20 actors who criticized special effects on set (21 photos)

Sometimes during filming, actors have to work in front of green screens, with computer generated versions of characters, or in stupid suits with a bunch of sensors. And some of them don’t like this kind of work - and don’t consider it real acting at all. The actors from this selection admitted which special effects pissed them off during filming.





1. Hugh Grant admitted that he didn’t like filming “Willy Wonka”



Actor Hugh Grant recently admitted that playing the Oompa Loompa in the musical Willy Wonka was uncomfortable for him. In the film, he appeared in miniature, and therefore he had to work with many different cameras and devices. Also, many of his movements, including dancing, were done using animation.

2. Ian McKellen called his experience of filming the role of Gandalf in the film “The Hobbit” “horrible”



Ian McKellen was unhappy that much of the film was shot on green screens rather than in natural surroundings. In addition, in the scenes with the gnomes, he was filmed alone, without other actors: there were only 13 photographs of gnomes on stands with small light bulbs around. When a certain dwarf said a line, a light above him would light up to make it easier for McKellen to navigate. According to the actor, "it stretched his technical abilities to the absolute limit."

3. Martin Freeman also didn’t like filming alone



Actor Martin Freeman was also unhappy that in some of the scenes where McKellen was supposed to participate with him, he was filmed alone.

"When our characters had scenes together, Ian and I would get together, say the lines, rehearse, and everything would be great. He was just amazing to work with. Then we'd be separated and I'd have to look at his double while he was talking off-screen. It was frustrating because I really wanted to act with him," the actor said.

4. Viggo Mortensen did not like the abundance of special effects in The Lord of the Rings



In an interview, Viggo Mortensen admitted that he did not like the large number of special effects in the third film in the Lord of the Rings series. According to him, the first film turned out to be more atmospheric because there were more real landscapes.

5. Ewan McGregor didn't appreciate the special effects in Star Wars either.



The actor complained that during the filming of the Star Wars prequels he often had to work in front of green screens. This began to be used more and more in the early 2000s with the advent of new technologies.

6. Adam Driver was also annoyed by green screens



“You stand in front of a green background, and they tell you: “Everything is fine, your lightsaber is working,” or “Imagine that there is space behind you.” At these moments you feel strange,” the actor said in an interview.

7. Anthony Hopkins was also not a big fan of the green screens used on the set of Thor. According to him, on such filming even “acting is not required”



8. Christian Bale also didn't like the experience of filming on green screens in Thor: Love and Thunder. He called the process "extremely monotonous"



9. Kit Harington didn't like working with CG dragons on the set of Game of Thrones



"It was terrible. This is not acting at all. This will never be acting, and this is not what I signed up for. I was extremely uncomfortable," Harington said in an interview.

10. Quidditch scenes in Harry Potter



During the filming of the Quidditch scenes in the Harry Potter films, actors were placed on blue moving platforms against a blue screen. In the process, they created the illusion of rapid movement by moving the platforms. Daniel Radcliffe and Tom Felton admitted that they would filmThey did not like it in these scenes, and they would not repeat such an experience.

11. Johnny Depp called working with green screens in the Alice in Wonderland films “tedious” in an interview.



According to him, at first there is a feeling of novelty and room for imagination, but over time the green screen begins to be very annoying.

12. Ben Affleck wore something like pajamas on the set of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice



While filming the film's fight scenes, Affleck had to wear "visual effects pajamas," which he called "the most humiliating, ridiculous thing in the world," making it easier for digital effects technicians to apply the costume using CGI.

13. Michael Shannon criticized his costume in the film "Man of Steel", calling it "the most humiliating outfit."



During filming, the actor wore a completely tight suit, which was then transformed using computer graphics. According to him, it was humiliating and he “felt like a court jester.”

14. Donald Glover, who played in Solo: Star Wars, was outraged by the digital scanning method



Filmmakers can digitally scan an actor's facial expressions, movements and features to use the data if the actor, for example, dies during filming.

"In Star Wars, they scanned my face and body. What if at some point they say, 'Let's make another movie with Donald.' He's been dead for fifteen years, but now we can do whatever we want with him," the actor said.

15. Jessica Chastain didn't like the digital scanning process either. But she didn't name the film she was asked to do it for.



"They took me into a room, scanned my face. Then they asked me to smile, frown. At this point, I asked to stop the procedure. I just didn't know how they were going to use it," the actress said.

16. Willem Dafoe criticized the digital rejuvenation method that has become popular in the last few years



Actor Willem Dafoe admitted that his digital de-aging in Spider-Man: Far From Home was pointless. According to him, he did not notice any significant difference.

17. Mark Hamill did not like the rejuvenation method and other effects that were used in “The Mandalorian” and the TV series “The Book of Boba Fett”



According to the actor, some of the scenes were created using a young stunt double (Graham Hamilton), past footage and recordings of Hamill, artificial intelligence technology and Hamill's modern performance. He said it was "unusual to see myself like that."

18. Jeff Bridges criticized the rejuvenation methods in the movie “Kingsman: The Golden Circle”: he didn’t like how the result looked



19. Colin Firth was also rejuvenated in the film “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” - and he didn’t like it



“My wife didn’t recognize me in such a young image. It didn’t look like me at all in my youth, even if compared with my old photographs,” said the actor.

20. Actor Mads Mikkelsen was also rejuvenated for Indiana Jones



According to him, it looked very strange and unnatural. Mikkelsen admitted that such technology is "amazing" and the team has done a lot of work on digital rejuvenation - but he doesn't understand the point of this method.