You would think that an actor who rose to fame (and enjoyed all the riches) after a major hit television show or movie might remember everything about their experiences on set. But surprisingly, that’s not the case! Acting is a brutal job, with lots of auditions and rejections and plenty of downtime and self-doubt. But even when it’s good, it can be challenging, apparently. Because some actors don’t remember anything about the hit productions that they starred in years after the fact! We’re not talking about missing a detail here or there; we’re talking about every little thing!

If you don’t believe us, just read on. In this list, we’ll tell the tales of ten actors who enjoyed unimaginable success from amazing career-defining roles only to promptly forget everything about the experiences they’d had. They may have reached the heights of Hollywood’s competitive career ladder, but they’ve forgotten some of the things that got there in the first place. Oops?

Related: 10 Things Famous Filmmakers Regret About Their Classic Movies

10 Michael J. Fox

The early ’80s were a crazy time for everybody. The age of the yuppies had dawned on the world and given us a whole host of new things. Fast cars, the nascent computing industry, fast money, and the go-go style that would be en vogue for the next decade and then some. It also gave us the incredible rise of Michael J. Fox. The actor became a household name for two reasons in the 1980s: He starred in the popular sitcom Family Ties and moonlighted as the likable leading man in the Back to the Future trilogy. But oh, yeah, it’s actually that moonlighting which is the issue here!

Fox acted simultaneously in the sitcom and the movie series. He’d film the sitcom all day long, then head to a different studio and do the movie. And in between, he was barely sleeping at all! Because of that—and likely also at least in part because of the major health challenges he has faced related to Parkinson’s Disease, too—he doesn’t remember filming the movies at ALL! Yes, seriously!

“When I did the movie, I was doing Family Ties at the same time,” he remembered years later during an interview with Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan. “So, I was doing Family Ties in the daytime and Back to the Future at night. So a lot of it is a blur to me. I mean, I saw the movie, and I was like, ‘Oh! That’s what we were doing?’”^[1]

9 Brie Larson

Brie Larson had to film a few very emotional scenes when she shot the movie Room. One scene, in particular, was extremely difficult to film: a shot in which her character is released from the custody of police officers and reunited with her son. To film that scene, Larson had to run away from actors playing cops as though she were in horrible fear. And the adrenaline that built up in her body to do that affected her body. Then, it was all made worse when she slipped and fell on ice during the struggle with those actors. The sum total of all that meant that Larson’s brain somehow blocked out that scene and much of her other work in the movie!

“I was in such an adrenaline rush,” Larson told the Denver Post about filming the scene and forgetting it afterward. “I was running through the snow in socks with just those track pants and a tank top and no bra. And I guess I was fighting [the police officers] off and hitting them, and then I slipped and fell on the ice, and then, when I went to dive into the police car. I guess I hit my head.” Scary!^[2]

8 Avan Jogia

Avan Jogia was one of many child stars who rose to fame on the Nickelodeon sitcom Victorious. He spent his teenage years working on set there alongside many other people who would go on to be big stars—including, most notably, Ariana Grande, Victoria Justice, and Elizabeth Gillies. But there was a dark undercurrent attached to Victorious during its television run. While the stars seemed innocent and wholesome on screen, they were actually partying extremely hard while away from the camera. And for Jogia, the partying affected his memory considerably.

Years after filming wrapped and the show faded off into the sunset, Jogia popped up on TikTok to recall just what it had been like. Commenting on a video on that popular social media app, he admitted that he did not remember filming one single episode. Not one! He was partying too hard at night to recall anything he’d done on the show over several seasons! “When you don’t remember the plotline to a SINGLE victorious episode,” Avan wrote on the social media site, “but you remember going out partying every night.” That’s when you know you’re partying hard… maybe a little too hard.^[3]

7 Colin Farrell

Colin Farrell struggled with drug addiction during much of the height of his Hollywood career, so he now can’t remember a lot of the projects he worked on at the time. While the actor was known on screen as being both an incredible hunk and a total badass, things were fast falling apart off-screen. Take the project Miami Vice, which he filmed right before he went to rehab to get clean from drugs. Because he was in such a low place at the time, he now can’t remember anything about that project. Not one scene, not one line of dialogue, not one set-up or shot—nothing.

