Whether you’re an up and coming star or the biggest box office draw on the planet, chances are your agent has rung you up with an exciting new opportunity: playing a role in a YA franchise.
Since the Harry Potter movies started making bucks approaching the billions, fantasy and sci-fi properties aimed at the teenage/young adult market have been all the rage.
Though the era of feisty adolescents fighting a futuristic oppressor or demons from the underworld is nearing its close, series like The Hunger Games and Twilight were some of the most popular and highest grossing films filling movie theatre screens worldwide.
However, as with any trend, the unavoidable sensation also generated a number of copycats. With every studio vying to create the next Harry Potter, some of them didn’t do so well.
YA movies started flopping every other weekend, and when a big movie bombs, their leading stars start to contemplate why they ever signed on in the first place.
Television was no different, as otherwise talented performers started falling victim to poor scripts, falling ratings, and even mean producers.
Signing up to a YA property isn’t the easy ride to success it used to be. While Harry Potter and The Hunger Games have made A-listers of their young stars, other franchises have ruined the careers of potential award-winners.
However, even some of the biggest YA franchises have actors who regret the roles that brought them Hollywood success.
With that said, here are the 10 Actors Who Regretted Being In YA Adaptations (And 16 Who Adored Them).
Regretted: Kristen Stewart - The Twilight Saga
Kristen Stewart’s simpering performance as Bella Swan was so infamously terrible that her name became a meme for any dreary performance with flat line delivery.
Not only did the actress, who is now recognized as a huge talent, become a laughing stock for anyone other than Twilight enthusiasts, but Stewart’s experiences shooting the five movies were a dark period for her.
She’s recollected the experience as “uncomfortable” and has stated that she hated her time in the limelight.
It sounds like making a Twilight movie is just as painful as watching one.
Adored: Emma - Beautiful Creatures
If the more rabid Star Wars fans are to be believed, Ehrenreich has plenty to regret this year.
However, before he was herding nerfs all over the galaxy, the new Han Solo was making humble beginnings as a hunky lead in a potential new YA franchise called Beautiful Creatures.
Any chances of a sequel are now out the window, but the sub-par box office and critic responses didn’t sway the young Harrison Ford lookalike.
Admitting that he was initially reluctant to take part, he eventually read the script and connected with the character.
He also describes the movie’s relationship as “real” rather than idealized, and believes that it’s better to show to impressionable youngsters in the audience.
Regretted: Chace Crawford - Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl may have made a star out of its lead actress Blake Lively, but the show has been significantly less kind on its supporting cast.
This includes both Penn Badgley and Chace Crawford, who both struggled to find compelling roles following the series’ conclusion.
Though Crawford has expressed love for his character Nate’s sharp dress sense, he admits that he started losing his dignity during season two.
By season three, he joked that it “all went out the window.”
Thankfully this didn’t stop him sneaking out some souvenirs, though.
Adored: Jennifer Lawrence - The Hunger Games
Love her or hate her, Jennifer Lawrence is still one of the biggest stars on the planet, and it’s all thanks to her starring role as Katniss Everdeen, the fierce rebel of The Hunger Games.
The character became a powerful symbol against oppression, teaching young kids and teens that liberty is vital and, sometimes, rules are made to be broken.
Lawrence found her experience portraying the victim-turned-hero so inspiring that it was one of her motivations for penning an open letter to Hollywood regarding the disastrous, and ongoing, gender pay gap.
Adored: Ezra Miller - The Perks of Being a Wallflower
It’s hard for Ezra Miller not to be excited for a role. Whether he’s playing a sociopathic teenager with relish in We Need to Talk About Kevin or turning up to Comic Con dressed as Toadette to promote Fantastic Beasts, Miller is one of the most irreverent and passionate young actors around.
His breakout into the Young Adult scene came in the form of Patrick, the “gay best friend” of The Perks of Being a Wallflower’s trouble protagonist, Charlie.
Patrick was one of the first light-hearted characters that Miller played after being typecast into dark and brooding performances.
He has said it was exciting portraying an LGBTQ character who isn’t “tokenized.”
Regretted: Shailene Woodley - The Divergent Series
Shailene Woodley was on track to become one of the world’s biggest stars before she was signed on to the mess that became the Divergent series.
She’s now back on track after her stunning performance in Big Little Lies, but, by the time Allegiant was flopping all over the country, her career was hanging in the balance.
