These Actors Had A Real Problem With Their Iconic On-Set Wardrobes
A good costume can make or break a character. While it's important to get all the details just right, it would also be nice if the actors could be as comfortable as possible under all those layers. It's not always the Risky Business uniform of pajamas and sunglasses — sometimes actors get stuck with iconic costumes they absolutely despise.
Whether it's that tight bodysuit or pounds of prosthetics, these memorable looks can leave an actor eager to burn a garment after shooting. Here are some of the most memorable and most unmanageable looks. Spoiler - there's a lot of unbreathable latex involved.
Scarlett Johansson Was Hallucinating On Set
Playing Natasha Romanoff, better known as Black Widow, gave Scarlett Johansson a taste of the Russian espionage turned superhero life in the Avengers series. Unfortunately, that also included copious amounts of boot sweat.
"It was so hot, I would wring out my socks at the end of the day" Johansson remarks. It also got so hot in the wetsuit that Johansson reportedly hallucinated on set. Who knew unbreathable latex was a natural bug repellent?
George Clooney Also Couldn't Stop Staring At His Chest
Though Batman & Robin really couldn't live up to the hype at the box office, we can't forget about the costumes in that film. Outshining Arnold Schwarzenegger's memorable performance as Mr. Freeze is the costume on Batman himself. I can't get George Clooney's pointy bat nipples out of my head and apparently, neither can he.
"I wasn't thrilled with the nipples on the batsuit," Clooney wrote on Reddit. “Batman was just constantly cold I guess.”
Carrie Fisher's Costume Sparked A Lot Of Controversy
We all remember the iconic and controversial metal bikini Carrie Fisher wore as Princess Leia in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, but not more than she did. Fisher reported that the costume's revealing "nearly naked" style was not her choice.
When first shown the sketches of the revealing piece, Fisher thought the designer Richard Miller was trying to "frighten me into exercise." Fisher also once wrote that the bikini was the kind of thing supermodels "will eventually wear in the seventh ring of Hell."
Robert Downey Jr. Nearly Had A Meltdown In His Metal Suit
The Iron Man film's iconic suit may now look like the modernized version of itself from the Iron Man comics, but the first versions were a little more cumbersome than they look onscreen.
Before the suit was swapped for its CGI counterpart in the recent films, Downey had to wear pieces of the heavy equipment. "The first time I put on the Mark 1 suit, I almost had a personality meltdown," laughs Downey. “I’m not claustrophobic, but after moving around in it for a couple of hours your spirit is kind of broken and you’re like, 'ok, time to bring in the stunt team.’”
Michelle Pfeiffer Had To Powder Down To Slip Into The Catsuit
Michelle Pfeiffer's literal and metaphorical catsuit in Batman Returns was far from the cat's meow. Pfeiffer remarks that "the face mask was smashing my face and choking me… we had a lot of bugs to work out."
The suit matched the uncomfortable facepiece. Pfeiffer called the get-up "the most uncomfortable costume I've ever been in." Reportedly it was so tight that Pfieffer had to be powdered down to get into it before it was basically vacuum sealed to her body.
Tom Holland's Suit Forced Him To Drink Through A Tube
Spider-Man is no stranger to dangerous villains, but Tom Holland in Spider-Man: Far From Home may have found his nemesis in the unbreathable spider suit. Holland admits the suit wasn't "the greatest thing, but sometimes when it’s uncomfortable, you just have to remind yourself of the long list of actors that would love to be in it."
The suit also didn't feature a mouth opening, forcing Tom to drink water through a tube inserted through the eye socket. Since the movie was largely shot in the hot and humid Amazon, Holland jokes he felt like a "big thirsty plant."
Jennifer Lawrence Sat Through 7 Hours Of Makeup Every Day
Before donning the bow and arrow as Katniss, Lawrence played Mystique in the X-Men prequel X-Men: First Class, X-Men: Days of Future Past, and X-Men: Apocalypse. To fully become Mystique took 7 hours of makeup every shoot. Lawrence doesn't remember the smell fondly either, as she remarked, "I can't even pronounce this, and that's going in my nose? I'm breathing that?"
Rebecca Romijin, who played the role before Lawrence, reportedly took 9 hours in makeup and was so uncomfortable director Bryan Singer brought her some white wine in order to help her relax and continue shooting.
Malcolm McDowell
Stanley Kubrick's iconic A Clockwork Orange featured chilling hyperviolence and memorable colors. The costumes were no exception to the film's quirky aesthetics. Malcolm McDowell, who plays Alex in the film, remembers pulling cricket gear from his car that Kubrick decided would be his white outfit.
Malcolm McDowell regrets one thing though. "I wish I'd done is cut my hair short," he remarks. "I really hate the long hair. Every time I see it, I think, 'We gave the Beatles a lot to be thankful for.' They made that hair so popular."
Andrew Garfield's Costume Was Less Than Flattering
It's not only the female stars who have to deal with the unwanted attention that their costumes bring. Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man in The Amazing Spider-Man reported that paparazzi were hounding him when the film was shooting in downtown L.A.
"I knew there were paparazzi taking terrible unflattering shots of my, you know, everything," Garfield remarked. He felt objectified because fans and photographers were taking all kinds of rear shots while he was in the suit.
Elizabeth Taylor Set A Record With All Her Costume Changes
We loved every costume from the 1963 Cleopatra, and Taylor's iconic makeup looks inspired a Revlon campaign complete with a ‘sphinx eye’ makeup line. It wasn't all sunshine and sand on set though, as Taylor had a record-breaking 65 costume changes in Cleopatra that all featured gold and tightly cinched corsets.
