Top 10 Sequels Actors Regret Doing

Sandra Bullock

After playing a part in keeping a bus above a certain pace in 1994’s “Speed,” Bullock signed up for the 1997 sequel. However, one of the warning signs should’ve been that Keanu Reeves decided not to follow suit. Then, the film came out to a mild reaction, barely scraping its budget back at the box office. Numerous times since Bullock has slated “Speed 2.” In an interview for her 2022 film “The Lost City,” Bullock said she was embarrassed about the sequel. She further stated its story made no sense with a cruise liner slowly charging towards an island. While Daniel Radcliffe tried to make her feel better by mentioning there’s a cult for it, Bullock emphasized it’s a very quiet group.

Sally Field

When people think about Aunt May on the big screen, nine times out of ten, they’re imagining Rosemary Harris from the Tobey Maguire trilogy or Marisa Tomei from Tom Holland’s run. But the performer that held the role for Andrew Garfield’s reign, Sally Field, is probably glad she isn’t regularly reminisced for the part. In 2016, Field spoke to Howard Stern and criticized “The Amazing Spider-Man” series. She claimed it was really hard to find a three-dimensional character in the franchise, and the films weren’t her kind of thing. Field also stated her role didn’t require a great effort to perform. However, she did praise Garfield as a great actor under those circumstances. So… that’s something, right?

Zac Efron

Sometimes, a breakout role can come with side effects that make the rest of an actor's career difficult. Especially when it means signing up for multiple sequels. And that was the case for Efron joining the “High School Musical” cast, a problem he has spoken about several times in interviews. He mentioned that straight after filming the first film, he realized he didn’t want to do this role anymore. Even after appearing in numerous other films after “HSM,” Efron struggled to get the spell of the franchise off of him. At times, he has been type-casted into roles just because he played a singing teenage role. It wouldn’t be until 2014’s “Neighbors” that the audience saw Efron was more than just Troy Bolton.

Michelle Pfeiffer

If there’s a list of films out there that didn’t need a sequel, 1978’s “Grease” would make the cut. But, alas, that’s exactly what we got four years later. With almost none of the main cast returning, Pfeiffer was one of the leads for the musical 60’s-set film. And she doesn’t have the best memories of the experience. Even though this was Pfeiffer’s breakout role that helped propel her career, if she could change it, she wouldn’t have signed on to do this sequel. In interviews, Pfeiffer mentioned that she hates the film with a vengeance, even describing it as really bad. Pfeiffer blames the fact that she was young and inexperienced at that point for why she took the role.

Megan Fox

Having already worked with Micahel Bay for her uncomfortable role in 2003’s “Bad Boys II,” Fox worked with him for 2007’s “Transformers” and 2009’s “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.” And Bay loved to use the “male gaze” whenever she was on screen… it was weird. But in 2009, she had an interview with Wonderland that let the audience peek behind the Bay door. Fox described him as a nightmare on set and that he was like Napoleon and other infamous dictators. She also laid into his dangerous practices that even insurance companies wouldn’t cover. But Fox mentioned that off-set, Bay is apparently very socially awkward. After this, Fox was dropped from the franchise, which had its silver linings.

Matt Damon

If you were watching 2012’s “The Bourne Legacy,” saw Jeremy Renner in the leading role, and wondered what had gone wrong, well, we may have the answer for ya. Besides Damon not liking that Paul Greengrass wasn’t directing the film, he also had an issue with his last outing in “The Bourne Ultimatum.” In an interview, he criticized the script by Tony Gilroy, describing it as “unreadable” and that the writer took the money and left. Damon went further by saying if he had put Gilroy’s script on eBay, Gilroy’s career would’ve been over. Well, just to make matters worse, the 2012 film was directed and written by Gilroy, not really giving Damon much of an incentive to sign on.

Jessica Alba

Can you imagine a world where after 2007, Alba just dipped out of the acting world? Thankfully, this dystopian possibility never came to be, but it nearly did due to “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer” director Tim Story. Near the end of the film, when Alba as Sue Storm is perishing, Story allegedly told the actor to be prettier when she cries. Then he supposedly told her to make her "face flat," and they’ll CGI the tears later. Wow. Because apparently that’s what women are bothered about after getting a spike through them, looking hot(!) This blunt criticism made Alba question her talents so much that she considered giving up acting. Luckily she didn’t.

Jim Carrey

For the sequel to the 2010 movie, the filmmakers wanted a big-name actor to do what Nic Cage did for the original. So, they brought in Jim Carrey. But before the film even came out, the actor turned to social media to slate it for its violence and that he couldn’t support it, especially after the tragic Sandy Hook shootings. He also mentioned that while he wasn’t ashamed of the film, he had a change of heart. The creator of the comic series it's based on and the executive producer for “Kick-Ass 2,” Mark Millar, was baffled by Carrey’s comments. He responded in his blog that the actor knew what he was getting himself into as nothing changed from the screenplay to the screen.

Robert Pattinson

If there’s an actor iconic for hating their own franchise while it was still churning out films, Pattinson would be at the tippy-top. In a 2008 interview with Empire, he mentioned that as he read the book, he despised his character Edward Cullen and saw him as a “ridiculous person.” But it inspired him to play the role like a "manic-depressive who hates himself.” In regards to Cullen being a 108-year-old virgin, Pattinson said, “he's obviously got some issues there.” In another interview, Pattinson also slated Stephanie Meyer, the author of the “Twilight” books. He described her as “mad” and that the book seemed like something that wasn’t meant to be published.

Bill Murray

Imagine signing up for a multi-film role on the premise you were excited to work with a certain filmmaker, only to get it really, really wrong. Well, that’s what happened to Bill Murray. He was offered the leading role to voice the Monday-hating cat for the 2004 and 2006 films. But what really got him eager was working on a project written by Joel Coen, who's from the iconic filmmakers, the Coen brothers!.. Only…it wasn’t. It was actually Joel Cohen with an “H” who co-wrote the first “Toy Story” film and other animated projects. It wouldn’t be until Murray was in the sound booth as he struggled to connect with the dialogue and story that he was told it wasn’t a Coen brothers' project. Whoops.