Actors Who Hated Their Own Movies – And Made Sure The Entire World Hears About It

When Christopher Plummer dubbed The Sound of Music ‘The Sound of Mucus,’ he joined a surprisingly large club: actors who publicly trashed their own films. From Oscar winners to box office kings, Hollywood’s biggest stars have been surprisingly candid about their career mistakes. Some blame studio interference, others admit to chasing paychecks, and a few simply got caught in projects that spiraled out of control. Here are actors who didn’t just phone it in—they picked up the phone to tell everyone exactly how much they hated the experience.

George Clooney – Batman & Robin (1997)

George Clooney has worn tuxedos, charm, and a fair share of Hollywood glitz—but Batman’s nippled armor? Not so much. The actor famously called his 1997 turn in Batman & Robin “so bad” that even he can’t get through it without cringing.

“I did one superhero movie and I f*cked it up so bad they won’t let me near the set,” Clooney admitted. “The truth of the matter is, I was bad in it,” he added.

He went on to say watching it “physically hurts”—and that’s coming from Batman himself. Christian Bale would later brood in the same cape, but Clooney took the pain first.

Kate Winslet – Titanic (1997)

Titanic made Kate Winslet an overnight superstar at just 22. But for her, the spotlight was suffocating—more nightmare than glamorous blockbuster dream.

She later admitted the Titanic fame was “horrible,” deliberately chasing smaller films instead. Winslet quipped she didn’t want paparazzi snapping her while “literally feeding the ducks.”

Even worse was the body-shaming, from weight questions to constant jabs. As Winslet put it: “Why were they so mean to me? I wasn’t even f*cking fat.”

Michael Caine – Jaws: The Revenge (1987)

The two-time Oscar winner accepted a million dollars for two weeks’ work on the horror sequel, candidly calling it “one of the worst pictures I did.”

The 90-year-old claims he never bothered watching the film that holds a 2% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, but regrets? Not a chance.

“Someone said we all saw Jaws 4, it stinks,” Caine chuckled to Andrew Denton. “I said I haven’t seen it, but I’ve seen the house it bought my mother, and it’s marvelous!”

Halle Berry – Catwoman (2004)

Berry made history by accepting her Razzie in person, clutching her Oscar while thanking Warner Bros. for “putting me in this piece of sh*t, God-awful movie!”

The crowd went wild seeing Hollywood royalty at the podium holding both her Oscar and Razzie—like bringing your prom date and your ex to the same party, but somehow making it work.

“I always learned that if you can’t be a good loser, then you don’t deserve to be a good winner. So I went there and made fun of myself.” Berry, said.

Ryan Reynolds – Green Lantern (2011)

“Fundamentally doomed from the start,” is what Reynolds called the film. Like the cinematic equivalent of watching the Titanic set sail while you’re already standing on the iceberg.

At the premiere, his reaction was “holy sh*t” and “no, no!” — an experience he spent years “owning” because it was “the only way to process it.”

When James Gunn jokingly asked if he’d return, Reynolds shot back: “Get the f*ck out of here!” His self-roasting turned career embarrassment into signature brand humor.

Sandra Bullock – All About Steve (2009)

Bullock showed up to the Razzies with a red wagon full of DVDs, handing them out like Oprah giving away cars — ready to fully embrace her Worst Actress award.

“If you promise to watch the movie, and I mean really watch it, and really consider if it was really and truly the worst performance… then I will come back next year and I will give back the Razzie,” she said.

She even offered to do a line reading of the film for anyone willing — “So we can do this til about 4 in the morning” — before ending the night with a small bow and roaring applause.

Mark Wahlberg – The Happening (2008)

Mark Wahlberg has faced off against gangsters, terrorists, and even giant robots—but nothing prepared him for… the plants.

At a press conference for The Fighter, Wahlberg joked that Amy Adams had “dodged a bullet” by passing on a role that went to Zooey Deschanel. After dancing around it for a moment, he finally gave up the title: “All right, The Happening. F— it. It is what it is. F—ing trees, man. The plants. F— it.”

At least Wahlberg found one silver lining: “You can’t blame me for not wanting to try to play a science teacher. At least I wasn’t playing a cop or a crook.”

Kristen Stewart – Twilight (2008–2012)

Kristen Stewart barreled through the Twilight saga as Bella Swan, five films in four years, while the fandom dissected every scowl, sigh, and awkward prom dance.

