As superhero movies continue to be the dominant genre in global cinema, and Captain America gets more and more opportunities to practice his princess wave, more and more audiences are converted to fans of their favorite emerging characters. They hold these characters (and the actors who play them) in extremely high esteem, some going so far as to practice idol worshipping tendencies (fan is, after all, short for “fanatic”). Most of the actors who play superheroes are all around decent human beings and damn good thespians, able to make audiences believe that the characters they’re playing could truly exist in our world. They understand that, though superhero movies can be daunting to create, the ultimate payoff is audience happiness, and that makes it all worth it. Plus the buckets of cash.
While most actors in superhero movies are smiling and posing with fans, signing autographs, and being impressive role models, there are those that can’t stand fan interaction. They could be unhappy with their role in a superhero film, unhappy with their paycheck, or just unhappy with having to interact with other humans. CBR has found 15 superhero actors who hate their fans or their fandom, and detailed the reasons why!
15 JARED LETO
Famously known for being as volatile as The Joker he played in Suicide Squad, Jared Leto has a personality that lends itself to the most extreme of mood swings. This could be due to his method acting approach, which allows him to get into the head of his characters by behaving as they would even off camera.
The reception to Leto’s Joker was lukewarm at best, with most audiences having a less than enthusiastic reaction to the way he approached the beloved Batman character. However, most of his scenes were cut from the final version of the film, which did his performance quite the disservice. When fans of his Joker do approach him, he allegedly gets quite upset with them because he feels the film version wasn’t demonstrative of his full range.
14 TOBEY MAGUIRE
For better or for worse, Tobey Maguire defined Spider-Man for the better part of a decade. While audiences liked the altruistic quirkiness he brought to Peter Parker the person, it was more difficult to see Maguire as Spider-Man as the movies progressed. His attempts at being gritty, edgy, or in any way flawed came across as trying too hard and were in many ways laughable.
It didn’t stop him from acquiring fans, though, including personnel involved with the making of Spider-Man 2. Allegedly, a couple security guards who were in charge of deterring wayward set crashers approached Maguire after filming had wrapped for the day, hoping to acquire an autograph. Legend has it he not only denied them, but also made the call to have them fired.
13 CHRISTIAN BALE
At a certain point when filming Terminator: Salvation, Christopher Bale went berserk and railed on a lighting tech that accidentally walked through a shot. Now, this guy wasn’t a fan per say, but the way Bale handled the incident (refusing to return to set if the man was still on the payroll) was indicative of how he’d handle future interactions with human beings. Some have argued he was simply too far into the Batman character to behave like a decent human being, but other incidents would allegedly surface.
As the story goes, when Christian Bale attended the EE British Academy Film Awards in 2014, a group of teenagers sought him out for an autograph. He not only refused them, but gave them a lesson in manners, which ended up with them crying.
12 CHRIS PRATT
You’d think that Star-Lord would totally be down for snapping photos with fans and signing kids’ autographs right? Wrong. The Guardians of the Galaxy star is not down for any of that, and views any fan that wants a photo with him as someone who is only after bragging rights and doesn’t want to cherish the moment.
Nevermind that they might consider the photo as a souvenir, the rumor goes that he sees all fans as profiteering off his face than being actual fans. This comes as a harsh blow to fans that expected him to be friendly and amiable. Apparently his meteoric rise to fame has made it difficult for him to go out in public and just interact with people as a stranger without them asking for a photo. No duh.
11 RUSSELL CROWE
Known for punching paparazzi, Russell Crowe isn’t exactly perceived as the most benevolent of celebrities. He’s got a temper and he’s not worried about putting it to good use. Recently he appeared in Man of Steel as Jor-El, Superman’s father, a role previously made famous in the Christopher Reeve version by Marlon Brando.
Crowe has been notoriously against signing autographs for some time, only breaking his rule on occasion. This usually has to do if a fan praises something unrelated to DC, though generations today may only know him as Superman’s dad. He may be sore because the appearance he was to have in Man of Steel 2 never happened when executives decided to go straight to Batman V Superman.
10 GWYNETH PALTROW
These days, Gwyneth Paltrow is known more for her natural lifestyle brand Goop and naming her daughter Apple than she is for playing Tony Stark’s girl Friday Pepper Potts. She has appeared in all three Iron Man films, even going so far as to get a suit of her own, and is mentioned in the Avenger films as Tony’s intended.
Gwyneth may seem bright and perky as Pepper, but when it comes to accommodating fans, it's been said that she’s anything but. She prefers to be recognized for her other roles in cinema, and less for her position as support staff for Tony Stark. It's been rumored that she won’t take pictures, doesn’t sign autographs, and generally acts dismissive of any fans that come to associate her too much with her Marvel character.
9 JESSE EISENBERG
Though he may have played Superman’s greatest arch nemesis, Lex Luthor, in Batman V Superman, Jesse Eisenberg wasn’t that interested in comics to begin with. He didn’t know much about comics when he took the part, and had to spend quite a lot of time acquainting himself with the material to get a feel for the character.
A lot of people didn’t take to his version of Lex Luthor, prompting him to begin asking a series of invasive questions of fans. His notion seems to be was that if they had the gall to ask him things that made him feel uncomfortable, why couldn’t he? This came also after bad experiences he had at San Diego Comic Con panels that he allegedly compared to “genocide”.
