By time 2015 came around, Star Wars fans had been through a lot. After the first three films in the series set up a universe moviegoers across the world fell in love with (and some obsessed over), the fanbase only grew bigger and bigger - even becoming a religion with 'Jediism'. So when the prequel trilogy came out, expectations were high. And when that anticipation was followed by three lacklustre-to-terrible movies, it was a gut punch many weren't ready to deal with. So when Disney bought the rights to the series and decided to start up a new trilogy, as well as some spin-off movies, people were skeptical to say the least. The fact that the movie was not only good, but pretty damn great, was a huge relief for fans of the series. [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/Bco0sgNjapF/?hl=en&taken-by=daisyridrey]] One of the surprising standouts of the film was undoubtedly Daisy Ridley, who took center stage even as she starred alongside Star Wars veterans like Harrison Ford's Han Solo. Until this point, she had mostly acted in British TV shows and independent films, so being cast as the lead in the biggest movie of the year was a huge deal. [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/BcwWzEildes/?hl=en&taken-by=daisyridrey]] I haven't had the pleasure of seeing her star in the latest installment, The Last Jedi, yet, but one of the reasons I'm looking forward to it is to see more of her character Rey. From a scavenger abandoned by her parents on a desert planet to a burgeoning Jedi, her arc was captivating, and was greatly helped by Ridley's natural charisma in the role. [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/hamillhimself/status/719239858087182336?lang=en]] J J Abrams, the director of The Force Awakens, spoke about the process of finding the actress to play Rey, and why Daisy Ridley was the perfect choice:

"What we were looking for was someone new. This character needed to be vulnerable and tough, sweet and terrified. And to find someone that no one knew who could do all these things took a lot of looking."

"[Daisy Ridley] just blew my mind. She's reaching this depth of struggle, and tears are streaming down her face. I thought, 'This is unbelievable.'"

She was perfect from the start, it seems, as this clip from her first audition proves. In this clip, she's practicing for the scene where she is being interrogated by the Force Awakens' villain Kylo Ren, as he attempts to read her mind. [[youtubewidget||https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bngVVMDC6Q8]] It's strange getting into the actor's process like this. Imagine auditioning to play a major role in what is possibly the biggest franchise ever, and on top of that having to start off with such an intensely emotional scene. It's tough work, and clearly what inspired the creators to cast her as Rey. The Last Jedi came out on December 15 and has done monumentally well at the box office as expected. It exceeded expectations and made $450 million worldwide, $25 million more than what forecasters predicted. It looks like the series will be sticking around for some time yet.

At some point, we have all been in a situation where we felt overwhelmed. Whether it's a project you have undertaken or a new job, you can feel like you're not capable of going through with it at all at some points. Of course, this can happen even with Hollywood's finest - especially when they're under the pressure of taking on a major role.

In fact, there are plenty of actors who almost quit halfway through filming their most iconic roles - and we're betting they're glad they went through with it now.

1. Daisy Ridley - Star Wars: The Force Awakens

During her very first day on set, director JJ Abrams told the actress that her performance "was wooden" in front of the entire crew (imagine how big a Star Wars film crew would be). "I honestly wanted to die," she later said. "I thought I was gonna cry, I couldn't breathe". At the time, she felt like quitting, with the weight of the franchise on her shoulders - but thankfully she didn't.

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2. Jim Carrey - The Grinch

After the eight and a half hours spent applying makeup on the first day of filming, the actor didn't think he could make it through the production. Describing it as being "buried alive," it was suggested to him to speak to a man who trains CIA operatives to endure torture - which helped Carrey deal with the 100 times he had to don the outfit.

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3. Emma Watson - Harry Potter franchise

During The Order of the Phoenix, Watson's contract was up for renegotiation. However, there was just one thing in the way of filming - the actress was determined to continue her education. Once it became apparent she was willing to walk away from the series entirely, the studio shifted the shooting schedule to make sure she could attend her exam dates.

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4. Mike Myers - Wayne's World

During the production of Wayne's World, it was suggested that the now-iconic Bohemian Rhapsody sequence be replaced with a Guns n' Roses song, since Queen was declining in popularity at the time. However, in an interview with Rolling Stone, Myers said, "At one point I said to everybody, 'I'm out. I don't want to make this movie if it's not Bohemian Rhapsody'".

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5. John Cena - 12 Rounds

This film required the wrestler-cum-actor to rappel off a building. Given that Cena has a fear of heights, he almost didn't film the sequence, and even considered quitting because of it.