“I was so hungry for more work because the Twilight series itself took forever,” she said, sneaking in projects like Adventureland and The Runaways just to feel like a different person (pun intended).

Otherwise, she risked, in her words, “just playing that one part for f*cking six years.” Luckily, Robert Pattinson was right there groaning about eternal life too.

Julia Roberts – I Love Trouble (1994)

With a title like I Love Trouble, it’s almost like the disaster was pre-written. Julia Roberts didn’t just dislike the movie—she flat-out torched it.

She later said, “I don’t know what I’ve already said about I Love Trouble, other than that it was a piece of sh*t.” Not exactly a glowing IMDb trivia blurb.

And off screen? Sparks were supposed to fly, but Roberts clashed with Nick Nolte instead: “[While he can be] completely charming and very nice, he’s also completely disgusting.” No wonder she hated the whole thing.

Charlize Theron – Reindeer Games (2000)

Charlize Theron once starred in Reindeer Games, John Frankenheimer’s 2000 thriller with Ben Affleck. On paper: veteran director, rising stars, holiday heist. In reality: a film you hope fans never find in the bargain bin.

“That was a bad, bad, bad movie,” she told Esquire, with the kind of honesty that makes a publicist sweat.

Even so, Theron isn’t sweating it. “I got to work with John Frankenheimer… I wasn’t lying to myself — that’s why I did it. F*ck regret. Just f*ck it.”

Shia LaBeouf – Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

LaBeouf admitted he “dropped the ball on the legacy that people loved and cherished”—like fumbling the Holy Grail while Indiana Jones watches in horror. But he took full responsibility like a champ.

Harrison Ford didn’t hold back either, reportedly calling him “a f*cking idiot” for speaking out — though he added LaBeouf was “ambitious, attentive, and talented,” just still learning the ropes. Translation: plenty of talent, not quite press-junket ready.

LaBeouf also clarified his respect for Spielberg: “I would never disrespect the man,” emphasizing his admiration despite the film’s missteps.

Tom Hardy – This Means War (2012)

Tom Hardy can wrestle in cages, mumble through masks, and brood with the best of them—but put him in a rom-com and suddenly it’s torture.

“I didn’t understand how you could do something that is so much fun and be so miserable doing it,” Hardy said of filming This Means War. Playing a CIA agent fighting Chris Pine for Reese Witherspoon’s heart should have been fun, but for Hardy, the mission was pure misery.

The film did fine at the box office, but Hardy swore off romantic comedies for good. Gotham may break his back, but meet-cutes? Never again.

Daniel Radcliffe – Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)

Daniel Radcliffe grew up fighting dark wizards, but by Half-Blood Prince, even he thought his acting had hit a spell of stagnation.

“I hate it. My acting is very one-note, and I can see I got complacent,” Radcliffe admitted. He still loved the set, the cast, and the chaos of daily shoots, but watching the film was a lesson in frustration: “You’re watching a mistake you made every day for 11 months.”

In the end, Radcliffe’s gripe was with himself, not the magic. Even if his Harry got a little stiff, the experience—and the people like Gary Oldman and David Thewlis—kept him enchanted.

Christian Bale – The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005–2012)

Christian Bale soared into Gotham as Batman, muscles and brooding in tow, but even the Dark Knight felt a little… incomplete. Bale imagined a “very, very dark, messed-up” version, and sometimes the cape couldn’t contain his ambitions.

“I didn’t quite manage what I hoped I would through the trilogy,” he admitted. Heath Ledger’s Joker only highlighted it: “He’s so much more interesting than me and what I’m doing.”

Still, Bale knows when to hang up the cowl: ‘That’s enough. I’ve got nothing else to offer it… We did our thing.’ Clooney may cringe, but Bale just shrugs. After all, you either quit as Batman, or stick around long enough to see another reboot.

Jennifer Lawrence – X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019)

After eight years of grueling blue body paint transformations, Lawrence was ready to retire from the Mystique business—permanently.

Still, she returned for Dark Phoenix, saying yes because longtime collaborator Simon Kinberg was directing and because she felt a responsibility to the fans. Commitment, apparently, comes in layers of blue paint.