8 JIM CARREY
Since becoming something of a nihilist and cynic, content on extolling existential riddles rather than hyping new films, Jim Carrey has secluded himself from interacting with fans on many fronts. While this enigmatic personality trait made him a natural choice to play The Riddler or The Mask, especially combined with his playfully manic mood swings, it didn’t bode well for fan interactions.
Underneath the comical exterior, Carrey is not a pleasant celebrity to ask for an autograph or picture. He allegedly believes taking his picture with fans to be the greatest pain in his backside, and the biggest downside to celebritism, especially in an age when everyone has a phone camera. Incessant picture hounding is an unfortunate consequence to being one of the funniest comedians of his generation.
7 BEN AFFLECK
Recently, Ben Affleck has gotten a lot of polarizing opinions from fans regarding his portrayal of the Caped Crusader. Before he donned the cape and cowl, he had portrayed Daredevil in the only film to date by that name, and been notoriously displeased with the outcome of the film. Fans hoping to get autographs during that time were treated to a curt refusal at most.
Now that he’s assumed the mantle of the Dark Knight, he’s been getting a lot more requests for autographs and photos, but he seems to find it tedious. Could it be because fans notoriously criticized his performance before he ever put on the bat belt? Part of his reticence to be close to fans following his work in Batman V Superman and Justice League would point to that.
6 CILLIAN MURPHY
While Cillian Murphy respected Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, he heavily dislikes most superhero films, and doesn’t understand the appeal they have for fans. He only agreed to play Scarecrow because the source material was based in some sort of reality, where no one had any particular superpowers, and the spandex wearing was kept to a minimum.
It’s no real surprise he’d prefer gritty realism to frivolous camp, considering his current starring role in Peaky Blinders. Perhaps playing troubled sociopaths makes him keep to himself, because he’s allegedly known for refusing to interact with fans, especially while he’s filming, and especially fans of superhero films. He’s stated more than once that during filming, you only have time to sleep and learn your lines, which makes any sort of social activities pointless.
5 TERRENCE HOWARD
Terrence Howard’s rumored dislike of fans may arise from his dislike of superhero movies in general. He may be entitled to hating superhero films due to the fact that he was replaced in Iron Man 2 because he would have had to take a substantial pay cut. Or maybe because he felt he was responsible for getting Robert Downey Jr. cast as Iron Man in the first place, and when it came time to get him in his corner the way he’d been in his, the lead wouldn’t answer his phone.
He was the highest paid actor in the first Iron Man film, so his bitterness towards the franchise is understandable when you think of the brush off he got. He is, in reality, more like his character on Empire; known for being charming and selfish, untroubled by the plights of plebs.
4 IDRIS ELBA
One minute, you’re playing Nelson Mandela, the next minute, you’re trussed up on wires with a fake wig, fake armor, and crazy contacts. Such is the life of Idris Elba, or as he is known in the Marvel Universe, Heimdall, the Asgardian gatekeeper. Known for being quite the dramatic thespian, he has never been satisfied with his role in the Thor films, and despite Thor: Ragnorak, wants a bigger role in the Marvel films.
He makes no secret about his dislike of filming superhero movies, and prefers that any fans he has praise his more high brow fair. The problem is that outside of Britain, most American audiences were introduced to him in the first Thor movie and continue to know him for his role as Heimdall.
3 MICKEY ROURKE
Ever since Iron Man 2 came out, Mickey Rourke has been on a mission to publicly condemn it. It makes sense when you think about the fact that the movie he thought he filmed didn’t turn out to be the film that made it to the big screen. Lots of cuts and edits in post production rendered a lot of his part as the villain diluted, resulting in a strangely maniacal character with no purpose and easy for Iron Man to defeat.
Fans didn’t particularly like his performance and, as a result, he didn’t particularly like fans. He notoriously complained to anyone that would listen about his dislike for the Marvel Universe and superhero films in general, thus eliminating the chance that we’d see them reunite again.
2 EDWARD NORTON
Something of a reclusive actor, Edward Norton comes and goes from the limelight depending on his choice of projects. When he played Bruce Banner after Eric Bana in the Hulk film, he was drawn to the film because of Banner’s conflict and the ultimate peace he finds with the rage inside him. As he made the film, however, he determined that working with green screens was not for him.
It also didn’t help that Norton had a reputation for being difficult to work with. When the Hulk movie was released, he did as little promotion for it as possible, and dissuaded fans from seeing it. This is unfortunate, since he was a huge Hulk fan and the film started as a passion project for him.
1 CARA DELEVINGNE
Known for playing The Sorceress in Suicide Squad, Cara Delevingne was formerly a model before she decided to try her hand at acting. Although not her first feature film, her performance wasn’t received well, most likely because parts of her body were heavily manipulated by CGI and ended up skewing the fans’ perspective.
Recently she has been rumored to call out fans that aggressively ask for her autograph or a picture with her, reprimanding them for being way too pushy. She recently shamed a fan on social media whom she felt was revelling a little too much in being in her presence by texting her friends she’d just met Cara Delevingne. Perhaps it was a good thing The Sorceress won’t be returning in the next Suicide Squad installment.