“I couldn’t remember a single frame of doing it,” Farrell told the Irish Mirror years later about the memory loss he suffered from drug addiction while filming the movie. “I was at the premiere and didn’t know what was happening next. But it was strange because I was in it. The second [the film] was finished, I was put on a plane and sent to rehab as everyone else was going to the wrap party.”^[4]

6 John Boyega

John Boyega once blacked out during the filming of a scene in his anthology series Small Axe. But it wasn’t drug-induced or something like that—instead, he was so upset at the content of the scene and the difficult and emotional portrayal he had to give on camera that his mind somehow blocked it out. The scene came with John portraying a British police officer fighting to reform racism within the department in the 1980s. In the shot, John’s character discovers sickening graffiti messages and slurs painted on his police locker by other racist cops. The set-up and the content of the scene enraged him so much that he went into a fury.

“I don’t remember filming that scene,” Boyega later told the Radio Times. “I just remember fuming and being angry. I didn’t see the locker room or the locker door until those cameras were rolling. So that reaction was all natural to the character and the choices I thought he would make.” Jeez. That’s how you know it was a powerful scene—and a masterful acting job—about a very difficult subject.^[5]

5 Courteney Cox

Times were so hectic, and life was so busy during her run on Friends that Courteney Cox doesn’t remember filming most of the show. It was her highest-profile project by far, and it brought her an insane amount of wealth, stardom, and public adulation. But if you asked her about it now, her mind would draw a blank on nearly everything about that iconic ’90s sitcom and the role she played as Monica Geller!

Things got so hazy for Courteney during filming that she actually went back and re-watched the entire show during the pandemic to try to jog her memory. But it didn’t really work! “I don’t remember even being on the show,” she told Jimmy Kimmel after revealing her pandemic-related binge-watching move. “I have such a bad memory. I remember obviously loving everybody there and having fun, and I remember certain times in my life that I was there, but I don’t remember episodes.” Really?! We get that they all run together a bit after you do a few hundred of ’em, but damn!^[6]

4 Raven-Symoné

Raven-Symoné has spent her entire life on television. She grew up on The Cosby Show, and the whole world saw her go from a child to a teenager every week on that sitcom. She was beloved by pretty much all of America from the very start of that run. But the problem for her wasn’t the gig itself—it was that she totally failed to remember it afterward! During her teenage years, Raven-Symoné first started realizing just how much of filming the show she’d forgotten. Confused about why she couldn’t remember anything, she went to a therapist for help. Eventually, the expert figured out that Raven-Symoné had been dissociating during filming due to her training as an actor and her push to get through the job.

“I don’t remember a scene,” she told TV One years later about her memory lapses. “I don’t remember anything while it’s a rehearsal or a camera… I do not remember as soon as the cameras start. Something clicks off, and I do what I’m trained to do. When I turned 18, I knew something was going on, so I started going to therapy, and it’s disassociation. I just black out, I turn into who I’m supposed to be when the camera is on, and then, I come back to when normal life resumes.”^[7]

3 Matthew Perry

Before Matthew Perry tragically passed away, he admitted that persistent substance abuse and troubles with addiction had radically altered his memory. Among the first things to be wiped out of his brain were any memories he had of filming episodes of Friends during its run. Sadly, the man who brought joy to so many people across the world as Chandler Bing doesn’t remember a single thing about the sitcom—and that blank space carried out over multiple seasons.

While appearing on BBC’s Radio 2 in the UK for an interview, Perry was asked whether he has a favorite or least favorite episode of the hit series. He admitted that he couldn’t really answer that question because substance abuse problems had wiped entire seasons out of his mind, so he was drawing a permanent blank. “Oh, my goodness. I think the answer is I don’t remember three years of it, so none of those,” he told the interviewer. “I was a little out of it at the time—somewhere between Seasons 3 and 6.”^[8]

2 Frankie Muniz

Frankie Muniz spent five long years of his life—and of his impressionable childhood, no less—filming Malcolm in the Middle. But when it came time to recall those moments years later, his mind completely drew a blank. While appearing on Dancing with the Stars as an adult, Frankie revealed that he’s been dealing with memory loss for a long time. DWTS producers had been hoping that he would share memories of moments like when he attended the Emmys as a teenager. But he disappointed them when he told them that he couldn’t remember anything about events like that.

