Actors spend months making movies without ever seeing what the audience eventually gets. Scenes arrive out of order, effects are unfinished, and sometimes the whole production feels like an expensive mistake happening in slow motion. So it is probably not surprising that even experienced stars can be spectacularly wrong about their own work. Some assumed nobody would watch. Others worried they had just damaged their careers. A few actually saw early footage and became even more concerned. Then editing, music, effects, or plain old movie magic changed everything, leaving the people who were actually there as surprised as everyone else. Here are 15 actors who had no idea their movie would be good.

Al Pacino Thought The Godfather Was a Disaster

While shooting the wedding scenes, Pacino and Diane Keaton became convinced The Godfather was terrible. Pacino later recalled thinking their careers might actually be over.

Tom Hardy Owed George Miller an Apology

Hardy struggled to understand what George Miller was creating during Mad Max: Fury Road. After finally seeing the finished movie, he publicly apologized for doubting the director’s vision.

Gene Hackman Thought Hoosiers Would End His Career

Hackman was so pessimistic about Hoosiers that he reportedly told Dennis Hopper they might never work again. Seeing the rough cut finally changed his mind.

Liam Neeson Expected Taken to Go Straight to Video

Neeson enjoyed making Taken, but assumed the small European thriller would quietly head to video. Instead, it unexpectedly turned him into an action star in his 50s.

Arnold Schwarzenegger Saw The Terminator as a Small B-Movie

Schwarzenegger initially treated The Terminator like a low-profile side project. It was only after watching part of an early edit that he realized it might be something much bigger.

Kevin Bacon Thought Tremors Was a Career Killer

Bacon was deeply unhappy about making Tremors and later admitted he blamed the movie for a low point in his career. Eventually, he became one of its biggest fans.

Burt Reynolds Wanted Nothing to Do With Boogie Nights

Reynolds repeatedly resisted Boogie Nights and even regretted it after seeing an early cut. The role ultimately earned him a Golden Globe and his only Oscar nomination.

Sylvester Stallone Wanted to Destroy First Blood

The first cut of First Blood horrified Stallone so much that he reportedly wanted to buy the film and destroy it. Heavy editing turned things around considerably.

Keira Knightley Thought Pirate Movies Always Failed

While making another movie, Knightley casually predicted Pirates of the Caribbean would not work because pirate films kept failing. That concern aged rather spectacularly.

Jon Heder Was Worried by the Napoleon Dynamite Rough Cut

Heder already wondered whether anyone would ever see Napoleon Dynamite. Then he watched an early cut and came away thinking it was not very good.

Jason Alexander Was Not Sure Pretty Woman Even Worked

Alexander remembered finishing Pretty Woman without much confidence that they had a complete movie at all. The constantly changing production made the finished result difficult to imagine.

Mark Hamill Expected Star Wars to Be a Cult Movie

Hamill thought audiences would probably enjoy Star Wars, but he did not expect critics to embrace it. At most, he imagined a quirky movie people might watch at midnight.

John Rhys-Davies Feared Lord of the Rings Was Heading for Disaster

Before getting a close look at the production, Rhys-Davies worried The Lord of the Rings was too ambitious to work. Visiting New Zealand completely changed his expectations.

Donald Sutherland Bet Against Animal House

Sutherland chose guaranteed cash instead of a percentage of Animal House because he did not expect the movie to make much money. That decision cost him millions.

Christopher Plummer Never Expected to Love The Sound of Music

Plummer found his role dull and worried the material could become overly sentimental. Years later, he freely acknowledged that The Sound of Music turned out to be a very good film.

The post 15 Actors Who Had No Idea Their Movie Would Be Good appeared first on Den of Geek.