On her final day in full Mystique makeup, Lawrence reflected, “I feel like I’ll probably figure out what Raven means to me in a few years, looking back.”

Edward Norton – The Incredible Hulk (2008)

Norton had big ambitions for Bruce Banner, pitching a two-film arc that dove into the “long, dark and serious” side of the Hulk — more mythic tragedy than popcorn blockbuster.

“I loved the Hulk comics,” he later said. “I laid out a two-film thing … As it turned out, that wasn’t what they wanted.” By 2010, Marvel had moved forward with Mark Ruffalo in the role.

Despite the creative differences, Norton said he “had a great time” making the film and got along with Kevin Feige and the cast — then moved on with perspective, professionalism, and zero green baggage.

Alec Guinness – Star Wars (1977)

Yes, that Obi-Wan Kenobi. The distinguished Shakespearean actor brought wisdom and gravitas to the role, but privately called the dialogue “lamentable” and admitted: “Apart from the money, I regret having embarked on the film.”

And when a young fan boasted about seeing Star Wars over 100 times, Guinness agreed to sign an autograph—but only if the boy promised never to watch it again.

Still, co-star Harrison Ford praised his professionalism: “He was always prepared, always professional, always very kind” — the acting equivalent of smiling politely through a root canal.

Faye Dunaway – Mommie Dearest (1981)

Few performances are as burned into pop culture as Faye Dunaway’s take on Joan Crawford in Mommie Dearest. Which became an instant camp classic — complete with enough dramatic flair to power a small theater district.

Meant as a serious biopic, the film’s curve into camp left Dunaway regretting the project, saying it gave people “irretrievably the wrong impression” of her — not the legacy she hoped for.

Looking back, she’s blunt but philosophical: “But you can’t be ashamed of the work you’ve done. You make a decision, and then you have to live with the consequences.”

Ben Affleck – Gigli (2003)

If you’ve never heard of Gigli, you’re not alone. The so-called romantic comedy paired Affleck with Jennifer Lopez at the height of “Bennifer” mania — and instantly became infamous.

Affleck later admitted the movie “didn’t work,” memorably describing it as “a sort of horse’s head in a cow’s body.” The studio, he explained, had forced the couple into an ill-fated rom-com.

The flop “engendered a lot of negative feelings” toward him, leaving Affleck questioning his choices, battling self-doubt, and stuck with Hollywood’s most notorious bomb on his résumé.

Channing Tatum – G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra (2009)

Channing Tatum jumped into G.I. Joe, having loved watching the show as a kid and hoping to play Snake Eyes—only to be cast as a regular Joe with a script he couldn’t get behind.

“The first one I passed on seven times, but they had an option on me and I had to do the movie,” he revealed during a Vanity Fair lie detector test. No surprise then that he later admitted to Howard Stern: “Look, I’ll be honest. I f*cking hate that movie. I hate that movie.”

Some childhood dreams… maybe aren’t worth living out.

Marlon Brando – Superman (1978)

Even in a superhero blockbuster, Brando couldn’t resist his eccentric streak. He seriously proposed playing Jor-El as “a green bagel,” complete with a backstory about Kryptonians being sentient bread rolls.

Director Richard Donner wisely passed on the carb-based alien concept, though you have to admire Brando’s commitment to making even Superman movies bizarre.

Christopher Reeve was less diplomatic, telling Letterman that Brando “didn’t care,” pocketed two million dollars, and phoned it in. Not every hero wears a cape—some just cash the check.

Jamie Lee Curtis – Virus (1999)

Jamie Lee Curtis has been chased by masked killers, swapped bodies with Lindsay Lohan, and tangoed with Schwarzenegger. But nothing horrified her quite like this movie.

“Virus is so bad that it’s shocking… That would be the all-time piece of sh*t,” she admitted. Released in 1999, the sci-fi thriller bombed hard, earning scorn from critics and fans alike.

Box office bombs happen, but Curtis crowned Virus as her personal worst. And coming from a scream queen, that’s saying something. Turns out the real horror wasn’t Halloween—it was Virus.

Tommy Lee Jones – Batman Forever (1995)

Two-Face may have terrorized Gotham, but off-camera, Tommy Lee Jones reportedly had his own showdown with Jim Carrey. “I hate you. I really don’t like you. I cannot sanction your buffoonery,” Carrey recalled.

