Studios understand the importance of media training their talent before they head out
on a press tour.
Fans are so anxious to learn any detail they possibly can, that even the most basic quote
can be dissected beyond belief.
Actors and directors have to be very careful about what they say in interviews, since maintaining
secrets is typically the primary objective.
Most of the time, they do a good job of avoiding any massive reveals, but they’re only human
and are prone to mistakes like the rest of us.
Here are 10 instances of actors who spoiled their own projects.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Star Wars fans love Harrison Ford to death, but the actor drew the ire of some moviegoers
during a Twitter Q&A prior to the release of Episode 7.
When asked what his favorite action scene in the film was, Ford replied with “The
sword fight with Rey and Kylo Ren.”
Up until that point, the only lightsaber duel hinted at was Finn against Kylo Ren, with
Rey’s Force abilities being kept largely under wraps.
It didn’t make the moment any less awe-inspiring, but hopefully Ford learned a few lessons for
when it’s time to promote Indiana Jones 5.
Sometimes, too much honesty is a bad thing.
Creed
Rocky fans couldn’t wait to see Sylvester Stallone return as the Italian Stallion in
this spinoff, but some of them may have wished they muted the actor on social media during
the buildup to the film.
Giving followers a behind-the-scenes look at the writing room, Sly tweeted out a picture
of a desk, which included a page from the actual Creed screenplay.
This wouldn’t have been a big deal, but it was a fairly important page: the last one.
Viewers were able to see that the film ended with a recovering Rocky walking up the famous
steps with Adonis Johnson by his side, which indeed was the final scene in the movie.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Since their humble beginnings, Marvel has built a strong reputation and has attracted
some top-notch talent to their films.
It was big news when Hollywood icon Robert Redford signed on for Captain America: The
Winter Soldier, and many couldn’t wait to see his role in the movie.
Apparently, Redford was equally as excited to talk about it.
In an interview, the actor said the main appeal for him was to do something different – play
a villain.
When Redford was first announced, details on his part were scarce, so this is obviously
something Marvel didn’t want revealed.
It ruined the twist that Hydra had infiltrated SHIELD, but the film still turned out thrilling.
The Dark Knight Rises
After the record-breaking success of The Dark Knight, fans couldn’t wait to see the conclusion
of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy.
A big question during the pre-release phase was whether or not Bruce Wayne would die.
While on David Letterman’s show, Anne Hathaway was mortified when the host told his audience
“of course, Batman is dead in the end.”
Hathaway nervously chastised Letterman for the spoiler, before Letterman laughed and
said he was lying, Bruce Wayne survives.
Hathaway was just stunned and apologized to Nolan on-camera for the situation.
When audiences finally got to see the film for themselves, Wayne is in fact alive and
well, far removed from Gotham City.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Few actors are as good at keeping a secret as Mark Hamill is, so it was surprising when
he posted a Star Wars spoiler on his Twitter account.
About a month before Episode 7’s premiere, Hamill confirmed that he would be returning
for Episode 8, and was in the process of growing his Jedi beard back.
Given that Jedi have the capability to appear as Force ghosts, this wasn’t necessarily
the biggest reveal about the highly anticipated film.
Still, fans took issue, feeling that he had ruined a key aspect of The Force Awakens.
With Luke having a major role in Episode 8, it will be interesting to see if Hamill stays
mum on Episode 9.
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
A frequent trope in the second installment of a superhero film franchise is the protagonist
losing or giving up their powers as they yearn for a more “normal” existence.
Fans learned ahead of the premiere of Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance that Johnny Blaze
would be the latest to take part in this phenomenon.
In an interview, star Nic Cage mentioned that he had filmed an exorcism scene, implying
that his character would be freed of his demons for a certain amount of time.
This was a sequence in the final film, and while it wasn’t a shocking plot twist, it’s
still something that should have been held back.
Revealing specific character arc beats isn’t always the smartest thing to do.
The Walking Dead
Social media has made avoiding spoilers for popular TV shows an art form, and any post
can be a landmine.
Typically, it’s friends who don’t know any better ruining certain elements, but here,
a Walking Dead actor sent the Internet into a frenzy.
Michael Cudlitz, who plays Abraham, was interacting with co-star Josh McDermitt on Twitter, when
he said “I had a blast working with you.”
This caused fans to speculate that one of the characters was going to die at some point
in the season.
Making things more suspicious was when Cudlitz amended his tweet.
This was in 2015, and both characters lived, so this was fuss over nothing.
Game of Thrones
HBO executives must have had headaches after this one.
In season six of the popular show, Rory McCann is portraying the Hound, bringing the character
back from the dead.
It was probably meant to be a surprise, but fans learned of the reveal well before the
network intended.
In an interview, McShane admitted that he “nursed a much-loved character back to life.”
When it was pointed out that it could either be the Hound or John Snow, McShane essentially
confessed he was playing a version of the Elder Brother.
We’re pretty sure he got a talk about what he can and cannot say publicly later on, because
this was a big deal.
Agents of SHIELD
When mysterious blue aliens showed up on an episode of Marvel’s TV show, fans speculated
about what species they might be.
One popular theory was the Kree, and it turns out that was right.
But it wasn’t Marvel that got to reveal the fact.
Actress Chloe Bennett spilled the beans in an interview, where she said, “I know that
the alien was a Kree.”
She later tried to backtrack by suggesting it was just an opinion of hers, but fans knew
better.
The Kree were now a part of the expansive Marvel Cinematic Universe, opening avenues
for more interesting stories.
It’s too bad it got ruined by one of the show’s stars.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
As a prequel, the narrative of Rogue One is far less secretive than The Force Awakens.
Still, there are aspects that Lucasfilm wants to keep under wraps.
They hadn’t officially revealed any details about Madds Mikkelsen’s character when the
actor confirmed in an interview that he’s playing the father of Felicity Jones’ Jyn
Erso.
He even went as far to say that he shot scenes with Jones and a younger actress playing a
child version of the character, meaning Rogue One could be the first Star Wars film to include
flashbacks.
The studio typically does a great job of controlling information, but they let Mikkelsen get a
bit out of hand.
Expect them to rein him in as the marketing campaign continues.
Those are our picks for actors who spoiled their own projects.
Are there any we missed?
Which ones did you manage to avoid?
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