.
Ultimately, his requests were granted, and the films continued despite Connery’s dislike for them.
1. Robert Pattinson (Edward Cullen in Twilight)
Last on our list of actors who admit they hate their most famous role is Robert Pattinson. Not only did this actor hate his role, but he also disliked the entire book and movie franchise. When referring to the story, he said, “When I read it, it felt like a book that shouldn’t have been published.” he even admitted that if he weren’t in the series, he would ‘mindlessly hate it.’
Pattinson described his famous character as “the most ridiculous person,” explaining that “the more I read the script, the more I hated this guy.”
In addition to his critiques of Edward Cullen, Pattinson pointed out inconsistencies in the world of Twilight, such as the characters attending high school when they are 100 years old.