The DC Universe has spawned some of the best and worst superhero movies of all time.
It's also created memorable bonus material in the form of epic interviews that range
from completely charming to absolutely mortifying.
Here are the most awkward chats with actors from DC films.
Ben Affleck had a big suit to fill when he was cast as Batman after Christian Bale's
famous three-movie run.
So it was no surprise that Affleck was contending with a mixed reception before Batman v Superman:
Dawn of Justice was even released in 2016.
And unfortunately, the hits kept coming after the film debuted.
When Yahoo! asked Affleck and co-star Henry Cavill about the movie's poor reviews, Cavill
explained in his lovely British accent that the reception from fans is what matters the
most.
But as for Affleck?
Let's just say he had trouble masking his feelings, and just like that, a meme was born.
The viral YouTube hit known as "Sad Affleck" features the Yahoo! interview layered with
Simon & Garfunkel's "The Sound of Silence" as the camera slowly zooms in on Affleck's
downtrodden face.
The spoof garnered so much attention that nearly a year later, Affleck himself weighed
in on "Sad Affleck."
BBC Radio 1 asked him what he learned from the film, to which the actor deadpanned,
"It taught me not to do interviews with Henry Cavill where I don't say anything, and they
can lay Simon & Garfunkel tracks over it.
Now that's one thing I learned."
Model-singer-actress Cara Delevingne is no stranger to uncomfortable interviews.
While promoting her role as the supervillain Enchantress in 2016's Suicide Squad, she joined
co-stars Karen Fukuhara and Margot Robbie for an interview with a Belgian outlet.
It didn't take long for the encounter to turn into a laugh-fest as Delevingne revealed her
real-life superpower.
"I bet anyone that has a T-shirt on, I can find their nipple right away.
I have, like, a nipple detector, in my mind."
Delevingne proceeded to demonstrate her titillating talent on Robbie, who confirmed that Delevingne
missed by just millimeters.
Next up was Fukuhara, who yelped when Delevingne's pinch hit the bullseye.
Not stopping there, Delevingne moved on to the interviewer, and with a little help from
Robbie, she zeroed in and squeezed her target.
While Delevingne was clearly not lying about her abilities, this is surely the kind of
skill one should probably not try at home, or anywhere, without getting consent beforehand.
Actor-musician Jared Leto may have tried a little too hard to fill the Joker's big clown
shoes, judging by the awkward revelations from his co-stars during interviews for 2016's
Suicide Squad.
We can't blame Leto for wanting to make his mark on such an iconic character, but his
method acting proved a little much for his colleagues.
In a red carpet interview with E! News, interviewer Marc Malkin rattled off some of the "gifts"
that Leto gave his co-stars during filming, like rats, bullets, and a hog.
Then Leto revealed things that went even further.
Leto explained himself by saying that he was trying to create an element of surprise and
spontaneity and by noting that the Joker is someone who doesn't respect boundaries and
personal space.
Malkin then found some of Leto's poor co-stars, like Will Smith, who played Deadshot in the
film.
"Jared has gone full Joker.
Jared, he went full Joker, you know. and the rule, generally, is never go full Joker."
Then Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje said that the stuff Leto sent just wasn't right, though
he did admit that the tasteless stunts unified the cast against the Joker.
Even so, we suspect those thank-you notes probably got lost in the mail.
Ben Affleck should've been comfortable doing press tours by the time of his third outing
as Batman in the DC Extended Universe and yet somehow found a way to make a 2017 interview
with his Justice League co-stars super awkward.
Everything seemed to be going great when Ezra Miller, Ray Fisher, Henry Cavill, Jason Momoa,
Gal Gadot, and Affleck all got together to answer questions from Sophie Boyden for MTV.
The discussion turned towards female superheroes who could potentially join the Justice League.
When Boyden asked how adding a female character like Supergirl would change the team, Fisher
started talking about a "different dynamic."
Then Affleck cut in to ask:
"You following the news at all?"
Affleck took a lot of heat for that moment, which many perceived as some sort of joke
about the #MeToo movement.
Considering that Affleck has worked extensively with disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein
and been accused of himself behaving poorly in the past, that ill-timed quip was not well-received.
To his credit, Affleck has since vowed to donate residuals from his films that were
produced by Weinstein to charity.
Gal Gadot is a former Miss Israel and combat trainer in the national Israel Defense Forces
military.
But she's now of course best known as Wonder Woman.
Taking on the mantle of such an iconic character naturally involves a heaping of critical analysis
from comic book fans, and Gadot apparently became a pro at dealing with negativity during
press tours.
From having to clap back at body shamers to teaching everyone to pronounce her last name
with a hard "t," Gadot's press circuits have been rife with awkward exchanges.
And the moment that takes the cake might just be when she put Jimmy Kimmel in the hot seat.
During the actress's 2016 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the host attempted to segue
into a discussion about her critics by admitting,
"I know how seriously comic book nerds take this kind of stuff because I am one of them."
"Really?
What do you think about my breasts?"
An extremely flustered and red-faced Kimmel eventually managed to blurt out:
"They look great.
Both of them."
"Thank you."
Gadot then explained that a lot of comic fans had a lot to say about her breasts, and a
loaded conversation about her costume ensued.
Needless to say, Gadot got the last laugh on her haters because Wonder Woman received
amazing reviews and was successful enough to garner a sequel due to arrive in June 2020.