Jones has never publicly confirmed the drama, leaving the story entirely in Carrey’s hands—and our imaginations—turning the superhero set into Gotham’s very own Big Brother, villain edition.

Who knew Two-Face and The Riddler’s rivalry extended behind the scenes?

Josh Brolin – Jonah Hex (2010)

Josh Brolin saddled up as the scarred bounty hunter in Jonah Hex, but the shoot quickly turned into its own wild west.

With just two weeks to pick a director, Brolin went with Jimmy Hayward—whose inexperience, combined with heavy studio meddling, helped the movie go spectacularly wrong.

Though he later softened toward Hayward, Brolin’s verdict remains unflinching: “I won’t ever stop sh*tting on Jonah Hex because it was a sh*tty f*cking movie!” he told GQ.

Emma Watson – This Is the End (2013)

Emma Watson swung into This Is the End with an ax and a raised eyebrow, swiping snacks and stealing scenes. Her cameo was brief, bold, and unapologetically in charge.

When a scene veered into improvised territory she hadn’t agreed to, Watson stepped away, drawing a clear line. Seth Rogen was totally cool with it, noting she came back the next day to say goodbye.

Reflecting on the film’s humor, Watson said, “This is not my normal type of thing, not really always my sense of humour… but how could I miss working with the best comedians in the world right now?”

Colin Farrell – Alexander (2004)

Colin Farrell’s first big epic, Oliver Stone’s Alexander, was supposed to launch him into Hollywood orbit—but instead, the reviews landed like catapults to the ego.

Critics dubbed it “dull” and “boring,” and Farrell felt like he owed moviegoers an apology. “Everyone I met, I wanted to say, ‘Have you seen Alexander? If you have, I’m really sorry,’” he recalled.

Farrell bounced back with The New World, showing that surviving a cinematic misfire can sometimes be the best acting class of all.

Matthew Goode – Leap Year (2010)

Matthew Goode has dazzled in period dramas, but Leap Year turned his rom-com cred into a scenic stroll through cinematic misery. Pop songs, clichés, and Irish hills, oh my.

“I just know that there are a lot of people who will say it is the worst film of 2010,” Goode confessed. He knew the script was weak, but weekends at home and a quick payday made it hard to resist.

“Was it a bad job? Yes. But I had a nice time and I got paid.” For Goode, the real charm of Leap Year wasn’t romance—it was that only the movie flopped, not his bank balance.

Will Smith – Wild Wild West (1999)

Will Smith went in guns blazing with an unforgettable song in Wild Wild West. A film that ended up being “a thorn in his side.” He flew too close to the Hollywood sun, chasing superstardom over artistry and landed in a pair of leather chaps.

He admitted, “I wanted to win and be the biggest movie star… I found myself promoting something because I wanted to win, versus promoting something because I believed in it.”

He turned down the role of Neo for this—crazy, right?—and still ribs himself about it: “A–hole, why didn’t you do The Matrix?” No harm done… it’s not like it became a massive hit or anything.

James Franco – Your Highness (2011)

James Franco suited up for Your Highness, a medieval comedy that promised sword fights, magic, and irreverent humor. What did it deliver? Well… not so much.

Reflecting on the experience years later, Franco went straight for the jugular: “Your Highness? That movie sucks. You can’t get around that.”

Even with its star-studded cast and absurd premise, some quests aren’t worth the joust.

Robert Pattinson – Twilight (2008–2012)

Robert Pattinson played Edward Cullen, the brooding teen vampire who, he joked, might secretly be an axe murderer—though with all the blood and limb-ripping in the first movie, he wasn’t exactly bluffing.

“I guess the books are very romantic, but at the same time, it’s not like The Notebook romantic,” he quipped—though Team Edward might have begged to differ.

Like his co-star and ex-girlfriend Kristen Stewart, he fought to move forward. She chased indies, he leaned into irony. These days, he laughs that hating Twilight is “so 2010.” Sometimes, you sparkle together when you’re apart.

Megan Fox – Transformers (2007)

Megan Fox became an overnight star battling giant robots, but in Transformers, her acting didn’t exactly steal the spotlight. Explosions, yes. Nuance, not so much.

“I’m terrible in it. It’s my first real movie and it’s not honest and not realistic,” Fox admitted. She pegged the public at seeing only seven percent of her range. Michael Bay’s sets? All explosions, little acting done.