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6. Michelle Rodriquez - The Fast and the Furious

Rodriguez' character was initially supposed to be a part of a love triangle with Vin Diesel and Paul Walker's characters, but the actress fought back.  "Is it realistic for a Latin girl who’s with the alpha-est of the alpha males to cheat on him with the cute boy? I had to put my foot down," she told The Daily Beast. "I basically cried and said I'm going to quit." She soon got Vin Diesel on her side, and the script was changed.

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7. Tippi Hedren - The Birds

Mechanical birds were to be used on set during a scene in which the actress was attacked by the flying creatures, but the day of the shoot the technology failed and live ones were used instead. For four days, live birds were thrown at Hedren, until the fifth day - when birds were tied to her clothing. The actress told director Alfred Hitchcock that she was done. Her doctor insisted she have a one-week break, but she returned to finish the film afterwards.

[[youtubewidget||https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwOhqGhP-mk]]

8. Brad Pitt - Interview with the Vampire

When he was told he looked miserable in the 1994 film, Pitt told Entertainment Weekly he came very close to calling it a day:

"I am miserable. Six months in the f***ing dark. Contact lenses, makeup, I’m playing the bitch role. One day, it broke me. I called David Geffen - who was a producer - I said, ‘David, I can’t do this anymore. I can’t do it. How much will it take to get me out?’ And he goes, very calmly, ‘Forty million dollars.’"

He stayed on for the rest of the production.

[[youtubewidget||https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmFYu8x46VY]]

9. Jessica Alba - Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

At one point, Alba was apparently told to "cry prettier" by director Tim Story. He later told her to "Just make it flat, we can CGI the tears in". The actress later told SyFy Wire:

"There's no connection to a human being. And then it got me thinking: Am I not good enough? Are my instincts and my emotions not good enough? Do people hate them so much that they don't want me to be a person? Am I not allowed to be a person in my work? And so I just said, 'F**k it. I don't care about this business anymore.'"

[[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/BjbCLkghhbw/?hl=en&taken-by=jessicaalba]]

10. Ian McKellen - The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Due to the massive height difference between Gandalf and the hobbits/dwarves, McKellen spent much of the filming in front of a green screen. He told The Guardian:

"It was so distressing and off-putting and difficult that I thought 'I don't want to make this film if this is what I'm going to have to do ... It's not what I do for a living. I act with other people, I don't act on my own.'"

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11. Al Pacino - The Godfather

Al Pacino was an unknown actor when he was cast in the lead role of the mafia epic, which didn't make the studio execs happy. "If it wasn’t for Francis [the director], I would’ve just not showed up one day and said, 'Hey, look man, I don’t want to be where I’m not wanted,'" Pacino told ABC News.

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It's incredible to think about how different these iconic movies would have been if the actors in question decided to call it quits and leave the production looking for a substitute.

Keira Knightley revealed that she went through "years of therapy" after her role in the Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise.

Knightley was just 18 when she first started portraying Elizabeth Swann in the globally popular franchise, which also starred Hollywood heartthrobs Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom.

And while the movies went on to be huge hits worldwide, it turns out that Knightley did not have that great of a time being famous.

During a 2024 interview with Variety, the 41-year-old actress re-visited some of her earlier work in her career - including the PotC series - and how "horrific" it felt to find fame so young.

Keira Knightley has opened up about needing therapy to help her through the trauma of being on Pirates of the Caribbean. Credit: Raymond Hall/GC Images/Getty Images

"I'm not an extrovert, so I found that level of scrutiny and that level of fame really hard," she said. "It was an age where you are becoming, you haven’t become, and you need to make mistakes. It’s a very precarious age, particularly for women."

She stated that while it was "traumatic", it "set up the rest of [her] career."

"So looking back, would I do anything different? No, I wouldn't because I'm unbelievably lucky now, and my career is in a place where I really enjoy it, and I have a level of fame that's much less intense," she continued.

"I can deal with it now, and that's great. But at the time, it was not so great, and took many years of therapy to figure it out," she added.

Knightley was only 18 when she landed a role in the franchise. Credit: ShowBizIreland.com/Getty

She was also asked what she learned from that experience and she emphasized that "we have to be very careful with our young women."

The actress went on to explain that her experiences on set have now influenced the way she treats other young women in the industry.

"When I work with young actresses, I'm so protective of them," she told the outlet. "There’s a lot of people who go, 'Oh, you’re only here because of your face.' And they belittle them because of the way that they look. I think everyone can be a little kinder."

Her earlier career must have had a dramatic impact on her because she also added that she would not want her daughters to become actors.