While Taylor herself never vocalized her complaints about her wardrobe, female extras on set reported feeling exposed in their tight and revealing costumes. The studio ended up hiring a personal security guard for the women to protect them.
Ryan Reynolds Couldn't Use Deadpool's Quick Wit To His Advantage
You probably hated this one too, even if you didn't know it when the 2009 X-Men Origins Wolverine came out.
Reynolds would later make fun of his tightly-lipped Wade Wilson in the later Deadpool movies. The makeup choice where his mouth was sealed shut seemed to go against the character's very nature, as the notoriously sassy "Merc with the Mouth" was forced to stay silent in the X-Men film. Reynolds was forced to play the smart-mouthed Wilson painfully straight and stoic.
Chadwick Boseman Wasn't Able To Scratch His Itches
For the thrilling superhero hit Black Panther, Chadwick Boseman had to squeeze into a tight catsuit in 90-degree weather to play Black Panther. The unforgiving garment made it hard for Boseman to breathe, and it only got worse when the actor had to perform stunts in the restrictive suit.
He was covered in sweat and itchy all over from the heat and fabric. He couldn't scratch himself when the suit was on either, so to cope he entered a mental "Zen" space where he focussed on breathing properly.
Olivia Newton-John Prefered The Pink Skirt To The Black Satin Pants
Who could forget the big reveal moment when Grease's Olivia Newton-John, playing Sandy, turned in her pink poodle skirt for black satin pants. When asked if she'd put the pants back on for the film's rumored 40th-anniversary reunion, she laughed. "No, I will not put them on again."
Newton-John is a breast cancer survivor and plans to auction the costume off soon. The proceeds from the iconic piece will benefit The Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness Research Center in Melbourne, Australia.
Michael Chiklis Was In Real Pain As The Thing
Unlike his 2004 Fantastic Four costars, Michael Chiklis as The Thing had to undergo intensive makeup and prosthetics every day for filming.
Chiklis called the costume the "worst part of the movie, obviously." Chiklis reported that his costume caused him immense physical pain, and that's easy to imagine when you have a tonne of prosthetic rocks glued to you. Chiklis didn't regret the experience though, saying that the pain was worth it.
Paul Bettany Lost Some Of His Senses
For his role as the nefarious Vision in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Paul Bettany had to get used to prosthetics and makeup that literally shut his senses off. Bettany couldn't hear very well during the ten-hour shooting days as Vision.
Bettany coped by remembering how thankful he was. "By the fourth and fifth day of the week, you are really having to meditate on the line of actors, thousands of them, who would love to be in your position. You have to concentrate on how lucky you are."
Milla Jovovich
To create the futuristic and cyberpunk aesthetic of The Fifth Element universe, director Luc Besson had Milla Jovovich as humanoid Leeloo suit up in a bandage outfit designed by Jean-Paul Gaultier himself.
Though the costume put Jovovich solidly inside of the world Besson was creating, Jovovich said the gear "was a bit embarrassing." Jovovich reported that other male coworkers on set would whistle at her while she was working, which was naturally hard to deal with.
Jessica Alba Wondered If She Was Being Taken Seriously
Alba's experience as Sue Storm in Fantastic Four was arguably as bad as the reviews of the movie. The actress reported that director Tim Story asked her to "be prettier when you cry" and suggested adding tears via CGI.
Alba's didn't think the suit helped her time there. After feeling she wasn't being taken seriously, she wondered "am I not good enough? Are my instincts and my emotions not good enough?" For Alba, the suit was just a small part of her experience on the Fantastic Four set.
Malin Akerman Could Barely Bend Her Arms And Legs
Though Watchmen is an iconic feature with anti-heroes that generated its own HBO special, Ackerman's experience in the Silk Spectre suit was anything but comfortable.
Ackerman said the smell of the latex suit was unbearable. "It's like putting a condom over your whole body," she reported. Not only did she have to deal with the plastic smell, but the way the outfit was designed made it hard for the action star to move. Every time she tried to bend her elbows or knees she would feel a sharp pain.
Ben Affleck Just Thought The Bat-Suit Looked Ugly
Not all hated costumes are uncomfortable - some are just ugly. In his performance as an older and wiser Batman in Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Ben Affleck reportedly hated the garishness of his metal Batman.
Affleck called the outfit "the most humiliating, ridiculous thing in the world." As if the scathing critical reviews weren't enough flame on the movie, the strange bat-suit had Affleck joining in on the hate.
Jim Carrey Felt Like He Was Being Buried Alive
While fans love the iconic Grinch costume worn by actor Jim Carrey in How The Grinch Stole Christmas, it was not an easy character to get into. According to Carrey, the eight-hour-long process, complete with numerous facial prosthetics, felt like "being buried alive every day."
In fact, wearing the costume for up to 92 hours a day made the actor go a bit insane. Eventually, producer Brian Grazer brought in a CIA operative to train Carrey in how to deal with tortuous situations.
Christopher Reeve Just Wanted To Hang Up The Cape
Reeve's original Superman suit will forever be the iconic image of the character. Regardless of how far reaching this Superman image is, the production of the early Superman films were plagued with problems.
Reeve felt that movies never lived up to the potential of the character. The series blundered along with the strange choice to make Superman III a comedy starring Richard Pryor, which was scrapped to begin production on Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. Unfortunately, that iconic cape was one Reeve was happy to hang up.