Looking back, Fox was candid about her performance: “The movie wasn’t bad, I just wasn’t proud about what I did.”

Michael Fassbender – Assassin’s Creed (2016)

Michael Fassbender has two Oscar nods and Magneto in his back pocket, but not even he could save Assassin’s Creed. The video game adaptation promised rooftop chases, hooded assassins, and a starry cast, yet it limped to 18% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Looking back, Fassbender admitted the movie “didn’t turn out the way I hoped” and said he wished they’d made it “more entertaining.” A sprint button to the action might have helped.

Instead, Assassin’s Creed became the rare leap of faith that landed face-first.

Oscar Isaac – X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)

Oscar Isaac stepped into X-Men: Apocalypse and straight into a 40-pound suit of latex, glue, and high heels. Looking godlike came with a serious side of suffering.

“Every time I moved, it was just like rubber and plastic squeaking… I had to sit on a specially designed saddle and be rolled into a cooling tent between takes,” Isaac said. He didn’t hate the movie—just the wardrobe, which turned villainy into a full-body endurance test.

Getting out of the suit? Hours of scraping, sweating, and squeaking. Apocalypse may have commanded the world, but Isaac’s biggest battle was turning his neck.

Dev Patel – Avatar: The Last Airbender (2010)

Fresh off Slumdog Millionaire, Dev Patel signed on as Prince Zuko in The Last Airbender and found himself adrift in a green-screen ocean.

“It was a really hard process for me… I was probably miscast, and the film didn’t hit the mark,” he admitted. Looking back, Patel referenced it as “one of the worst movies I’ve ever done.”

The experience left him doubting his skills and scrambling to find his footing. But his redemption arc came with lessons on choosing work he could truly connect with—even if it came with a lot of trauma.

Christopher Plummer – The Sound of Music (1965)

Christopher Plummer may have played Captain von Trapp with gravitas, but off-camera he was rolling his eyes. To him, The Sound of Music was “so awful and sentimental and gooey.”

He grumbled about it for years, even nicknaming it ‘The Sound of Mucus‘ and admitting the part became “a bit like flogging a dead horse.” Hardly Edelweiss-level affection.

But time has a way of softening curmudgeons. In his 2012 autobiography, after watching it at an Easter party, he admitted, “I realized what a terrific movie it is… I felt a sudden surge of pride that I’d been a part of it.”

Bette Davis – Beyond the Forest (1949)

Davis may have looked like a porcelain doll, but she had the spine of a steel girder and wasn’t afraid to tell Jack Warner exactly where he could shove his casting decisions.

“I loathe that picture. I begged not to play it,” she declared, believing she was too old and wrong for the part.

The 1949 melodrama became her last Warner Bros. film. Still, it left behind one lasting cultural artifact: Davis’s line “What a dump!” — later immortalized in pop culture.

Bill Murray – Garfield (2004)

Murray signed on to voice the lasagna-loving cat, thinking he was working with the Coen Brothers. Plot twist: He was one letter off, in a completely different universe of filmmaking.

Turns out it wasn’t Joel and Ethan Coen but Joel Cohen, a very different filmmaker. “I wasn’t thinking clearly,” Murray admitted — maybe the most honest career assessment ever recorded.

Faced with a script about a cartoon cat, Murray did what Murray does: improvised his way through it and turned the whole mix-up into a Garfield that somehow makes total sense in a world that doesn’t.

Mickey Rourke – Iron Man 2 (2010)

Mickey Rourke swung into the MCU as Whiplash, the electric whip–wielding villain of Iron Man 2. But for all the sparks, he wasn’t impressed with how it turned out.

Rourke threw himself into the role—workshopping the accent, pushing for depth, even visiting a Russian prison. But most of it wound up on the cutting room floor.

“If they want to make mindless comic book movies, then I don’t want to be a part of that,” he told Crave Online. For Rourke, the biggest shock wasn’t the whips—it was how little of his work made it to screen.

Henry Cavill – Man of Steel (2013)

Even Superman has regrets. Henry Cavill reflected on Man of Steel, but not for villain fights or crumbling cities—nope, it’s a single smile to Martha Kent that still irks him.

“Every time I see it I’m like, ‘That’s an irritating smile.’ I just don’t like it. Why did I smile like that? That’s not how I smile. That I would have done it differently,” he admitted.

