#30. Ian McKellen
Sir Ian McKellen has been on countless movies and he is one of the most professional and experienced actors in the business. So, who would've though that the filming of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey almost made him reach his breaking point? You may think that maybe he was tired of playing Gandalf for so many movies, but that was not the problem at all.
The problem with this movie was that, unlike the original Lord of the Rings trilogy, it was almost entirely filmed in front of a green screen, which almost drove McKellen insane. He had to work in isolation in front of that screen for hours, which made him feel miserable. Luckily, he didn't quit! It is not easy to interact with just a screen and pretend that there are other people around you, but of course, McKellen did it like a pro.
#29. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio
You may remember Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio from the 1980s action film The Abyss. In it, her character was on the verge of death and had to receive CPR. Doesn't sound too bad, does it? Well, if you think about all the takes they had to do, it's not so easy anymore. Sometimes, a scene that may last for a few seconds in a movie can actually take hours or even days to make, and this can be very exhausting for actors.
Mastrantonio had to lay on the floor and have her chest pressed hard constantly and be slapped in the face for many, many takes. When she finally thought it was over, a mistake was discovered and the scene had to be re-shot, which made her walk off set. She pulled herself together and came back to finish it, though.
#28. John Cena
John Cena is known for being a tough guy. He plays the buff, strong, scary dude on 99.9% of all the movies he's filmed and he can do virtually any stunt he is asked to do. But one particular stunt on the film The Reunion was event too hard for him to do. As it turns out, even the toughest guys out there have fears!
One weakness that this WWE wrestler has is a fear of heights. So when he had to shoot a scene from a helicopter, he almost refused to finish it because he was terrified. In the end, he did it, but he hated every single second of it. Come to think of it, a fear of heights is one of the most common phobias out there, and having to do stunts in a helicopter doesn't sound like a walk in the park.
#27. Mike Myers
The most memorable scene from Wayne's World is definitely when Garth and Wayne are singing Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody at the top of their lungs. That scene however, almost never happened —in fact, the whole movie may not have happened because of Mike Myers. Being the main star has its perks, and many actors take advantage of that to make certain demands. Myers is actually infamous for making crazy demands on set, but he might have done it right this time.
Producers wanted the characters to sing a Guns N' Roses song, but Myers wanted Bohemian Rhapsody to make it to the movie. He fought so hard for it that he threatened to quit, and said he would walk out of the project entirely unless they used that song. Of course his method was questionable, but since he ended up making the movie so iconic, we could say that the end justified the means.
#26. Lily Tomlin
While doing press for Grace and Frankie, Lily Tomlin opened up to Stephen Colbert about what happened during the filming of 9 to 5, one of her most famous movies. She said that she almost quit during the first week of filming because she did not like how a scene looked. Some actors wait until they see the final product to form an opinion about the project, but Tomlin followed every single scene closely, and one in particular really made her doubt her decision to be in the movie.
According to her, she saw herself in some footage where she was talking to animated birds and thought it was horrifying. She was so upset that she even asked the producers to fire her and offered to return her salary. Producers told her to calm down and wait for the final result, and she accepted. Then, when she saw the scene with better special effects, she decided to stay.
#25. Shelley Duvall
You may remember Shelley Duvall from several projects from the 1980s, but most iconic performance is definitely her role in The Shining. The movie is a cult classic loved by thousands of fans around the world, but filming it was actually a brutal experience for the actors, particularly Duvall. The production of the movie was very stressful for everyone involved.
The nature of the movie itself was not very enjoyable in the first place, given all the gruesome scenes that had to be filmed. But it was Stanley Kubrick's direction that almost made Duvall walk off the set. He made her stay on set for hours on end, and for one particular scene, he requested 127 takes, which was unbearable and almost made her quit. Imagine doing the same scene over, and over, and over, and over! Would you have stayed?
#24. Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp was deeply affected by his role in What's Eating Gilbert Grape? because he related to his character a lot. His character was struggling because of the responsibility of taking care of his mentally-challenged brother, and Depp was struggling in his own way, especially with his drinking problem. He had many dark days on set that almost pushed him to quit and also he had a bad relationship with the director.