Knightley shares two daughters with her husband James Righton - Edie, 10, and Delilah, six.

The 40-year-old mom does her best to keep the little girls out of the spotlight in the hopes that they could live somewhat of a normal childhood before they realize who their mom is.

James Righton and Keira Knightley share two children. Credit: David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images/Erdem

In January 2019, the Pride & Prejudice alum got candid about her experience as a mother, admitting that she was finding things "difficult" despite her "privilege."

"I don't think we give women enough credit for the physical and emotional marathon they go through when becoming a mother," she told Balance magazine.

"I come from a place of amazing privilege. I have an incredible support system; I've been unbelievably lucky in my career; I can afford good childcare, and yet I still find it really f**king difficult," she said, before explaining that statement "doesn't mean I don't love my kid[s]."

"It's okay to say that," she added. "It's just me admitting that the sleep deprivation, the hormonal changes, the shift in relationship with my partner, are all things that make me feel as if I'm failing on a daily basis."

Despite this though, she's looking forward to watching the little ones grow up.

Featured Image Credit: Noam Galai/Getty/ Century Studios

The pressures that come hand-in-hand with being in the film and entertainment industry are well-documented.

Women, in particular, almost always fall victim to age discrimination — with there being decidedly fewer roles available as they grow older.

In fact, a 2019 study found that women over 50 are usually relegated to supporting roles in films — or are otherwise portrayed as "grumpy, and frumpy".

Some figures in Hollywood, however, have been outspoken about ageism. From Jennifer Aniston to Maggie Gyllenhall, here are eight celebrities who wouldn't stand for comments about their age.

(Credit: Alamy)

1. Bebe Rexha

In August of 2019, American pop star, Bebe Rexha, took to social media to reveal that a male music executive told her that she was "too old" for posting "sexy pics".

Sharing a black and white snap of her in underwear, she captioned the clap back: "I recently had a MALE music executive tell me that I was getting too old and that my brand was confusing. Because...I’m a songwriter and I post sexy pics on my Instagram and that’s not what female songwriters are supposed to do, especially for my age. I’m 29. I’m fed up with being put in a box. I make my own rules."

"I’m tired of women getting labeled as 'hags' when they get old and guys get labeled as sexy with age," she continued.

Rexha added that she wasn't fearful of turning 30, and wants to embrace aging as something positive.

"Anyways, I’m turning 30 on August 30 and you know what, I’m not running away from it. I’m not gonna lie about my age or sing songs that I feel will sell better because they sound 'younger.' I’m gonna celebrate my age because you know what, I’m wiser, I’m stronger and TRUST ME I’m a much better lover than I was 10 years ago [sic]."

2. Carrie Fisher

The late Carrie Fisher is known for playing Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy — and over the years she had to contend with being pitted across her co-stars, Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford.

It's, of course, deeply sexist.

So, back in December of 2015, Fisher issued an epic response after some people on Twitter criticized her appearance in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

"Please stop debating about whether OR not I aged well. Unfortunately, it hurts all of my feelings. My BODY hasn't aged as well as I have. Blow us," she wrote. "My body is my brain bag, it hauls me around to those places & in front of faces where there's something to say or see.

"Youth&BeautyR/NOT ACCOMPLISHMENTS, they're theTEMPORARY happy/BiProducts/of Time&/or DNA/Dont Hold yourBreath4either/ifUmust holdAir/takeGarys," which is squashed to save characters, so allow us to translate: "Youth and beauty are not accomplishments—they're the temporary happy byproducts of time and/or DNA. Don't hold your breath for either. If you might hold air take Gary's [sic.]"

3. Jennifer Aniston

Friends alum, Jennifer Aniston, has been candid about how aging is perceived in the industry.

Back in 2019, the 52-year-old told InStyle:

"Fifty was the first time I thought, 'Well, that number.' I don't know what it is because I don't feel any different. Things aren't shutting down in any way. I feel physically incredible. So it's weird that it's all of a sudden getting telegraphed in a way that's like, 'You look amazing for your age.' I think we need to establish some etiquette around that dialogue and verbiage."

(Credit: Alamy)

4. Nicole Kidman

At the 2018 Screen Actors Guild Awards, Big Little Lies star, Nicole Kidman, used her acceptance speech to speak about the ageism that is rampant in Hollywood.

Citing actresses like Meryl Streep, Jane Fonda, Judi Dench, and Susan Sarandon, Kidman said, "I want to thank you all for your trailblazing performances you have given over your career and how wonderful it is that our careers today can go beyond 40 years old."