“They were going to ask me those questions, and I told them, ‘To be honest, I don’t remember going to the Emmys when I was nominated,’” he told EW about the unfortunate interaction. “I don’t have any stories or anything cool for the package. I don’t specifically remember being nominated, or what I felt, or what we did. My mom told me we went to the dentist that day.” Wow. As for the cause behind the lapse? Frankie isn’t exactly sure why it happened, but he thinks it’s due to suffering from several concussions during his life, as well as more than a dozen mini-strokes. Scary!^[9]

1 Rainn Wilson

Rainn Wilson starred in The Office as the unforgettable Dwight Schrute, but when it came time to recall those moments years later, well, they proved to be pretty forgettable indeed. The actor admitted during a podcast appearance recently that he remembers “so little” of working on the hit television show. Even when he watches back episodes to try to jog his memory, there are scenes that he can’t remember filming at all. The occasion was the “You Made It Weird” podcast with Pete Holmes, and Wilson revealed to him on it: “Do you know what happens to me when I watch The Office? I go, holy f**k, I’m 57, I’m almost 60. I don’t remember anything about shooting any of that.”

He wasn’t kidding about that, either. The television star continued: “There will be a scene where Dwight is pushing a shopping cart down the stairs and then falls out a window and Creed throws up and… it’s some big thing, and I’m just like, ‘We shot that? I have no memory of that.’ I don’t remember, like, what month it was, what year, what season is this? It’s crazy how little of 200 episodes over nine seasons that I actually remember.”^[10]

Nostalgia is a powerful tool. As Hollywood relies more and more on the franchises of yesteryear, studios bring back treasured characters from across fiction. That pattern obviously leads to many familiar faces as actors sign contracts for endless sequels. Audiences get used to seeing the same guys over and over. Not every appearance is so predictable, though.

Certain stars revisit their characters years after their debut. They might spend upward of a decade on other projects while the franchises evolve in their absence. Despite those diverging paths, these actors somehow find their way back to their onscreen icons. That time away from the roles usually results in tremendous fanfare upon their return. Good things are far more satisfying after a long wait, and the same goes for fan service.

Related: 10 Actors Who Wanted to Be Killed Off Popular TV Shows

10 Claudia Wells

Although the Back to the Future trilogy largely maintained the same cast for multiple characters, one of the few changes occurred with the hero’s love interest. Claudia Wells played Marty McFly’s girlfriend, Jennifer, in the 1985 original. She didn’t have many scenes, but her warm charisma provided an endearing contrast to all the wacky misfortune. Sadly, her mother’s cancer diagnosis prompted Wells to step away from the role. Elizabeth Shue replaced her in the sequels, and that seemed to be the end of her tenure.

That was until Back to the Future: The Game in 2010. Assisted by series co-creator Bob Gale, this episodic adventure title continued the heroes’ time-traveling exploits. Their actions inadvertently led to an alternate version of 1985, where the town was a totalitarian police state. Wells returned to voice Jennifer, who was now a punk rock anarchist. Such a radical shift suited her surprising reprisal.^[1]

9 Leonard Nimoy

Leonard Nimoy accumulated a vast character catalog over his career, but he was practically synonymous with Spock. With dry humor and meticulous nuance, he played the Vulcan science officer for numerous entries in the Star Trek franchise. His tenure across the TV shows, movies, and games initially lasted until 1993. At that point, the focus shifted to other crews across the galaxy. Later years saw a drastic reset, however.

Star Trek (2009) altered the series’ history and took the focus back to the original Enterprise crew. Obviously, new actors assumed these roles, but Nimoy also joined in the fun. He appeared as the future version of Spock, who partly caused this new timeline and strove to guide his younger friends. The position was a symbolic passing of the torch—both for the character and the franchise.^[2]

8 Harrison Ford

Though limited as an actor, Harrison Ford has headlined some of the biggest movies in cinematic history. The most famous was Star Wars. His turn as the roguish Han Solo charmed audiences in the original trilogy from 1977 to 1983. He seemed done with the franchise until 2015 when The Force Awakens brought back the old cast as backup for the younger players. The franchise’s sister series had gotten a grand return a few years earlier.

Arguably as iconic was Indiana Jones. Ford played this plucky archaeologist for three historic adventures from 1981 to 1989, but he made two belated returns: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in 2008 and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny in 2023. Of course, he didn’t stop at Lucasfilm properties.

