The DC Universe has spawned some of the best
and worst superhero movies of all time.
It's also created memorable bonus material
in the form of epic interviews that range
from completely charming to absolutely mortifying.
Here are the most awkward chats with actors
from DC films.
Ben Affleck had a big suit to fill when he
was cast as Batman after Christian Bale's
famous three-movie run.
So it was no surprise that Affleck was contending
with a mixed reception before Batman v Superman:
Dawn of Justice was even released in 2016.
And unfortunately, the hits kept coming after
the film debuted.
When Yahoo! asked Affleck and co-star Henry
Cavill about the movie's poor reviews, Cavill
explained in his lovely British accent that
the reception from fans is what matters the
most.
But as for Affleck?
Let's just say he had trouble masking his
feelings, and just like that, a meme was born.
The viral YouTube hit known as "Sad Affleck"
features the Yahoo! interview layered with
Simon & Garfunkel's "The Sound of Silence"
as the camera slowly zooms in on Affleck's
downtrodden face.
The spoof garnered so much attention that
nearly a year later, Affleck himself weighed
in on "Sad Affleck."
BBC Radio 1 asked him what he learned from
the film, to which the actor deadpanned,
"It taught me not to do interviews with Henry
Cavill where I don't say anything, and they
can lay Simon & Garfunkel tracks over it.
Now that's one thing I learned."
Model-singer-actress Cara Delevingne is no
stranger to uncomfortable interviews.
While promoting her role as the supervillain
Enchantress in 2016's Suicide Squad, she joined
co-stars Karen Fukuhara and Margot Robbie
for an interview with a Belgian outlet.
It didn't take long for the encounter to turn
into a laugh-fest as Delevingne revealed her
real-life superpower.
"I bet anyone that has a T-shirt on, I can
find their nipple right away.
I have, like, a nipple detector, in my mind."
Delevingne proceeded to demonstrate her titillating
talent on Robbie, who confirmed that Delevingne
missed by just millimeters.
Next up was Fukuhara, who yelped when Delevingne's
pinch hit the bullseye.
Not stopping there, Delevingne moved on to
the interviewer, and with a little help from
Robbie, she zeroed in and squeezed her target.
While Delevingne was clearly not lying about
her abilities, this is surely the kind of
skill one should probably not try at home,
or anywhere, without getting consent beforehand.
Actor-musician Jared Leto may have tried a
little too hard to fill the Joker's big clown
shoes, judging by the awkward revelations
from his co-stars during interviews for 2016's
Suicide Squad.
We can't blame Leto for wanting to make his
mark on such an iconic character, but his
method acting proved a little much for his
colleagues.
In a red carpet interview with E! News, interviewer
Marc Malkin rattled off some of the "gifts"
that Leto gave his co-stars during filming,
like rats, bullets, and a hog.
Then Leto revealed things that went even further.
Leto explained himself by saying that he was
trying to create an element of surprise and
spontaneity and by noting that the Joker is
someone who doesn't respect boundaries and
personal space.
Malkin then found some of Leto's poor co-stars,
like Will Smith, who played Deadshot in the
film.
"Jared has gone full Joker.
Jared, he went full Joker, you know. and the
rule, generally, is never go full Joker."
Then Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje said that the
stuff Leto sent just wasn't right, though
he did admit that the tasteless stunts unified
the cast against the Joker.
Even so, we suspect those thank-you notes
probably got lost in the mail.
Ben Affleck should've been comfortable doing
press tours by the time of his third outing
as Batman in the DC Extended Universe and
yet somehow found a way to make a 2017 interview
with his Justice League co-stars super awkward.
Everything seemed to be going great when Ezra
Miller, Ray Fisher, Henry Cavill, Jason Momoa,
Gal Gadot, and Affleck all got together to
answer questions from Sophie Boyden for MTV.
The discussion turned towards female superheroes
who could potentially join the Justice League.
When Boyden asked how adding a female character
like Supergirl would change the team, Fisher
started talking about a "different dynamic."
Then Affleck cut in to ask:
"You following the news at all?"
Affleck took a lot of heat for that moment,
which many perceived as some sort of joke
about the #MeToo movement.
Considering that Affleck has worked extensively
with disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein
and been accused of himself behaving poorly
in the past, that ill-timed quip was not well-received.
To his credit, Affleck has since vowed to
donate residuals from his films that were
produced by Weinstein to charity.
Gal Gadot is a former Miss Israel and combat
trainer in the national Israel Defense Forces
military.
But she's now of course best known as Wonder
Woman.
