Viola Davis and other stars who 'regret' their big roles

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Robert Pattinson in Twilight, Viola Davis in The Help and Idris Elba in The WireImage source, Alamy

Viola Davis says she "regretted" her role in The Help, a movie she previously said changed her career.

She stars as the maid Aibileen in the 2011 movie, but Viola says the voices and experiences of the maids weren't "heard" enough.

"Have I ever done roles that I've regretted? I have, and The Help is on that list," she told The New York Times, external.

"I want to know what it feels like to work for white people and to bring up children in 1963, I want to hear how you really feel about it. I never heard that in the course of the movie."

Viola has previously spoken about having "a lot of issues, external" with the 2011 film, which has been criticised for being historically inaccurate.

But the How To Get Away With Murder star isn't the only actor who has some regrets about their big role.

Robert Pattinson v Twilight

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Robert's role as Edward Cullen in the Twilight franchise made him a Hollywood star

Robert Pattinson has criticised Twilight and his character Edward Cullen so often that entire compilation videos, external have been made about it.

The actor told Vanity Fair in 2011, external that it felt "weird" to be "kind of representing something you don't particularly like" and told Dose.CA, external that Edward would "be like an axe murderer" if he wasn't a fictional character.

But years of discontent as the most famous vampire of the late noughties may be coming to an end - with Robert telling Variety that he's ready to play a 17-year-old again at a "moment's notice, external" sparking rumours of a Twilight reunion.

Ryan Reynolds v Green Lantern

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Ryan Reynolds says he's never seen the entire Green Lantern film

Before he won hearts with Deadpool, Ryan Reynolds was Green Lantern, which is a role he claims made him "unhireable".

"I represented the death of the superhero for a while," he admitted in a 2016 Variety interview, external.

Green Lantern has since been the butt of many jokes in both Deadpool movies - in one scene Deadpool even travels back in time and shoots Ryan Reynolds as he's reading the Green Lantern script - but Ryan has insisted it's just "kind of fun, external".

He also admitted that he's "never seen the final version" of the film.

Idris Elba v The Wire

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Idris isn't comfortable with people "idolising a smart drug dealer"

You may know Idris from his role as DCI John Luther, but before playing the detective on BBC One he played drug dealer Stringer Bell in US series The Wire.

Speaking to David Lammy on James O'Brien's podcast, external last month, Idris said he felt uncomfortable with the way his character was celebrated.

"We're all idolising Stringer Bell, but who are we really idolising?" he asked.

"Are we idolising a smart drug dealer or a dumb narcotics dealer? What are we saying here?

"Is it OK to pump a community full of heroin but because you're smart at it, that makes you cool? That was a problem for me."

Jessica Alba v Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

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Jessica Alba "hated" her role in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

Jessica Alba starred as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman in the Fantastic Four films released in 2005 and 2007, but apparently they were anything but fantastic.

The actress reportedly told Elle's, external 2010 December issue that her experience working on Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer made her want to "stop acting".

"I hated it. I really hated," she said.

"I remember when I was dying in Silver Surfer. The director was like, 'It looks too real. It looks too painful. Can you be prettier when you cry? Cry pretty, Jessica'."

Katherine Heigl v Knocked Up

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Katherine Heigl said her role was "a killjoy"

Katherine Heigl's role as Alison in Knocked Up may have been one of her best known, but the actress told Vanity Fair in 2008, external that she found the movie "a little sexist".

"It paints the women as shrews, as humourless and uptight, and it paints the men as lovable, goofy, fun-loving guys.

"It exaggerated the characters, and I had a hard time with it, on some days."

Katherine's co-star Seth Rogen responded shortly after, external, claiming he felt his trust was "somewhat betrayed" by her comments.

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