Blade Runner was nearly as iconic. The 1982 neo-noir film positioned Ford as Rick Deckard, a detective tasked with hunting down rogue androids. The dystopian world was more interesting than the star, leading the 2017 sequel—Blade Runner 2049—to focus on a new cast. That said, Ford showed up as an elderly Deckard in the third act. Revisiting past hits has become a habit of his, possibly due to his lack of range.^[3]

7 Linda Hamilton

Few action heroines have matched the heights of Sarah Connor. With her son destined to lead the humans to victory against genocidal machines, this unassuming woman had to grow up fast to defend herself and her child from time-traveling assassins. Linda Hamilton lent intense pathos to that journey in The Terminator (1984) and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991).

Unfortunately, subsequent films marginalized or omitted Sarah entirely, so Hamilton’s only contribution afterward was a vocal cameo in Terminator Salvation (2009). With other actresses taking over the character, her turn seemed to be firmly in the rearview mirror.

Terminator: Dark Fate (2019) surprised everyone in that respect. The sequel/reboot altered the timeline to feature a new robot apocalypse along with a new savior. Despite those changes, Hamilton stepped back into Sarah’s shoes as a guiding figure. Her presence provided valuable perspective on the temporal struggle, cementing how eerily familiar it all was.^[4]

6 Michael Keaton

Michael Keaton has mirrored Harrison Ford in revisiting multiple roles, albeit with more varied results. Many comic fans came to know him as Batman. His dark, gothic take in Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992) redefined the character’s onscreen image and ushered in countless other portrayals. As many as there were, Keaton always maintained a special place in fans’ hearts.

That esteem led to an eventual return in The Flash (2023). This movie tossed multiple DC eras into a blender via time-traveling antics. The multiversal premise enabled Keaton to play an elderly Dark Knight. His gruff demeanor contrasted wildly with the speedy superhero at the center, but he got to have far more fun with his other major return.

Nearly as beloved in Keaton’s filmography was Beetlejuice. He first played this clownish ghoul in the 1988 film of the same name. His unpredictably sleazy energy made for equal parts horror and comedy. What’s more impressive is that he maintained that energy years later. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was a 2024 sequel where Keaton once again donned the grotesque getup. Even amid ever-crazier undead hijinks, he didn’t miss a beat. These distinct icons cemented his strength as a character actor.^[5]

5 Stephanie Nadolny

Goku is one of the most beloved anime heroes of all time. Considering his storied history, he’s had numerous actors voice him at various stages of his life. For his younger years, though, the mainstay English portrayal came courtesy of Stephanie Nadolny. Her slight rasp made her convincing as a little boy, but she also perfectly captured the wholesome enthusiasm inherent to this energetic fighter. Beginning in 1999, she played the child version of Goku (and his son, Gohan) in Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, and all the accompanying movies and games.

Dragon Ball Z Kai appeared to end that run in 2010. This show abridged and remastered DBZ, recasting several characters in the process. Thus, Colleen Clinkenbeard took over as Kid Goku/Kid Gohan and remained in the role for fourteen years.

2024 saw a radical shift in the series’ story with Dragon Ball Daima. This show turned the seasoned heroes into kids as an ode to the IP’s long history. To complement that legacy, the English dub brought back Nadolny as Goku. This shocking return was an inspired move. Many longtime Dragon Ball fans grew up with her portrayal, so her presence was fitting for such a tribute.^[6]

4 Wesley Snipes

Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) brought back several legacy characters, but the one with the longest absence was Blade. Wesley Snipes played this vampiric hero in three films: Blade (1998), Blade II (2002), and Blade: Trinity (2004). His cool, stoic performance solidified the Daywalker in pop culture and spearheaded the modern age of superhero blockbusters.

Sadly, the films’ declining quality and the actor’s legal troubles made a continuation less and less likely. The announcement that Marvel would reboot the character with Mahershala Ali seemed to be the final nail in the coffin. Imagine fans’ surprise when the immortal slayer showed up in the Deadpool sequel.

In a typically meta twist, he’s one of the heroes in purgatory after 20th Century Fox’s acquisition by Disney, but he’s no less effective at killing bad guys. He even took a shot at the reboot in development hell, saying that there’d only ever be “one Blade.” After over twenty years of costumed crime-fighting flicks, his triumphant return was a full-circle moment for the genre.^[7]

3 Willem Dafoe

Another multiverse misadventure saw another slew of happy returns. Spider-Man (2002) was equally instrumental in jumpstarting the superhero movie boom. Not only did it faithfully adapt the web slinger’s origin, but it also did justice to his greatest enemy. Willem Dafoe seamlessly embodied the deranged duality of Green Goblin, his manic talents brilliantly fitting the baddie’s twisted menace. Plenty of Spidey villains came afterward, but none left quite the same impact.