One aspect of the movie that he hated was the fact that his character had to fight with his mother and tell her all sorts of horrible things. After filming, he called the actress that played his mother and apologized to her for saying those things, even though it was all for the movie. Depp has been known to take his characters very seriously and sometimes lose himself in them, which can result in a great performance but it definitely takes a toll on the actor.
#23. Stanley Tucci
Stanley Tucci is a great actor that commits to his roles, but playing a sex offender on The Lovely Bones really took a toll on him. When filming, he had to pretend to be this disgusting person who murders a young girl, and he almost couldn't do it. For some actors, it is easier to separate who they really are and who their characters are, but Tucci had a moral conflict going inside his head when taking on this role.
It took a lot of strength for him to just do it and not think about it too much, but the truth is that he had a horrible feeling during filming. He pulled through like the professional he is and tried to put his feelings aside for the sake of the movie, even though he hated it. At least his performance got him an Academy Award nomination!
#22. Michelle Rodriguez
Michelle Rodriguez is the main lady of the Fast and Furious movies, but she almost left her role behind. Fans just can't imagine the movies without her but actually, that was very close to being a reality. After so many movies, the writers didn't know how to make the plot interesting, so they came up with a love triangle that Rodriguez absolutely hated.
After being Vin Diesel's love interest for a few movies, producers made the characters have a love triangle with Paul Walker. This did not sit well with Rodriguez, and she even threatened to leave. When actors play a role for a long time, they become attached to them and grow some kind of personal bond with them, which ultimately can lead to the actors being protective of them as well. Rodriguez didn't want her character to go down that road, so she fought hard to change it. For some unknown reason, she decided not to quit and continue with the movie.
#21. Jessica Alba
Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer was a box office disaster because of several factors like the plot and the writing, but the actors themselves think it was because of its director, Tim Story. Leading lady Jessica Alba was not happy about him during filming, and she even almost quit not only the movie but her acting career after working with him.
In one scene, she was asked to cry. Story was not happy with her performance because she didn't look pretty when she cried —yes, according to him, Jessica Alba didn't look pretty! He asked her to be prettier and if the tears didn't come, he would just CGI them in. This made her doubt not only her acting skills, but also her looks.
#20. Tippi Hedren
Tippi Hedren was Alfred Hitchcock's muse for a few years until she had enough. The famed director was known for pushing boundaries and putting his actors through hell, and unfortunately, Tippi Hedren was one of his "victims". We can all agree that he was one of the greatest directors of all time and paved the way for those who came after him, but his methods would be illegal nowadays.
In a scene of The Birds, we see Hedren's character being violently attacked by birds. Hitchcock had promised her that he would use fake birds, but when it was time to film the scene, all the birds there were real, and they actually attacked her. She had to take a week off work on doctor's orders. For some reason, she decided to stay, but later regretted it.
#19. Brad Pitt
One of Brad Pitt's most famous movies is Interview with the Vampire, and while he was great in it, he felt miserable during its production. Pitt is usually down for any sort of stunts and different genres of movies, but according to him, he was depressed by the gloomy, dark weather in London, during the 6 months of production.
He was so homesick and so tired of the weather that he actually threatened to quit. The only reason he changed his mind was that, if he had backed out of the project, he would have had to pay $40 million for breach of contract. Pitt may be rich, but he's not that rich.
#18. Jim Carrey
Jim Carrey has been on countless movies and has portrayed many lovable characters. Everyone loved him as the Grinch, except for Carrey himself. Every day, he grew more and more tired of the extensive hours of makeup he had to go through before filming every single day for months, and for that reason, he almost quit.
Carrey had everything ready to leave and the production team had no idea what to do. So, to convince him to stay, producer Brian Glazer actually got a specialist who trained FBI and CIA officers to endure torture to come to the set and talk Carrey out of quitting —and it actually worked. Thanks to that strange but smart move, we got the best portrayal of the Grinch ever.
#17. Zoe Saldana
Before Zoe Saldana became a big star on movies like Avatar and Guardians of the Galaxy, she had a few minor roles here and there. One of them was a part in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. According to her, it was the worst experience she ever had and it almost made her quit acting for good.
