The list of celebrities who have no interest in seeing themselves on the screen is surprisingly long. You’d think that one of the major benefits of being a movie or TV star would be to watch yourself shining on the silver screen, but these 21 celebs said no thanks to that.
Maybe they don’t just like movies or TV? But if that were the case, you’d have to imagine they’d pick a different career. Imagine if your plumber declined to double check his handiwork. Well, for whatever reason, these stars absolutely refuse to watch their own work. Check them out.
1
Richard Gadd
Creator and star of the Netflix surprise hit Baby Reindeer never watched his own show. He said that when it came out he played it on Netflix, hit mute, and left the room to bump up the plays without having to watch it.
2
Rupert Grint
Rupert Grint, who played Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter movies, never watched past movie number three. I wonder what made him stop there? Well, it was as good a place to stop as any, they’re mostly downhill from there.
3
Reese Witherspoon
Reese Witherspoon not only doesn’t watch her own movies, but also doesn’t remember much about them. In an interview, she said “I have absolute amnesia about every movie I have ever made. I won't watch them because if I did I would spiral into a state of self-hate,”
4
Gwyneth Paltrow
Gwyneth Paltrow absolutely detests seeing herself on the big screen. In an interview, she said “I also really hate, hate, hate seeing myself in a movie ever.”
5
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman has only seen Moulin Rouge and Australia. Those are an interesting two movies to choose out of her long and accomplished filmography. Not even Eyes Wide Shut? Oh well, whatever floats your boat, Nicole.
6
Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp says that once he’s done acting in a movie, he “stay[s] as far away as [he] possibly can.” He really doesn’t like watching himself. Or maybe the Tim Burton stuff just really creeps him out.
7
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie revealed in an interview that she greatly prefers the process of making her movies to watching them. She also said that she does watch Brad Pitt’s movies. Well, probably not anymore, I’d have to imagine.
8
Joaquin Phoenix
The only two movies that Joaquin Phoenix has both appeared in and watched were The Master and Her. He said he thought he was mature enough to watch them and learn from mistakes. But apparently he didn’t end up being mature enough, because he hasn’t watched any others.
9
Andrew Garfield
The star of The Amazing Spider-Man is afraid that if he watches his own performances on screen, he will “kill a magic he doesn’t want to understand too clearly.” Whatever you say, Peter Parker!
10
Helena Bonham Carter
Helena Bonham Carter says she’s never seen a single one of her TV or film projects. She gave an interesting line of reasoning, saying “It's not like I am going to do exactly the same part next year, so what's the point?”
11
Jesse Eisenberg
In an interview, Jesse Eisenberg said “I don't watch anything I've been in, and I don't read reviews or analysis of movies I've been in, or my plays.” He really covers all the bases! Jesse, if you really haven’t seen The Social Network, you’re missing out.
12
Adam Driver
Adam Driver doesn’t watch his own movies ever since seeing himself in HBO’s Girls and being ‘mortified’. He said “I certainly can’t watch this if we’re going to continue doing it.” He attended a showing of BlacKkKlansman, but hid in the green room while it played.
13
Emma Stone
Emma Stone never watched her movie Easy A, which helped make her popular. She said she’s seen scattered scenes, but she “went to a friends and family screening to see it, and [she] had to get up and walk out.”
14
Andrew Lincoln
Andrew Lincoln never watched himself as Rick Grimes on The Walking Dead. He gave multiple reasons, with the main being that he just doesn’t like looking at himself.
15
Javier Bardem
Javier Bardem doesn’t like to see himself on screen. He was surprisingly self-deprecating about it, saying "The fact that I like to make characters doesn't mean that I like to watch my characters being made, my performance. I can't even watch that f****** nose, that f****** voice, those ridiculous eyes. I can't handle that,"
16
Al Pacino
Al Pacino says he doesn’t usually go back to watch his old movies. He says if the movie is good you can feel proud, but if it’s bad he’ll just try to forget it. He also says he’ll make an exception and watch if one of his old movies is on TV, which seems to defeat the point.
17
Harry Hamlin
Harry Hamlin played an attorney for five seasons on L.A. Law from 1986 to 1991, racking up three Golden Globe nominations. But he didn’t watch the show until 2023. When he finally did, he said “It’s amazing!”
18
Julianne Moore
Julianne Moore says she hasn’t seen any of her own movies. She prefers the thrill of acting itself, not seeing the finished product. She says she can’t even sit through a premiere of a movie that she’s been in.
19
Jared Leto
Despite winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in Dallas Buyers Club, Jared Leto has never seen the movie. He said, “It can never live up to the expectations I would have of it now because it was such a beautiful experience and the response that it got was really wonderful.”
20
Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks believes that watching his own movies is a “horrible mistake”. He says that it doesn’t teach you what to do but rather what not to do, and that old movies don’t change so there’s no point in watching them.
21
Ellen Pompeo
We don’t blame the Grey’s Anatomy star for not keeping up with the show; the long-running series has over 400 episodes at the time of writing this. I don’t think even people who didn’t star in it have watched most of the episodes.