That’s why the Goblin once again took center stage in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). This movie combined the three live-action Web Heads (and their villains) into one chaotic adventure. Dafoe was the antagonist with the longest absence. Sure, he’d popped up for cameos in Spider-Man 2 (2004) and Spider-Man 3 (2007), but he hadn’t suited up as the crazed killer for almost twenty years. That said, his maniacal laugh made it seem like yesterday.^[8]

2 Ghostbusters

Pop culture has given us several paranormal investigators, but the Ghostbusters succeeded in star power. The 1984 classic brought Harold Ramis, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, and Ernie Hudson together as quirky exterminators. Their comedic talents bounced beautifully off each other, turning these no-name losers into household names. Although the actors only returned for one sequel in Ghostbusters II (1989), fans constantly clamored for more spooky escapades.

They got their wish twice over. First came Ghostbusters: The Video Game (2009). Not only was this title an approved sequel from the series’ creators, but it sported the voices and the likenesses of all four actors.

2021 saw an additional follow-up in Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Although this film introduced a new generation of supernatural fighters, the old guard appeared to aid them in the climax. The only exception was Harold Ramis, who had sadly passed away by then. Regardless, he and his teammates left a palpable impact.^[9]

1 Miranda Otto

The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001–2003) was full of unassuming souls stepping up to fight evil. Éowyn was a fine example. A shieldmaiden of Rohan, she was desperate to prove herself and protect those she loved. That love drove her to fight fiercely on the front lines.

Miranda Otto brought enormous empathy to that journey, blending bravery and vulnerability to create an endearing heroine worthy of song. As engaging as she was, though, Éowyn was mortal. That fact meant that Otto was absent as the fantasy franchise dove into other periods of Middle-earth history. Thankfully, fleshing out the heroine’s homeland found a way for the actress’s return.

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim (2024) fashioned a prequel tale about Rohan’s heroic king, Helm Hammerhand. Though not a major player, Éowyn bookended the story as a narrator. The film’s anime format meant that Otto could voice her character. Her inclusion was appropriate for the setting and provided palpable authenticity, settling fans into this new format.^[10]

Every actor dreams of finally landing the “big role.” It’s the role that will make them stars, earn them millions of dollars, and finally get them those award nominations. Relatively few actors are lucky enough to ever land that role. That’s just the nature of the business. What’s more remarkable is that some actors do land that role and go on to resent it.

For some, those roles end up reminding the actors of bad times in their lives. Other actors later realize that those roles put them on a bad path. Of course, there are always actors who simply feel that their performances in those movies—or even the movies themselves—were simply never that good. For many reasons, these are some of the most notable actors who resent some of their most famous roles.

Related: 10 Things Famous Filmmakers Regret About Their Classic Movies

10 Burt Reynolds–Boogie Nights

After rising to superstardom in the 1970s and early ’80s, actor Burt Reynolds appeared in a series of box office bombs that tanked his name value. When up-and-coming director Paul Thomas Anderson offered Reynolds a role in his 1997 movie Boogie Nights, he essentially gave Reynolds a chance to prove he was still a star. Boogie Nights went on to be a massive hit, and Reynolds received the first and only Academy Award nomination of his career for his portrayal of the fictional porn director Jack Horner.

Yet Reynolds despised working on Boogie Nights and struggled to find anything nice to say about the film even after it earned him an Oscar nomination. Reynolds later said that he had little respect for Anderson and felt that the director was “full of himself.” Some of Reynold’s co-stars think that the actor was simply too out of touch to appreciate the film and understand why it was so successful.^[1]

9 Viola Davis–The Help

In The Help, Viola Davis plays an African-American maid working for a family in the Deep South during the 1960s. Davis’s work in the film garnered nearly universal critical praise and eventually netted Davis her first Best Actress Oscar nomination. Yet Davis describes The Help as one of those movies she regrets being in.