In an interview, she said that the atmosphere on set was extremely hostile. Although she didn't name any names, she said that the bigger actors felt very entitled and treated the extras like trash. She also said that the producers weren't friendly and that she just felt disrespected the whole time.
#16. Jake Gyllenhaal
Jake Gyllenhaal is known for being a very committed actor, but he almost reached his breaking point during filming of Zodiac. It was David Fincher's direction style that drove him insane, because the director made him do countless takes of every scene.
It is normal to do a few takes of every scene, but Fincher tends to go as high as 90 takes, which can totally drive actors crazy. Gyllenhaal decided to stay but hated every second of it, and we doubt he will work with Fincher again.
#15. Daisy Ridley
Daisy Ridley's breakout role was in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. For a first role, it was a huge deal, and she competed with hundreds of actresses for the role. Fans of the beloved franchise loved her performance and critics did as well, but one person who didn't like what she did was the film's director, J.J. Abrams.
Ridley considered quitting after Abrams told her that her performance was "wooden". This made her doubt her skills and made her feel totally uncomfortable in the role. Over time, she became more confident and things improved. She has already been in three Star Wars movies, so she's probably over it at this point.
#14. Lauren Cohan
Lauren Cohan was a huge part of The Walking Dead for many seasons until her departure on season 9. However, she had already thought about quitting on season 3 because of a particularly gruesome scene. Although the show is known for being graphic, she couldn't stand this one thing her character had to do.
Her character had to perform a C-section on another character who was dying in order to save the baby, and she just couldn't stand it. It was her co-star and on-screen husband, Steven Yeun, who talked her into staying. After all, she kind of knew what she was getting herself into when she signed up for that kind of show.
#13. Emma Watson
Can you imagine the Harry Potter series without Emma Watson? That would've been a disaster, right? Well, that nightmare almost became a reality, because the young actress considered quitting more than once. The reason? Her education.
Watson has always put her education first, much like her character, Hermione. So when the filming of the movies interfered with her school exams, she had to put her foot down. Luckily, producers agreed to accommodate filming schedules so she wouldn't leave.
#12. Faye Dunaway
Director Roman Polanski is infamous for many things, one of them being how tough he is with his actors. One actress who could not stand his methods was Faye Dunaway. When the two filmed Chinatown, the actress had a horrible time on set. Dunaway also had a reputation for being a diva, but Polanski went way too far this time.
According to her, Polansky was extremely strict with everybody, but the last straw for her was when he did not allow her to take a break to use the bathroom. She ended up peeing in a cup and, allegedly, when Polanski came close to her, she threw the cup in his face.
#11. Jeremy Renner
When we think of The Avengers, the character of Hawkeye is not the first to come to mind. Next to superheroes like Iron Man and Captain America, Jeremy Renner's character was kind of overshadowed and Renner did not like that one bit. His storyline was very poor, and with every movie that came, Renner felt more and more disappointed.
So what did he do? He actually asked the writers to kill his character off because he could not stand it anymore. Luckily, the writers decided to give Hawkeye a more interesting storyline instead of just killing him, which worked out well for everyone.
#10. Mila Jovovich
Mila Jovovich was the face of the Resident Evil franchise for a whopping 14 years, but that almost never happened. Right when she filmed the very first movie in 2002, she was very close to walking off set. The problem wasn't the violence or the demanding stunts of the movie —it was a battle of egos, believe it or not.
Jovovich recently confessed that she was upset that Rain, Michelle Rodriguez's character, was getting more scenes than her, especially action ones. She talked with director Paul Anderson about it, and he convinced her to stay. Not only that, but the two began dating and have been married for over ten years.
#9. Jamie Alexander
We have another Avengers actor on this list, this time it's Jamie Alexander. The actress had a part in Thor: The Dark World, and although the movie came out great, filming it was a harrowing experience for Alexander.
As you can imagine, these big superhero movies come with lots of dangerous stunts, and Alexander underestimated how demanding it would be. While filming a scene on a platform, she fell and dislocated her shoulder and injured her spine. She had to undergo physical therapy for over a month, and later she made the big decision to come back and film the rest of the movie.
