Famous Actors Who Were Forced To Take Film Roles They Didn't Want

Eventually, for various reasons, every actor leaves the role of James Bond. Daniel Craig signed a four-picture deal with the production company EON to play the spy with a license to kill.

Despite both the box-office gains and mostly positive reviews of Craig's first three Bond movies - Casino Royale (2006), Quantum of Solace (2008), and Skyfall (2012) - the English actor did not want to make a fourth Bond film. 

However, he didn't have a choice. "Well, I was contracted to do another one," said Craig. "That was all set up. But at the studio, there was a real keenness to get it done as soon as possible. In fact, there was a conversation at one point that went: 'Let’s film two movies back to back.' I just went 'You’re out of your f*cking minds.'"

The filming for Spectre turned out to be a grueling eight-month shoot that had the actor traveling around the world. After completing the Sam Mendes-directed movie, Craig did not hold back on his feelings about making a fifth Bond film: "I’d rather break this glass and slash my wrists. No, not at the moment. Not at all. That’s fine. I’m over it at the moment. We’re done. All I want to do is move on."

Craig later added, "I’m not in discussion with anybody about anything. If I did another Bond movie, it would only be for the money."

Money really does talk. Craig ended up signing on for a fifth Bond movie, No Time to Die. He reportedly earned $25 million. 

Steven Spielberg's 1975 adventure thriller Jaws brought in a then-record-setting $470 million at the box office. The movie established the concept of the summer blockbuster and changed the entire course of Hollywood filmmaking.

Of course, Universal wanted to further capitalize on their star shark and make a sequel. However, both Spielberg and actor Richard Dreyfuss passed on the opportunity.

Roy Scheider did not have a choice. The actor was contractually obligated to reprise his role as the movie's protagonist Brody. Scheider reportedly did not enjoy the experience of making the sequel, nor did he care for the movie's director Jeannot Szwarc.

Ed Norton made one of the most impressive big-screen debuts ever in the 1996 legal thriller Primal Fear. The role earned the actor an Academy Award nomination and instantly made him a rising young Hollywood star. 

Before Norton appeared in Primal Fear, he signed a three-picture deal with Paramount in 1995. Therefore, he was contractually obligated to make two additional films with the studio. Norton continued to work for other studios in films like American History X and The People vs. Larry Flynt. Meanwhile, Paramount and Norton could not find a project they could agree upon. 

The actor landed the role as the Narrator in David Fincher's 1999 film Fight Club, believing his contract with Paramount had expired. The studio thought otherwise, and the sides embarked on a legal entanglement. Paramount claimed Norton was contractually obligated to make a film called Twenty Billion that was scheduled to film during the same time as Fight Club.

Norton wanted to star in Fincher's film, so he finally agreed to settle his dispute with the studio. The two sides agreed Norton would make one more additional picture for Paramount. 

After Fight Club wrapped, Paramount and Norton once again could not agree on a project. The studio insisted they would never make the actor appear in a movie he didn't want to be in. However, Paramount finally flexed its muscles and forced Norton to take a role in the 2003 caper movie The Italian Job, which was a remake of the 1969 British film of the same name. Norton only took The Italian Job to avoid being sued by Paramount. However, the Academy Award-nominated actor didn't attempt to hide his disdain while working on the film.

When The Italian Job turned out to be a box-office and audience hit, the film's producers gave out gifts to members of the cast. And it wasn't just any gift, but a brand new BMW Mini Cooper like those featured in the film. Norton reportedly returned his gift with a note that read: "Give this to someone you actually like - or someone who actually likes you."

The original script for Theodore Rex had a white male in the lead role as the police detective who partners with a Tyrannosaurus rex. However, after producers met with Whoopi Goldberg, who was at the height of her '90s fame, they offered the actress $5 million to play the heroine in the live-action buddy cop movie. Goldberg accepted the offer, and the production continued with the new lead change. The parties only had a verbal agreement.

Then, for reasons unknown that probably had to do with the movie's script, Goldberg wanted to back out of the project. Her team offered to return the $5 million. However, the movie's producers wanted Goldberg to keep her word. They filed a $20 million lawsuit against the Academy Award-winning actress, who eventually agreed to star in the movie to avoid going to court.

Theodore Rex went on to become the most expensive film to ever go straight to video. It also earned the dreaded 0% on Rotten Tomatoes. Goldberg received a Razzie nod in 1996 for Worst Actress.

Remember Mike Myers's weird West German character Dieter from Saturday Night Live? There was a time when Dieter was going to have his very own feature-length motion picture. However, Myers left the project, and Universal Pictures sued the actor. The sides eventually settled and agreed Myers would star in a different Universal film.

The studio decided to make a live-action version of The Cat in the Hat with Myers now contractually obligated to play the Cat. The Canadian actor's heart was clearly not in the picture.

Actress Amy Hill, who played Mrs. Kwan in the Dr. Seuss adaptation, described working with Myers as a "horrible, nightmarish experience." The Crazy Ex-Girlfriend actress did not hold back. She added: 

He is like a little hermit. He would come in and, I guess, be in hair and makeup. We would wait. I’d be there at the crack of dawn, waiting. We would all be waiting for Mike Myers to come.

He had his handlers dress his trailer, and his area was all covered with tenting because he didn’t want anybody seeing him. It was so weird. It was just the worst. It was like I was there forever, and my daughter was 2 and a half, and I felt like I was missing her first everything. I was miserable. I just thought it was really rude for him to not take all of us into consideration.

Myers perhaps knew the family comedy was going to be a flop when he read the script. The film cost $109 million to produce and barely made back its budget. It was reportedly bad enough that Dr. Seuss's widow refused to authorize any subsequent live-action adaptations of the famed writer's books. 

Natalie Portman entered the MCU as American astrophysicist and Thor love interest Jane Foster in the first standalone Thor movie in 2011. The film was a hit, and the sequel Thor: The Dark World was scheduled to hit the big screen in 2013. Portman became elated with the news that Patty Jenkins would helm the sequel.

However, Jenkins later left the project because of creative differences. The MCU brought on Alan Taylor to replace Jenkins behind the camera. The move reportedly upset Portman so much that she wanted out of the sequel. However, the Academy Award-winning actress had signed a multi-picture deal with Marvel and was contractually obligated to appear in The Dark World.

Portman was able to exit the MCU before the film's third installment Thor: Ragnarok. However, the Black Swan actress had a change of heart and reentered the MCU a few years later. Foster will have an even bigger role and get to wield her own hammer as the God of Thunder in 2022's Thor: Love and Thunder.