For Davis, the problem wasn’t director Tate Taylor or even her co-stars. Instead, Davis felt that the movie didn’t properly capture the “voices of the maids” and focused too much on the film’s other characters. Some critics at the time echoed Davis’s concerns. Even Abilene Cooper—the real-life maid that Davis’s character was inspired by—sued the producers of the movie over what she felt was an “embarrassing” adaptation of the story. ^[2]

8 Zac Efron–High School Musical

For some, the Disney Channel’s High School Musical movies invoke powerful memories of a time and place in their lives. For others, they invoke somewhat more embarrassing memories of a time and place in their lives. It turns out that High School Musical star Zac Efron belongs to the latter camp.

Efron says that he looks back at himself in the High School Musical films and wants to “kick that guy’s a** sometimes.” Efron goes on to say that those movies may have made him famous but that the kind of fame he received is “not a real thing” and that you can’t “share that with your friends.” This seems to be another case of a breakout role rocketing a young actor to success faster than they anticipated or enjoyed.^[3]

7 Crispin Glover–Back to the Future

Back to the Future is one of those generational hits that helped change the lives of nearly everyone involved with it. While director Robert Zemeckis and stars Christopher Lloyd and Michael J. Fox have embraced the movie’s success, actor Crispin Glover has long been open about his disdain for Back to the Future and its eventual legacy.

Glover always had an issue with the movie’s ending and the ways it suggests the story’s main characters need to be rich to be happy. Glover’s disagreements with Zemeckis and writer Bob Gale over the issue contributed to his decision to not appear in Back to the Future Part II. Glover even sued the producers of that sequel over their attempts to replicate his likeness in the film. Glover later made amends with Zemeckis, though he is one of the only major living cast members from Back to the Future who wants little to do with the movie to this day.^[4]

6 Brad Pitt–Interview with the Vampire

After stealing the show through smaller roles in Thelma and Louise and True Romance, actor Brad Pitt was cast as the co-lead in a major adaptation of author Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire. That film went on to gross over $200 million and launch the career of child actress Kirsten Dunst. But if you’ve ever watched that movie and felt that Pitt seems strangely checked out of the whole thing…well, that’s probably because he was.

Pitt has described Interview with the Vampire as a “miserable” filming experience that required him to be abroad in the middle of winter in an old windowless studio for a prolonged period. At one point, he even asked one of the movie’s producers how much it would cost to just leave the production. When Pitt was informed that it would cost him around $40 million to get out of the movie, he decided to gut it out and finish the film.^[5]

5 Gene Hackman–Hoosiers

While Gene Hackman has starred in many memorable movies throughout his legendary career, few are as beloved as 1986’s Hoosiers. Considered to be one of the greatest sports movies ever made, Hoosiers is arguably best known for Hackman’s portrayal of a high school basketball coach named Norman Dale, who helps lead a ragtag group of students to unlikely success.

Interestingly, Hackman has always seen Hoosiers itself as an unlikely success. While filming, Hackman told co-star Dennis Hopper to save his money because “we’ll never work again after this film.” It’s not entirely clear why Hackman resents the movie so much, though those around him at the time recall that he was generally grumpy throughout the shoot and seemed to feel that the movie was a pandering mess that was destined to bomb.^[6]

4 George Clooney–Batman

Following the success of Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman movie, the role of Batman became one of the most coveted casting choices in Hollywood. Few were surprised when the producers of 1997’s Batman and Robin revealed that rising star George Clooney had agreed to play the caped crusader in the much-anticipated movie. Unfortunately for Clooney, that film ended up being a box-office disappointment and is widely regarded as one of the worst movies ever made. So perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that Clooney doesn’t look back on the role as fondly as other Batman actors.

In fact, Clooney later apologized to Batman fans for his performance in the movie and said that he keeps a photo of himself as Batman around to remind himself to not choose roles solely for commercial reasons. Ouch.^[7]

3 Bill Murray–Groundhog Day

While a modest hit in its day, 1993’s Groundhog Day is now considered one of the best comedies ever made. There are times when it feels like the only person who doesn’t love Groundhog Day is the film’s famous leading man, Bill Murray.

While filming, Murray had a falling out with director—and longtime friend—Harold Ramis over disagreements regarding the film’s tone and messages. Things got so bad at one point that Murray reportedly only agreed to communicate with the movie’s producers via a sign language interpreter. Some theorize that Murray was simply in a bad place at that time and that this movie is a big painful reminder of those times. Regardless, it’s one of the few films in the actor’s legendary career that he never celebrates and rarely speaks about.^[8]

2 Christopher Plummer–The Sound of Music

1965’s The Sound of Music is one of the most successful and acclaimed movie musicals ever made. Yet star Christopher Plummer has rarely found a nice word to say about the picture during his long and illustrious acting career. In fact, in his autobiography, he referred to the movie as “The Sound of Mucus.”