#8. Michael Keaton
You would think that every actor in this world would do anything to wear the Batman suit, but Michael Keaton is not one of them. When he portrayed the Dark Knight, he had such an awful time wearing the suit that he even suffered from panic attacks.
Yes, believe it or not, Keaton had very serious panic attacks on set because the suit made him feel claustrophobic, which is a phobia that the actor suffers from. He needed a lot of coaching but he managed to film all his scenes. It is not easy to deal with your fears under pressure, but Keaton did it perfectly.
#7. Al Pacino
Al Pacino's most iconic role was in The Godfather, for which he received an Academy Award. And although everyone loved his performance, the production team hated working with him and even tried to get him fired. Because of this, Pacino felt extremely uncomfortable on set.
He felt unwanted and people were very hostile towards him, so he didn't even want to show up anymore. Getting to the set became harder and harder every day, and he seriously considered quitting. It was director Francis Ford Coppola who believed in him, stood by his side, and convinced him to stay. Pacino went on to appear on all three Godfather movies.
#6. Krysten Ritter
With Jessica Jones, Krysten Ritter landed the role of her lifetime, but it wasn't easy at all. During filming of season one, she had a very hard time dealing with all the sensitive and emotional topics that revolved around the show but it wasn't so bad. On season two, however, she had an even worse time.
Her character had lots of fighting scenes, and that came with a risk of injury. One time, a guy was supposed to push her but he went too hard. Their bodies collided and his shoulder hit her jaw so hard that she almost bit her tongue off. She only continued with the show because she fully recovered.
#5. Carl Weathers
No matter how intense a fight scene gets in a movie, audiences rest assured that it is all fake and that the actors are fine. However, that wasn't the case on Rocky IV. Carl Weathers, who played Rocky's iconic nemesis Apollo Creed, was very close to quitting because of another co-star.
Dolph Lundgren, who played Ivan Drago, apparently took his role way too seriously and threw actual deadly punches at Weathers. The last straw was when Lundgren threw him against a wall, but Sylvester Stallone intervened and helped the actors reconcile.
#4. Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman did an excellent job portraying Detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle in The French Connection, for which he got an Academy Award, but the role was the biggest challenge of his career. As he explained in an interview, he just couldn't figure out how to play the character, which made him feel increasingly frustrated as the days and weeks went by.
The anger of the character was the biggest problem for Hackman, and many times he felt like quitting. Not only that, but when he learned that he hadn't been the first choice for the role, he became even more upset. Luckily, he pushed through his insecurities and nailed the part.
#3. Michelle Pfeiffer
Michelle Pfeiffer certainly looked amazing as Catwoman in Batman Returns, but much like Michael Keaton, Pfeiffer absolutely hated the suit, and she also considered leaving several times. Putting the suit on took over an hour and a team of people to help her get into it.
The team had to powder her down, help her put it on, and then they even vacuum-packed the suit to make it look extra tight. On top of that, they would freshly paint it with silicone every single time to make it shine. The worst part was the mask because it choked her and gave her a headache.
#2. Charlize Theron
Charlize Theron has been on countless movies and has acted in every genre possible, but she almost hit her limit when filming Aeon Flux in 2005. When filming her own stunts, she fell and hit her neck so hard that she had to stop filming for several weeks.
The injury was very serious but she made a full recovery. She was lucky, though, because had she hit her neck just a little bit more she would have been paralyzed for the rest of her life. Still, she came back to work and the filming resumed as usual.
#1. Uma Thurman
Uma Thurman had an awful accident while filming Kill Bill that was actually covered up by its producers —one of them being the infamous Harvey Weinstein. She wasn't able to talk about it until 2018 when Quentin Tarantino backed her up and gave her footage to prove what had happened and released it to the public.
According to Thurman, she knew that a car she was supposed to drive was defective, but producers pushed her to drive it anyway. While driving, the car malfunctioned and she crashed against a tree, which left her with a head injury. She felt so pressured that she didn't say anything and decided to keep filming.