She admits that the weak box office performance and subsequent cancellation of the fourth and final movie was so tough that she seriously considered quitting Hollywood for good.
The wonderful script for Big Little Lies tempted her back, but, when she swore off an appearance in the reported TV spin-off of Divergent, she definitely sounded serious.
Adored: Dylan O-Brien - The Maze Runner
As far as the YA sensation goes, The Maze Runner franchise is definitely on the tail end. The last movie of the trilogy, Death Cure, was released earlier this year, and it just missed the sci-fi dystopia hype caused by The Hunger Games.
This is through no fault of the filmmakers, however, as the series’ star Dylan O’Brien was seriously injured during the filming of a particularly dangerous stunt.
Much like Tom Cruise, O’Brien took it all in his stride and, upon completion of the movie, fought for the life-threatening stunt to be kept in the movie.
We may have another Ethan Hunt on our hands.
Regretted: Anna Kendrick - The Twilight Saga
Many aca-pologies to Anna Kendrick for bringing up the sad, early beginnings of the Pitch Perfect star’s career.
However, before she became a singing sensation with the Barden Bellas, Kendrick played a secondary role as Jessica Stanley, Bella Swan’s first friend at Forks High School.
The actress was noticeably missing in the series’ last entry, Breaking Dawn: Part 2 to make way for an all-out brawl between vampires and werewolves.
Rather than being sad about missing out, Kendrick admitted that it was a “relief” not to appear for one last time.
She also added that the miserable weather dampened everyone’s spirits on set.
Adored: Daniel Radcliffe - Harry Potter
Up until 2011, Harry Potter made plucky British actor Daniel Radcliffe the biggest star on the planet. Since the franchise has come to a close, he’s rejected the limelight.
He’s played a corpse, a bigot, and Beat poet Allen Ginsberg since leaving Hogwarts behind, all for productions with just a fraction of the budget that Harry Potter had to play with.
You’d be fooled into thinking that Radcliffe regretted his time leading, at the time, the biggest franchise in the world, but this is, thankfully, not the case.
Although he’s been his own worst critic when it comes to his Potter performances, he’s grateful for the opportunities that the series has granted and has expressed a love for interacting with fans.
Adored: Zoey Deutch - Vampire Academy
The director of teen favorite Mean Girls, Marc Waters, seemed like the perfect fit for Vampire Academy, a YA fantasy comedy that turns Hogwarts into an American high school of cliques and gossip.
Sadly, the adaptation of Richelle Mead’s book series was a huge bomb.
Star Zoey Deutch has no regrets, though. The role has done nothing to slow down her career, and she had a blast on set.
She admits that the schedule was often exhausting (as movie sets usually are), but that didn’t stop her having fun and befriending her co-stars.
Regretted: Miles Teller - The Divergent Series
If anyone’s going to speak their mind about a movie they worked on, you can put safe money on Miles Teller.
He’s one of the wittiest and most sarcastic personas during press junkets, and he almost came to blows with director Josh Trank on the set of Fant4stic.
His words on his role in the Divergent franchise have been equally unkind.
Despite having a great time on set with The Spectacular Now co-star Shailene Woodley, Teller was bad-mouthing the series even before his contract had expired.
Calling his agent to tell them “this sucks,” he admits that he took the job purely for business reasons before moving on to more interest projects like Whiplash.
Adored: Ansel Elgort - The Fault in Our Stars
Before Ansel Elgort was putting the pedal to the metal with an engine-revving soundtrack in Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver, his biggest role was a little less upbeat.
As Augustus Walters, Elgort broke hearts all over the globe thanks to his tragic story and stirring romance with Shailene Woodley’s Hazel.
Much like Woodley, Green’s book had an unshakeable effect on him and, like many of us, he broke down in tears when he read it.
He then went on to have an unbelievable time on set, becoming close friends with Green and Woodley and hearing inspiring stories from the real cancer patients featured in the movie.
Adored: Eddie Redmayne - Fantastic Beasts
Replacing Daniel Radcliffe as the frontman for JK Rowling’s Wizarding World was no small feat for Warner Bros.
Luckily, Eddie Redmayne combined effortless charm with bright-eyed wonder for his performance as magical zoologist, Newt Scamander.