Plummer’s resentment of the film seems to be based on his resentment for his character, Captain Georg von Trapp. Plummer says he quickly grew bored of playing the character and disagreed with some of the studio’s attempts to flesh out the role. Reportedly, Plummer’s boredom seemingly led to him showing up to the set drunk and otherwise enjoying his time away from the production of the movie a bit too much.^[9]

1 Alec Guinness–Star Wars

1977’s Star Wars may be one of the most successful pieces of entertainment ever made, but many people at the time of the movie’s release doubted its potential and saw it as another cheap sci-fi flick. Remarkably, Obi-Wan Kenobi actor Alec Guinness still looked at the film that way even after it became one of the biggest hits in movie history.

While Guinness was reportedly a professional while filming Star Wars, he wasn’t shy about letting everyone know that he thought the script was awful and that he only took the role for the money. According to a popular legend, a child once asked Guinness for his autograph and told the actor that he had already seen Star Wars 100 times. Guinness said he would only give the child an autograph if he agreed to never watch the movie again.^[10]

For a war that affected nearly every country in the world, only a few nations seem to get mentioned when we talk about World War II. Germany, England, Russia, Japan, and the United States are sure to come up, but many more countries get left out. The other nations of the world were involved, though—and we forget that some of those places did a lot more than you might realize.

10 Australia Fired The First Allied Shot

On September 4, 1939, the morning after Great Britain declared war on Germany, a boat passed by a fort at Point Nepean. The fort’s personnel called for it identify itself, and when it refused, they became panicked that it might be a German ship, bringing the war to Australia. The fort launched a warning shot across the bow of the ship, sending what some consider to be the first Allied shot of World War II.

The shot itself isn’t that remarkable. The ship turned out to be Australian after all, so it wasn’t even against an enemy ship. The gun battery, however, is. By sheer coincidence, the very same battery also fired the first Allied shot of World War I.

The Australians would fire many more. By the end of the war, 27,000 Australian soldiers had given their lives.

9 Canada Built The Third-Largest Navy On Earth

At the beginning of World War II, Canada was not a major military force. Despite its large size, it had a population of only 11 million and was armed with a navy of only 15 ships and an air force of 235 pilots.

When Germany invaded Poland, though, the Canadians started getting ready. In ten days, Canada invested $20,000,000 into building up its armory—and they started building. They trained nearly 50,000 pilots and built 800,000 trucks, 471 naval ships, and 16,000 aircraft. And they sent 730,000 men off to fight.

They were the biggest contributors to the British air training plan and gained a worldwide reputation for their air force. Most amazingly of all, by the end of the war, Canada had the third-largest navy on the planet.

8 India Had the World’s Largest Volunteer Army

When India called on its people to fight, they signed up. An incredible 2.5 million Indian men volunteered to fight in World War II, forming the largest volunteer army in the world. Not every one of them ended up on the front lines. Some worked in factories or defended the country against air raids.

Those who did, though, made a massive difference. One group called The Fourteenth Army, a mixed force of British, Indian, and African soldiers, recaptured Burma. It was a turning point in the war, and by the end, 30 Indian soldiers had earned the Victoria Cross, the highest British medal of honor.

7 Malays Fought England’s Last Stand In Asia

In 1942, the Japanese advanced on Singapore, a major strategic point for the British army. England’s military base there was their access point to Asia, and without it, they would be at a major disadvantage. England’s last stand, though, wasn’t fought by British soldiers; it was fought by Malays. A man named Adnan Saidi and his unit held the ground at Opium Hill, determined to hold against the Japanese to the last man.

At one point, a troop with turbans on their heads dressed in British-Indian uniforms came toward them. At first, they seemed to be a relief army from India, but Saidi noticed something was off. These men marched in lines of four, while the British usually marched in lines of three. They were Japanese soldiers in disguise. Saidi’s men opened fire, and the assault was stopped.

After that, the Japanese got frustrated and launched an all-out attack. Still, Saidi and his men stayed and fought, shooting until the last bullet was fired—and fighting with bayonets after that.