"Twenty years ago, we were pretty washed up by this stage in our lives, so that's not the case now," she continued.

"I just beg that the industry stays behind us because our stories are finally being told. It's only the beginning, and I'm so proud to be a part of a community that is instigating this change.

"But I implore the writers, directors, studios, and financiers to put passion and money behind our stories. We have proven that we can do this; we can continue to do this, but only with the support of this industry and that money and passion."

(Credit: Alamy)

5. Maggie Gyllenhaal

Maggie Gyllenhall revealed back in 2015 that she was once told by producers that she was "too old" to play the love interest of a 55-year-old man. The Secretary actress was just 37-years-old at the time.

"It made me feel bad, and then it made me feel angry, and then it made me laugh," she commented during the interview, as per The Guardian.

(Credit: Alamy)

6. Madonna

In an interview with Vogue UK, pop icon, Madonna, spoke out about the stereotypes and assumptions that come with turning 60.

"People have always been trying to silence me for one reason or another, whether it's that I'm not pretty enough, I don't sing well enough, I'm not talented enough, I'm not married enough, and now it's that I'm not young enough," she told the publication. "Now I'm fighting ageism, now I'm being punished for turning 60."

(Credit: Alamy)

7. Dakota Johnson

Dakota Johnson comes from a pretty prestigious family; her mother is Melanie Griffith and her grandmother is Tippi Hedren.

Speaking to Vogue UK back in 2016, she opened up about how age discrimination has affected her family over the years.

"Why isn't my mother in movies? She's an extraordinary actress! Why isn't my grandmother in movies? This industry is brutal," she asserted.

"No matter how tough you are, sometimes there's the feeling of not being wanted. It's absurd and cut-throat. Whenever I have downtime, I'm unsure that I will ever work again. I don't know what it is, but it's a definite thing that happens to me."

(Credit: Alamy)

8. Heidi Klum

During an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres show in 2018, the model asked the host: "Why do we always have to see twenty-year-olds or thirty-year-olds doing campaigns?

"Sometimes people say, 'You're 44, you're turning 45. Why are you not giving the baton to someone else?' she continued. "But I always think there are a lot of women my age, fifties, sixties, seventies, what? Do we have an expiration date? Can we not also still feel sexy?"

(Credit: Alamy)

Feature image credit: Alamy

Most people don't realise this, but it's not easy being a celebrity. Sure you get the big house, the fame, the awards and the fancy car; but think about how much privacy you have to sacrifice. Once you're in the public eye, it's very difficult to get back out of it again, and many people find that they just can't cope with the constant pressure and scrutiny, and turn to drugs or alcohol to escape and spiral into addiction.

One person who has gone through this kind of experience is Pirates of the Carribean actress Keira Knightley. Knightley had appeared in 15 movies by the time she was 22 years old, including The Hole, Bend It Like Beckham, Love Actually and Pirates Of The Caribbean, and has now admitted that her sudden fame almost led to an emotional breakdown. In a recent interview with Balance magazine, Knightley admitted that she now struggles to remember much of her life between the age of 19-22 as a result of the high-stress environment.

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Knightley stated: "I don’t remember it in a linear way because I think my coping mechanisms were kicking in and shutting a lot of it out. My world crashed when I was 22. Everything stopped working and I felt as if I was broken into tiny pieces; as if my brain was literally shattered. I just took a year out, travelling around.  There was a very big question mark over whether I was ever going to go back to work, but I’ve always loved acting; it’s just everything else that comes with it that I was struggling with."

"I was at a time in my life when I was still becoming. Like most young people, I hadn’t quite found who I was or what I was about. My body was changing, and I didn’t even know how I felt about myself and what I looked like.  Yet all of a sudden, people were being very vocal with their views on me as a young woman and as an actress. I lost confidence in myself because I was made to feel that I didn’t deserve to be doing what I was doing. There was no way I was going to be able to get on the red carpet without having a f**king panic attack. So I had hypnotherapy and it worked. Thankfully, I haven’t had that feeling for a long time."

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She added: "I come from a place of amazing privilege. I have an incredible support system; I’ve been unbelievably lucky in my career; I can afford good childcare, and yet I still find it really f*cking difficult. It’s OK to say that. It doesn’t mean I don’t love my kid, it’s just me admitting that the sleep deprivation, the hormonal changes, the shift in relationship with my partner, are all things that make me feel as if I’m failing on a daily basis."

However, despite the above statements, it seems as though Keira is now enjoying being a parent despite the hurdles, and is in a much more stable place. Phew!