As a huge fan of the series, Redmayne was worried about screwing up the legacy of the beloved children’s series.
However, that pressure quickly melted away when he arrived on set, and he’s loved the role ever since.
He regards designing his own, personal wand as an especially magical highlight.
Regretted: Penn Badgley - Gossip Girl
Many believed that Badgley was destined for huge things after landing a romantic role alongside up-and-coming megastar Emma Stone in Easy A.
Sadly, a little something called Gossip Girl stood in his way.
As we’ve already seen with Chace Crawford, the controversial CW show took no prisoners.
After moving on to bigger and better things, including musical biopic Greetings From Tim Buckley, Badgley felt safe to throw some shade on his beginnings as an actor.
After years of weekly embarrassment caused by his Gossip Girl performances, he’s said “I can walk a little taller feeling that I don’t have to be constantly apologizing for the work that I’ve done in the past.”
Adored: Shailene Woodley - The Fault in Our Stars
John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars has become an iconic text, a Bible for literate and misunderstood teens.
A movie adaptation was inevitable and highly anticipated, and fans were ecstatic with the news that Shailene Woodley had been chosen to lead the movie as cancer patient Hazel Grace Lancaster.
Much like any reader in their twenties during 2012, the year Green’s book was published and received with a whirlwind of success, Woodley confessed that The Fault in Our Stars changed her life.
She now considers her character, Hazel, as one of her favorite role models and, beyond that, adored working with her co-star, Ansel Elgort.
Regretted: Ricky Whittle - The 100
The CW’s series The 100, which is based on Kass Morgan’s series of books, is a classic Young Adult, dystopian premise.
Almost a hundred years after a nuclear apocalypse decimates the Earth, a hundred survivors are sent from an orbiting space station complex known as The Ark to determine whether the ruined planet is habitable.
The desolate tone of the show was matched by an equally unpleasant tone on set.
Ricky Whittle, who played Lincoln, has recounted pressure and bullying on set that resulted in his character’s early departure from the series.
Luckily, he was quickly back on our screens in American Gods.
Adored: Michael Gambon - Harry Potter
Potter fans may have been a little disappointed following the casting of season thespian Michael Gambon as Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore.
Though he impressed in Prisoner of Azkaban, the replacement for sadly passed Richard Harris caused a minor controversy with his growly, physical performance in Goblet of Fire.
Despite his tendency towards lying in interviews, Gambon has been brutally honest regarding his Potter performances – “I just stick on a beard and play me.”
That hasn’t stopped him practically begging for a part in the upcoming Fantastic Beasts sequels, so he must have had at least a little fun on set.
Adored: Theo James - The Divergent Series
Theo James is a man’s man. During his brief spell as smouldering but troubled hero, Four, he became everyone’s new heartthrob.
However, unlike the secretly introverted and sensitive Four (real name Tobias – no, really), James relished the chance to play a tough character.
He explained that he had an “immediate affinity” with the character, and he was drawn to the role after reading the book, and discovering Four’s “old-school” masculinity.
He also had a ball on set.
Name any YA franchise, and an element of romance is going to be involved somewhere. Divergent’s is especially steamy, and James delights in sharing some juicier details with his fans.
Regretted: Josh Hutcherson - The Hunger Games
Josh Hutcherson still reigns as the YA king after practically building his career with novies based on books for kids and teens.
He has starred in Bridge to Terabithia, The Vampire’s Assistant, and he’s even taken a ride with two of Jules Verne’s classic adventure novels in the Journey movies.
However, his most iconic role to date has to be Peeta Mellark in The Hunger Games.
Although the mega-hit series put Hutcherson on the map, like many reluctant stars, he’s expressed his regrets about becoming such a public figure.
He’s even gone so far as saying that the series “stripped [his] liberties as a [U.S. citizen].”
Adored:Lily Collins - The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
Lily Collins will likely never portray Shadowhunter Clary Fray again as, swiftly after Constantin movie hit the brakes on potential sequel, City of Ashes, the franchise was rebooted for TV.
It’s a mess of a film, and an unashamed Twilight rip-off, combined with elements of every other YA fantasy trope under the sun.
This hasn’t stopped Collins from looking back at her time on set fondly, though.
After being drawn to the project by her love of the character in Cassandra Clare’s books, she was all ready to head back to work with her “best friends” for the sequel before it was canned.
