20 Actors Who Overprepared For A Role, And 20 Who Were Woefully Underprepared
We all remember that one person from our school days who used to endlessly prepare before every test. And you bet there was also someone else who did absolutely no studying whatsoever. Well, the following actors and actresses fit into either one of those two categories: those who took preparing for a role to the extreme, and those who did the absolute bare minimum before shooting. Read on to discover which superstars bust a gut to make their characters’ ordeals look oh so real — and which ones, well, didn’t. Either way, you know their performances won't be forgotten anytime soon!
20. Overprepared – Dustin Hoffman, Marathon Man
A dedicated disciple of the school of method acting in his early years, Dustin Hoffman really pushed the boat out while preparing for Marathon Man. In one particular scene where his character was meant to be exhausted after staying up for three days straight, Hoffman dutifully decided that he, too, would not sleep for 72 hours. But when he asked his legendary co-star Laurence Olivier how the shoot for that scene went — and informed him of his sleep deprivation — Olivier retorted, “My dear boy, why don’t you just try acting?” Ouch!
20. Underprepared – Ewan McGregor, Emma
Ewan McGregor admitted to The Observer in 2003 that he didn’t exactly bring his A-game to the set of Emma. In fact, the Scottish actor hadn’t even bothered to read the Jane Austen novel it was based on! It’s maybe no surprise, then, that he’s not super proud of his performance. He even called it the worst thing he’d ever done. He told The Observer, “I [only] made the decision to do that film because I thought I should be seen to be doing something different from Trainspotting.” How about that for a regret?
19. Overprepared – Demi Moore, G.I. Jane
The quality of G.I. Jane can perhaps be questioned (it only has a 51% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, so not everyone's a fan), but Demi Moore’s dedication to the project cannot. The actress really gave it her all, taking part in punishing training regimens prescribed by ex-Navy SEALS. Moore later remarked, “I could have come in and asked to let the stuntwoman do the obstacle course. But I felt I would have walked away having missed an opportunity experiencing, first-hand, what these people actually go through in training.” She also shaved off her hair for it. Nice one, Demi.
19. Underprepared – Hugh Jackman, X-Men
It’s impossible to imagine anyone as Wolverine in X-Men besides Hugh Jackman. But it very nearly wasn’t the amiable Australian, as he replaced Dougray Scott a few weeks into filming. It’s maybe no surprise, then, that Jackman was massively underprepared for the role. He’d never read any of the comics, nor built his muscles up yet in a gym. He even tweeted in 2020, “When the studio called and asked if I could get in shape to play Wolverine in three weeks I might have over-promised! But wouldn’t you have too?” Erm, probably Hugh.
