Unconventional or out-of-the-ordinary actor preparation for film and television roles always grabs the spotlight, with the press going wild, especially when the actor receives rave reviews. Heath Ledger and Jim Carrey are renowned for their extraordinary dedication in bringing their characters to life. They have become legends in their own right. But let’s not forget about Meryl Streep, who goes above and beyond to immerse herself in her roles and acquire new skills to perfect her acting prowess.
Sometimes, these mind-blowing levels of preparation pay off, but success is never guaranteed. In fact, it’s not even a sure bet that an actor’s role will make it to the big screen. Many actors have poured their heart and soul into preparing for a role, only to be disappointed when the movie underperforms or their characters end up on the cutting room floor. It’s a bummer when all that hard work goes down the drain.
1. Bill Pullman And So Many Other People Were Cut From ‘The Thin Red Line,’ It Could’ve Been A Different Movie Entirely
The Thin Red Line holds a special place in the hearts of war movie enthusiasts, boasting an impressive ensemble cast that continues to gain recognition with each passing year. If all the footage shot during production had made it to the final film, the cast would have been even more star-studded.
Bill Pullman, among other actors who featured in promotional images for the movie, unfortunately had their roles completely removed from the final cut. Mickey Rourke, who was also cut from the film, has expressed his disappointment over the loss of his scenes, believing they showcased some of his finest work. It’s truly a pity that several talented actors dedicated their time not only in preparing for their roles, but also in filming scenes that ultimately didn’t make it into the final version.
2. Ashton Kutcher Got A Severe Case Of Pancreatitis From His ‘Jobs’ Diet
To fully immerse himself in the role of Steve Jobs, Ashton Kutcher decided to adopt the Apple founder’s unconventional diet, which mainly consisted of fruits. Unfortunately, Kutcher may not have been aware that Jobs’ peculiar eating habits might have contributed to his death from Pancreatic Cancer.
In his attempt to adhere to Jobs’ diet, Kutcher ended up being hospitalized with a severe case of Pancreatitis. Surprisingly, Kutcher’s wife, actress Mila Kunis, recently disclosed that he had been hospitalized twice while preparing for the role of Jobs.
3. Jared Leto Went Method As The Joker, Only To Be Mostly Cut Out Of ‘Suicide Squad’
Jared Leto, love him or hate him, is known for his complete devotion to method acting. So, when he took on the role of the Joker in Suicide Squad, he took it to the extreme. He decided to fully embody the character of a villain, going so far as to harass his co-stars by sending them inappropriate gifts like sex toys, used condoms, and even a dead rat. Yeah, it’s pretty bizarre.
Now, one could argue that this unconventional approach might have been forgiven if Leto had delivered an outstanding performance as the clown prince. Unfortunately, when the movie was released, most of his scenes ended up on the cutting room floor. And what remained didn’t quite justify the terrible way he had treated his fellow actors.
4. Aaron Eckhart Crashed Actual Support Groups For ‘Rabbit Hole’ And Lied About Having A Dead Son
Actor Aaron Eckhart recently shared in an interview that he attended support groups for parents who had experienced the loss of a child. His intention was to gather insights and emotions to better prepare for his role in the film Rabbit Hole. However, it seems that Eckhart took an unfortunate and somewhat tasteless approach during his time at these support groups – he even went so far as to pretend that he himself had lost a child.
Surprisingly, despite Eckhart’s commitment to the role, he criticized his co-star Nicole Kidman for not joining him in this experience. However, it was Kidman who received an Oscar nomination for her performance in the film, while Eckhart did not receive the same recognition. This suggests that Eckhart’s time spent at the support groups may have been in vain, and it raises questions about the sincerity and effectiveness of his approach.
Furthermore, Eckhart’s actions can be seen as disrespectful and insensitive towards the actual grieving parents who were seeking solace and support in these groups. It is disheartening to think that he would exploit their pain for the sake of his own performance, especially when his efforts did not yield a more convincing portrayal than his co-star.
Overall, Eckhart’s decision to pretend to have lost a child and his criticism of Kidman’s absence from the support groups ultimately appear to have been misguided. Not only did he fail to achieve the recognition he desired, but he also jeopardized the trust and respect of those who truly experienced the loss of a child.
