Most of us have held at least one soul-sucking job in our lives.
Luckily, there's always the option of quitting.
Movie stars rarely have that option.
Bailing for them is more complicated than simply leaving.
There are potential lawsuits and almost always big financial penalties.
All of which is why actors usually end up toughing it out.
Still, some actors get pushed to the breaking point and come just short of actually quitting
even for some movies that are regarded as classics today.
Here are actors who threatened to quit their most famous role.
Wayne's World was filmed on a relatively modest budget, but is still the only movie inspired
by a Saturday Night Live skit that's grossed over $100,000,000.
Mike Myers had come up with the concept as a pre-teen, debuted it on a Canadian variety
show, and perfected it on SNL, so the character was clearly dear to Myers' heart.
One famous scene, where Wayne and his friends are belting out Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody"
in an AMC Pacer, was even written as an homage to his teenage years.
"I think we'll go with a little Bohemian Rhapsody, gentlemen.
... Good call."
He felt the song was "inherently comedic" and loved the thought of living out his memories
of headbanging during the instrumental break and singing along.
But director Penelope Spheeris had different ideas.
The operatic tune seemed like an odd pick to her, so she suggested a different song
instead.
Myers put his foot down and threatened to quit if Queen was cut.
In the end, Myers won, the scene became iconic, and "Bohemian Rhapsody" returned to the Billboard
charts nearly 20 years after its debut.
"Shwinnnng."
How the Grinch Stole Christmas might have been painful to watch, but it was even more
painful for Jim Carrey to act in.
The elaborate Grinch costume he wore was made of itchy green yak hair, extensive facial
prosthetics, and yellow contacts that appeared as big as Frisbees and reportedly felt like
"knives in the eye."
The first day on the set of The Grinch, Carrey's makeup took a full eight and a half hours
to apply.
After he went back his trailer, Carrey kicked a hole in the wall, and told director Ron
Howard he couldn't do the movie.
In an interview on The Graham Norton Show, he had harsh words for the experience.
"When I did the Grinch, I was literally- the makeup was like being buried alive every day.
How long did it take?
The first day was eight and a half hours."
Carrey was only persuaded to stay when the production hired someone who trained CIA operatives
to withstand torture to assist Carrey in dealing with the daily ordeal.
The key lesson was in pain deferment, and the actor often punched himself in the leg
if he was having a particularly hard time.
Carrey remembers the hundred days spent in the costume as a "real lesson in zen…it's
amazing what humans can endure."
In the end, it seems the torture was well worth it: The Grinch earned more than $345
million in worldwide box office sales, making it the second-highest-grossing Christmas movie
of all time.
"Ha ha ha."
Emma Watson landed the role of Hermione Granger in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone at
age nine, and quickly became a fan favorite for her layered portrayal of the character.
But when Watson's contract came up for renewal as the fifth installment of the series was
being shot, rumors swirled that she was ready to quit.
The problem?
Starring in the Harry Potter films wasn't going to leave Watson time for a college education.
"I had a real fight on my hands to ensure that I was able to go to university and take
my A-levels."
The original schedule wouldn't have left time for Watson to do any of that, and she was
willing to quit over the matter.
Luckily, the studio reworked the shoot to accommodate Watson's educational aspirations.
Fast forward to the happy ending: She continued to play the beloved character in the final
films and earned a degree in English literature from Brown University.
"Look at you.
Playing with your little cards.
Pathetic!
We've got final exams coming up soon."
Brad Pitt is known for being an affable, charismatic guy.
But one look at him in Interview with the Vampire and you can see he's not his normal
self.
When an Entertainment Weekly reporter mentioned that he looked miserable in the film, Pitt
replied, "I am miserable.
Six months in the f------ dark… contact lenses, the make-up…"
It seems Pitt signed on to play Louis because he was intrigued by the character's journey
of self-discovery.
Unfortunately, when he got the actual script two weeks before filming started, everything
he loved about Louis had been cut.
Now, his role was basically to sit back and watch Lestat, played by Tom Cruise.
One day during filming, Pitt decided he was done.
He called the producer, said he couldn't do it anymore, and asked how much it would cost
him to get out.
The answer was a cool $40 million.
Unsurprisingly, Pitt stayed on, and his character is best remembered as giving Kirsten Dunst
her first kiss.
Unfortunately, it was about as pleasant for her as the filming was for Pitt.
"You had a screen kiss with Brad Pitt when you were eleven."
"Although, I thought it was disgusting.
I was eleven!"
The Fast and Furious franchise has spawned a slew of sequels, earned billions worldwide,
and launched the careers of the original picture's ensemble cast, including Michelle Rodriguez.
But Rodriguez's portrayal of streetwise racer Letty Ortiz was almost a non-starter: It seems
Rodriguez signed on despite having a major beef with her character's story arc.
Having only worked on a single film before, she was used to working out character motivations
on set.
But when Rodriguez mentioned she didn't think it was realistic for Letty to be caught in
a cheesy love triangle, producers were having none of it.
Rodriguez cried, threatened to quit, and begged the production not to sue her when she left.
Luckily, with the support of co-star Vin Diesel, the script was eventually changed and Rodriguez's
Hollywood dream and portrayal of Letty Ortiz lived to fight another day.
Jessica Alba's performance as Sue Storm in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
might have earned her a Razzie nomination for Worst Actress, but that may not have been
entirely her fault.
According to Alba, director Tim Story complained that her appearance in an emotional scene
looked too real and painful, telling her to "cry pretty."
The experience was so traumatizing that that Alba considered quitting all together.
In a later interview, Alba said:
"I hated it.
I really hated it.
So I just said f--- it.
I don't care about this business anymore."
Alba didn't quit the role, but afterwards she pivoted from being an A-List actress to
founding the Honest Company, a line of beauty products.
The Shining is an undisputed horror classic.
Unfortunately, while millions of fans have delighted in rewatching the film, there's
at least one person who wasn't exactly happy with the film: Shelley Duvall, who played
Wendy Torrance.
Duvall once characterized working with the famed director as "almost unbearable" and
"excruciating" in an interview with film critic Roger Ebert.
In Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures, Jack Nicholson recalled a time when Kubrick forced
Duvall to film a particularly grueling scene 127 times.
"I'm very confused.
I just want a chance to think things over."
All those takes took their toll: Duvall was dehydrated from crying so much, and clumps
of hair fell out of her head.There are even hints that she considered quitting due to
health concerns.
In the book The Complete Kubrick, Duvall states, "I was really in and out of ill health because
the stress of the role was so great…
It's the most difficult role I've ever had to play."
Even before legendary comedian Lily Tomlin signed on the play Violet Newstead in 9 to
5, she had her doubts.
Jane Fonda, who co-produced the cult classic, spent the better part of a year convincing
Tomlin to come on board.
Tomlin told People, "I didn't want to do a cheap comedy.
I was looking for something more serious."
After she signed on, Tomlin caught a glimpse of her performance in a fantasy scene where
she was acting with as-yet nonexistent cartoon birds and thought she was horrible in it.
"Thank you."
She promptly called the producer, offered to give her salary back, and begged to be
let go.
Luckily, Tomlin caught more footage from later scenes and decided to stay on.