All but one man died. The Japanese overran the place, and Britain lost its key base in Asia. But the Malays, at least, gave them a fight.

6 Switzerland Wasn’t Entirely Neutral

The Swiss didn’t just sit there and let World War II happen. Officially, they were neutral, but they still played a role. They didn’t want the war coming across their borders, and they defended their airspace.

At one point, this meant shooting down 11 German planes that entered Swiss airspace en route to France. The Germans were furious. They demanded an apology and threatened to retaliate. The Swiss, though, threw the blame right back at them and demanded that they stop flying over their land.

When the Allies started fighting back, Switzerland wasn’t always left alone. Some of the bombings meant for Germany landed on them, including a US bombing that killed 100 people. The Americans insisted that it was an accident, although the Swiss weren’t so sure.

By the end, the Americans had blasted Switzerland with enough of an onslaught that they had to pay more than $14 million in damages.

5 Kenya Fought Against Both Italy And Japan

Nearly 100,000 Kenyans signed up to fight in the King’s African Rifles. They were, by far, the biggest part of Britain’s African army, making up one-third of its soldiers, and they played a big role in the war in Africa. The Kenyans defended their land against an Italian invasion and helped the King’s African Rifles fight—and stop—the Italian invasion across East Africa. After that, they went on to Madagascar and Burma.

The Kenyans struggled with racism throughout the war. African soldiers were paid less than white ones and could never be promoted to a commanding rank. Still, they found some ways to take advantage of the stereotypes against them. One soldier told a writer that, to terrify Japanese soldiers, the Kenyans would pretend they were cannibals getting ready for a taste of Japanese.

4 Poland Broke Enigma First

Alan Turing gets all the credit, but he was actually the second person to crack Germany’s enigma code. The first was Marian Rejewski, a Polish cryptographer.

As early as 1932, Poland had started work to crack German’s complex enigma code. Working with documents stolen by French spies, a Polish team struggled to duplicate the enigma machine—and it worked. Rejewski managed to solve the cypher and made the first duplicates of the enigma machine.

Unfortunately, the Germans realized that their code had been cracked and increased the complexity tenfold. The Poles were stuck, and in 1939, realizing that an invasion was imminent, they sent all their work to England for the British to carry it on and braced for the worst.

That work made it to Alan Turing, who built on it to crack the more complex code, but he never would have done it without the work of Marian Rejewski.

3 Finland Held Off An Invasion Of One Million Russians

In 1939, Finland entered World War II. The Soviet Union had been trying to barter a trade, wanting control of several Finnish islands, but when Finland refused, they moved their troops in.

The Soviet army was massive. There were one million troops marching on Finland, leaving them outnumbered three to one. Finland called for help from Britain and France, but none came, so they had to fight the Soviets themselves.

Finland lost—but they dealt a major blow to the USSR in the process, killing 320,000 Soviet soldiers. Finland only suffered 70,000 casualties. The Finnish had to give up some of their land, but they shot a major hole in the Soviet army.

2 Almost Every Soldier From One Armenian Town Earned A Medal

In Armenia, a small mountain village called Chardakhlu played an incredible role in World War II. Of the 1,250 villagers who were enlisted to fight in the Soviet army, 853 were awarded medals, 12 went on to be generals, and seven became heroes of the Soviet Union.

Two men from the little town made it to the highest echelons of the Soviet army. Hamazasp Babadzhanian became the chief marshal of the armored troops of the Soviet, while Ivan Bagramyan became the marshal of the Soviet Union.

By the end of the war, the little town had some of the most decorated fighters in the country. Nearly every man came home with medals on his chest—or didn’t come home at all.

1 Russia Killed Eight Out Of Ten German Soldiers

Admittedly, Russia isn’t exactly an overlooked country in World War II. It’s well-known that Russia played a major role in the war, but most people don’t realize how massive that role was.

We’ve heard a lot of boasts about the United States turning the tides of the war, but the credit really should go to the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union was responsible for 80 percent of all German casualties. And the USSR came into the war late. If we start counting from 1941, the Soviets are responsible for 95 percent of all German casualties.

A lot of this happened during the Battle of Stalingrad, where Russian soldiers wiped out 20,000 German men each day. Russia’s army was more than big; it had its fair share of talent, too. Nine out of ten of World War II’s deadliest snipers were from the USSR.

The Soviet Union didn’t just play a role in the battle against the Germans—they completely devastated them.