5. Tom Cruise Learned How To HALO Jump For ‘M:I Fallout’ But The Scene Was Butchered By CGI
One of the main reasons why people are drawn to the Mission: Impossible movies is because they get to witness Tom Cruise doing incredible stunts. In the sixth installment, Mission: Impossible – Fallout, Cruise took on the challenge of performing a high-altitude skydive known as a HALO jump. Despite having a broken ankle, he did the stunt an impressive 106 times in order to capture all the necessary shots for the scene.
However, when the film was finally released, some of the actual stuntwork was obscured by a CGI storm in the final cut. Additionally, the landing was not up to par in terms of CGI quality. This could potentially mislead viewers into thinking that the entire stunt was done using special effects.
6. Christian Bale Gained An Insane Amount Of Weight For ‘Batman Begins’ Before Being Told To Lose Muscle
Christian Bale is totally accustomed to completely changing his physique for his roles. He’s always either gaining or shedding weight to perfectly embody a specific character. But let’s talk about when he had to beef up for his role as Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins. It seems like he may have gone a tad bit overboard with the bulking up.
After starring in The Machinist, Bale gained a whopping 100 pounds to transform into Batman. However, the studio had other ideas and wanted him to slim down by 30 pounds in a ridiculously short amount of time. Maybe he should’ve sought some advice before packing on all that muscle?
7. Val Kilmer Learned To Play The Guitar For ‘Top Secret!’ But They Didn’t Want Him To
In the 80s comedy Top Secret!, Val Kilmer stars as Nick Rivers, a rock star who becomes a spy. The movie had three directors – Jim Abrahams and the Zucker brothers. Kilmer was informed by the directors that he would need to actually play the guitar for his character. Determined to give an authentic performance, Kilmer dedicated four months to learning the instrument. However, little did he know that the renowned comedy trio had a mischievous plan up their sleeves. On the first day of filming, they revealed that Kilmer didn’t actually have to play the guitar; he just had to pretend. Talk about a prank!”
8. Leonardo DiCaprio Slept In Animal Actual Carcasses To Prepare For ‘The Revenant’ For Some Reason
In The Revenant, there’s this frontiersman who goes through absolute hell. He gets attacked by a bear and abandoned by his buddies, left to die. Crazy stuff, right? Well, turns out, Leonardo DiCaprio endured almost as much hardship while playing Glass. He actually chowed down on raw bison meat and snuggled up in animal carcasses for real.
Now, you would think that going through all that trouble would guarantee Leo an Oscar, right? But here’s the thing, plenty of actors have won Oscars just by pretending to do disgusting stuff instead of actually doing it. So, maybe Leo went the extra mile for no reason. Who knows?
9. Jeremy Renner Learned Actual Archery To Play Hawkeye, Even Though It Really Wasn’t Needed
When Jeremy Renner was getting ready to play Hawkeye in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he took his preparation seriously. He trained with Olympic archers to learn the art of shooting a bow. However, Renner himself confessed that this training didn’t prove to be as beneficial as he had initially thought.
As it turns out, the precise form used in proper archery techniques differs quite a bit from the flashy moves that Hawkeye showcases in the Avengers films. This realization suggests that Renner may have been just as capable without all the additional training he underwent.
10. Sienna Miller Learned A Boston Accent For ‘Black Mass’ But Was Cut From The Movie
Sienna Miller, with her natural British accent, found it a bit challenging to master the thick Boston accent required for her role in Black Mass. In fact, Miller herself admitted that her initial attempts at the accent “sounded stupid.” To overcome this hurdle, she had to work closely with a dialect coach to bring her accent up to par. However, all her efforts proved futile as her role ended up being completely removed from the film.
The decision to cut Miller’s character from Black Mass was made by the film’s director, Scott Cooper. He opted to alter the overall storyline of the film, resulting in Miller’s character being left out entirely.
11. Forest Whitaker Learned To Play The Sax For ‘Bird’ Even Though A Professional Did All The Scenes In The Film
Forest Whitaker really went above and beyond to become Charlie Parker in the movie Bird. He immersed himself in research, reading books and reaching out to people who had personal connections with Parker to understand his unique mannerisms. But that’s not all – Whitaker took it a step further and learned how to play the saxophone for real during the production of the film.
Unfortunately, all that effort didn’t quite pay off in terms of what we hear in the final product. Whitaker’s saxophone playing is not actually heard in the film. Instead, he expertly mimed playing while a professional musician performed Parker’s music. It’s a shame that we can’t fully appreciate Whitaker’s newly acquired skill, but it’s a testament to his dedication to the role.
