17 A-List Actors Who Have Candidly Criticised Their Own Films

Even the most prestigious stars know when to admit that their movie has been a bit of a disaster.

Every now and then, even the most celebrated of A-listers will candidly criticise one of their own films.

Some of the biggest stars in the industry have admitted that they don’t always make the best decisions, and that the movie audiences saw wasn’t the one they thought they were making.

Whether it’s an ill-advised role for a paycheck, a favour for a friend or a passion project that didn’t turn out as expected, even Hollywood royalty are susceptible to bad choices.

Here are 17 stars who have spoken out against some their past films…

Since the first instalment in the Twilight series premiered in 2008, Robert Pattinson has been outspoken about his distaste for the vampire franchise.

During press junkets, interviews and talk show appearances, the British actor has called the films “strange” and “weird”, as well as questioning if they made sense at all and going as far as comparing the brooding Edward Cullen to “an axe murderer”.

When promoting the first movie, Robert told Empire how much he disliked his iconic vampire character, and how that hatred factored into how he played the role.

“He’s the most ridiculous person who’s so amazing at everything. I think a lot of actors tried to play that aspect. I just couldn’t do that,” he said.

“And the more I read the script, the more I hated this guy, so that’s how I played him, as a manic-depressive who hates himself. Plus, he’s a 108-year-old virgin, so he’s obviously got some issues there.”

Even after the Twilight series ended, Robert continued poking fun at the franchise and his character.

“Twilight is about this guy who finds the one girl he wants to be with, and also wants to eat her. Well not eat her, drink her blood, whatever,” he said in his 2019 Actors on Actors with Jennifer Lopez.

The 2016 sci-fi movie Passengers faced a wave of criticism and sexism allegations, with Jennifer Lawrence agreeing that the Chris Pratt vehicle is not her finest moment.

Passengers centres around two space travellers who are awoken from induced hibernation 90 years too early while on a voyage across space.

Jen admitted in 2021 that the worst part of the film’s poor reviews was the disappointment felt by her fans, telling The New York Times: “I was like, ‘Oh no, you guys are here because I’m here, and I’m here because you’re here. Wait, who decided that this was a good movie?’”

There was even one A-list name in her social circle who warned her against the project.

“Adele told me not to do it! She was like, ‘I feel like space movies are the new vampire movies’,” she recalled, joking: “I should have listened to her.”

Rosamund Pike has admitted that an early on-screen appearance very nearly ended her career.

The Gone Girl actor appeared in the 2005 adaptation of the video game Doom alongside Dwayne Johnson (still credited as The Rock) and Karl Urban.

During an appearance on Elizabeth Day’s podcast How To Fail in 2026, Rosamund explained how she was cast in Doom when making Pride & Prejudice, at a time when Ray Winstone was still set to play the lead.

Once she made it onto the set, it didn’t take long for her to discover how out of her depth she was.

“Suddenly, I’m in this film with The Rock, and I realise how utterly ill-equipped I am to be an action star,” she explained. “[There were] macho guys. There were weights on the set. Every time a gun was brought out, it was kind of like a holy relic for the Doom fans.

“I probably could have ended my career. I mean, it was just probably one of the worst films ever made. It was a catastrophe, I think.”

Considering the 18% Rotten Tomatoes score and poor box office taking, she isn’t wrong.

“As I say, I don’t read the reviews, but you get the sense like you are lucky to have survived that one. But then, it wasn’t career-ending for The Rock. Or me, as it turned out,” Rosamund added.

Sir Gary Oldman is one of the true acting greats, with roles in iconic films like The Fifth Element, Dracula and Darkest Hour.

But not all his films are classics, and the Oscar winner is well aware of that.

During an interview with the Happy Sad Confused podcast this year, the knighted actor spoke about making the – thankfully, mostly forgotten – Tiptoes alongside Matthew McConaughey and Kate Beckinsale.

The 2002 film came during a tough period in Gary’s life, when he was a newly-single dad in Hollywood, going through a divorce.

“It was a bit of a rough time, and I needed to pay some bills, and I needed some money, and it was an actors’ strike on top of it all, which was a double whammy,” he admitted.

The project went wrong before it even started when the director wanted Gary to play Matthew’s brother.

“There were several [issues]. First of all, I got locked in........

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