Anne Hathaway has experienced some extremely inappropriate interviews in the past, yet
she always seems to respond to them with exceptional class.
Case in point: In 2012's The Dark Knight Rises, the actress took on the role of Catwoman.
To promote the film, she sat down with Jerry Penacoli for an interview with Extra, but
the meeting got weird when the focus shifted to Hathaway's figure.
As the actress described the operatic themes of the film, Penacoli responded by saying:
"You are in phenomenal shape."
Though Hathaway was clearly surprised by the change in subject, Penacoli went on and on
about her getting into perfect shape, so she attempted to deflect, explaining her training
was more about performing the stunts than being in perfect shape.
When Penacoli focused on her skintight costume, she countered that Batman had it worse in
terms of comfort.
After more grilling about her diet and workout, Hathaway finally flexed her claws a bit.
"Are you trying to lose weight?"
"Well…"
"What's…?
What's the deal, man, you look great."
"No, no, I…"
"No seriously, we have to talk about this.
What?
What do you want?
Are you trying to fit into a catsuit?"
The dig was delivered purr-fectly, and Penacoli finally seemed to get the hint.
Ben Affleck was confronted with a hard line of questioning when he dropped by The Late
Show with Stephen Colbert while promoting Justice League.
Colbert started the interview on a light note by chatting about Good Will Hunting, the movie
that won Affleck and Matt Damon Oscars for best original screenplay.
He used that film as a transition to bring up the topic of Harvey Weinstein, who essentially
launched Affleck's career by supporting that movie.
"This is a comedy show, correct?"
Affleck talked about the difficulties of his relationship with past Weinstein movies and
the awful feelings he's had from learning about others' experiences with him.
Colbert then asked about allegations of impropriety against Affleck, who proceeded to address
claims that he groped actress Hilarie Burton on MTV's Total Request Live.
"I don't remember it, but I absolutely apologize for it.
I certainly don't think she's lying, or making it up."
Affleck went on to acknowledge the privileges he's had as a man and to declare that he wants
to be part of the solution.
The interview concluded cordially with both men agreeing that change starts with all men
examining their pasts and making changes for the future.
Kudos to both Affleck and Colbert for delving into what can be an awkward but very necessary
conversation.
Joaquin Phoenix may very well be the reigning king of awkward interviews.
His infamous 2009 appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman alone might earn him
that distinction.
Thus, many people expected fireworks when it came time for him to promote Joker in 2019.
Indeed, he made headlines for a Jimmy Kimmel Live! appearance when the host showed behind-the-scenes
footage of the actor getting irritated with a production member.
After the clip, Phoenix couldn't find many words and stumbled through an apology.
"This is so embarrassing."
Soon after that moment went viral, news surfaced that publicists staged everything and that
the scene was just an awkward publicity stunt.
In another instance, Phoenix abruptly left an interview with Telegraph film critic Robbie
Collin.
Despite these public bouts, critics have praised Phoenix's turn as the Joker, which earned
him a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination.
But immediately after his Globe victory, he claimed that his PR team tricked him into
taking questions from the press.
When he was asked about his preparation for the role, he shot the reporter an inquisitive
look and said:
"Isn't this old news?
I felt like I've talked about this for six months."
During an interview with Man of the World to promote Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
in 2016, Henry Cavill was perhaps a little too honest about his reasons for becoming
an actor.
As he put it,
"I'm slightly wary of saying this, because it can be frowned upon, certainly by members
of my community and people outside my community...but I'm not just doing this for the art.
The money's fantastic and that's something which I deem, and again, it is frowned upon,
very important."
As if that's not insulting enough to die-hard comic book fans who might've been hoping to
find a nerdy ally in the actor, Cavill also proceeded to explain how awful it is to fly
economy class.
These are not the most likable answers, but perhaps they make sense when considering that
Cavill starred in three DC movies that grossed hundreds of millions of dollars while earning
less-than-stellar reviews.
And this wasn't the actor's only misstep in the interview.
When he was asked about the #OscarsSoWhite controversy, he acknowledged a lack of diversity
within nominees in major categories.
But then he raised eyebrows when questioning the usefulness of diversifying the Academy's
voting body, saying,
"But does that mean we are saying that to have more black Academy members would result
in more black nominations?
Is that not racist itself?"
Academy Award-winner Sean Connery really needs no introduction.
His illustrious career defines him as one of the all-time greats.
But alas, he decided to retire from acting after 2003's comic book adaptation The League
of Extraordinary Gentlemen, partly because he felt frustrated by that role and by roles
in general for men his age.
He made his disdain for the whole cinema scene loud and clear during an incredibly awkward
interview at the movie's premiere.
One by one, the knighted superstar systematically insulted red carpet reporters, and the movie's
director, while also somehow remaining charming and hilarious.
He asked one journalist if he was wearing a jockstrap.
He declared that he would never do another movie with director Stephen Norrington, with
whom he butted heads throughout filming.
When another reporter asked Connery why he'd been away from the Hollywood scene for so
long, Connery asked the interviewer where he was 12 years ago.
The reporter responded that he was still in school, to which Connery replied,
"I've been all over the world working my ass off, and you've done nothing.
I'm underwriting you, do you know that?"
Connery concluded by saying that his evening was "wonderful" until he started talking to
the reporter.
How chivalrous!
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