Turns out, saving the world doesn’t fix a bad smile. Cavill’s still haunted.

Sylvester Stallone – Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1992)

Sylvester Stallone suited up for Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot, a buddy cop action-comedy pairing him with Estelle Getty—but the movie’s origin story is almost as wild as the premise.

Arnold Schwarzenegger reportedly tricked Stallone into taking the role. “I went in… said I’m going to leak out that I have tremendous interest… a week later… ‘Sly is signing now to do this movie,’” Schwarzenegger recalled, fist pump included.

Though he survived the maternal meddling on-screen, the movie remains an oddball in Stallone’s filmography and a snapshot of old-school Hollywood rivalries in action.

Laurence Olivier – Inchon (1981)

Laurence Olivier was the grand titan with an Oscar for Hamlet and a trophy shelf that practically needed its own zip code. But even legends stumble. Case in point: Inchon, a 1981 war epic so limp it never even got a home release.

So why would Olivier take on General MacArthur? He didn’t sugarcoat it: “Money, dear boy. Money.” Nearing the end of his career, he admitted the cash was all he had left to leave his family.

Even the greatest actor of his generation wasn’t immune to a paycheck gig. Hamlet, Richard III, Zeus… and one very phoned-in war general. The man contained multitudes.

Jane Fonda – Barbarella (1968)

Jane Fonda floated through Barbarella in a silver jumpsuit, lasers in hand, and gave a generation of men their first cinematic heart palpitations. Campy, cheesy, unforgettable.

She admits the movie once made her cringe. “No, no, for a long time, I couldn’t look at it… She was a sex symbol. You can’t get away from it,” Fonda said.

She called it “taking the easy road”—a path that ended with Barbarella. “I liked doing something that caused a certain generation of men to have their first erections. But then I became an activist.” Space suit tight, lessons tighter.

Orson Welles – Mr. Arkadin (1955)

Orson Welles, the genius behind Citizen Kane and Touch of Evil, stumbled in 1955 with Mr. Arkadin, a murder mystery about vanity and secrets. On screen, it promised intrigue; behind the camera, chaos reigned.

“That’s a real flawed one, yes… Oh, yes, that’s a disaster,” Welles admitted. The film was snatched from his hands, recut into multiple versions, and left him so wary he said it was like “they’d kidnapped my child.” Seven—or is it nine?—cuts later, Arkadin’s story barely resembles Welles’ vision.

Even a master of cinema can’t escape a botched edit. Welles’ “flawed masterpiece” may be confusing, chaotic, and fractured, but it remains a fascinating glimpse of genius… slightly bruised.

Alexa PenaVega – Spy Kids 4 (2011)

Alexa PenaVega grew up on screen as Carmen Cortez, saving the world in Spy Kids. But by the time Spy Kids 4-D: All the Time in the World rolled around, the mission felt less “classified” and more “slightly misplaced.”

“It almost kind of feels like Spy Kids 4 didn’t count… it was like this weird one-off,” she admitted. Sure, there were familiar sets and old friends, but PenaVega called it a “bittersweet” experience.

In the end, the gadgets were cool, the family reunion was nice, but for PenaVega, this sequel was more miss than mission accomplished.

Javier Bardem – The Last Face (2016)

Javier Bardem has played ruthless killers and complex antiheroes, but The Last Face? That was a different kind of catastrophe. Cannes audiences winced, critics groaned, and the love story crashed spectacularly.

“It was a disaster! But, let me tell you, it was a great disaster,” Bardem laughed. He called the film a misfire, but said being booed at Cannes reminded him that filmmaking keeps you humble. “Sometimes you do No Country for Old Men, sometimes you do [a film like] this one.”

For Bardem, the takeaway was simple: hard work matters, even if the movie fails.

Nicolas Cage – Various “Crummy” Roles

Nicolas Cage has starred in wild, over-the-top films—some duds, some straight-to-video. He didn’t hate them; he just needed cash after over-investing in real estate and falling $6 million in debt.

“Even if the movie ultimately is crummy, they know I’m not phoning it in, that I care every time,” Cage explained. He worked relentlessly, paid off the debt, and continued to be the Cage we know and love.

Money may have motivated the roles, but his heart—was always in the performance. Cage was always a man who commits.