Taking on the mantle of such an iconic character
naturally involves a heaping of critical analysis
from comic book fans, and Gadot apparently
became a pro at dealing with negativity during
press tours.
From having to clap back at body shamers to
teaching everyone to pronounce her last name
with a hard "t," Gadot's press circuits have
been rife with awkward exchanges.
And the moment that takes the cake might just
be when she put Jimmy Kimmel in the hot seat.
During the actress's 2016 appearance on Jimmy
Kimmel Live!, the host attempted to segue
into a discussion about her critics by admitting,
"I know how seriously comic book nerds take
this kind of stuff because I am one of them."
"Really?
What do you think about my breasts?"
An extremely flustered and red-faced Kimmel
eventually managed to blurt out:
"They look great.
Both of them."
"Thank you."
Gadot then explained that a lot of comic fans
had a lot to say about her breasts, and a
loaded conversation about her costume ensued.
Needless to say, Gadot got the last laugh
on her haters because Wonder Woman received
amazing reviews and was successful enough
to garner a sequel due to arrive in June 2020.
Anne Hathaway has experienced some extremely
inappropriate interviews in the past, yet
she always seems to respond to them with exceptional
class.
Case in point: In 2012's The Dark Knight Rises,
the actress took on the role of Catwoman.
To promote the film, she sat down with Jerry
Penacoli for an interview with Extra, but
the meeting got weird when the focus shifted
to Hathaway's figure.
As the actress described the operatic themes
of the film, Penacoli responded by saying:
"You are in phenomenal shape."
Though Hathaway was clearly surprised by the
change in subject, Penacoli went on and on
about her getting into perfect shape, so she
attempted to deflect, explaining her training
was more about performing the stunts than
being in perfect shape.
When Penacoli focused on her skintight costume,
she countered that Batman had it worse in
terms of comfort.
After more grilling about her diet and workout,
Hathaway finally flexed her claws a bit.
"Are you trying to lose weight?"
"Well…"
"What's…?
What's the deal, man, you look great."
"No, no, I…"
"No seriously, we have to talk about this.
What?
What do you want?
Are you trying to fit into a catsuit?"
The dig was delivered purr-fectly, and Penacoli
finally seemed to get the hint.
Ben Affleck was confronted with a hard line
of questioning when he dropped by The Late
Show with Stephen Colbert while promoting
Justice League.
Colbert started the interview on a light note
by chatting about Good Will Hunting, the movie
that won Affleck and Matt Damon Oscars for
best original screenplay.
He used that film as a transition to bring
up the topic of Harvey Weinstein, who essentially
launched Affleck's career by supporting that
movie.
"This is a comedy show, correct?"
Affleck talked about the difficulties of his
relationship with past Weinstein movies and
the awful feelings he's had from learning
about others' experiences with him.
Colbert then asked about allegations of impropriety
against Affleck, who proceeded to address
claims that he groped actress Hilarie Burton
on MTV's Total Request Live.
"I don't remember it, but I absolutely apologize
for it.
I certainly don't think she's lying, or making
it up."
Affleck went on to acknowledge the privileges
he's had as a man and to declare that he wants
to be part of the solution.
The interview concluded cordially with both
men agreeing that change starts with all men
examining their pasts and making changes for
the future.
Kudos to both Affleck and Colbert for delving
into what can be an awkward but very necessary
conversation.
Joaquin Phoenix may very well be the reigning
king of awkward interviews.
His infamous 2009 appearance on The Late Show
with David Letterman alone might earn him
that distinction.
Thus, many people expected fireworks when
it came time for him to promote Joker in 2019.
Indeed, he made headlines for a Jimmy Kimmel
Live! appearance when the host showed behind-the-scenes
footage of the actor getting irritated with
a production member.
After the clip, Phoenix couldn't find many
words and stumbled through an apology.
"This is so embarrassing."
Soon after that moment went viral, news surfaced
that publicists staged everything and that
the scene was just an awkward publicity stunt.
In another instance, Phoenix abruptly left
an interview with Telegraph film critic Robbie
Collin.
Despite these public bouts, critics have praised
Phoenix's turn as the Joker, which earned
him a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination.
But immediately after his Globe victory, he
claimed that his PR team tricked him into
taking questions from the press.
When he was asked about his preparation for
the role, he shot the reporter an inquisitive
look and said:
"Isn't this old news?
I felt like I've talked about this for six
months."
During an interview with Man of the World
to promote Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
in 2016, Henry Cavill was perhaps a little
too honest about his reasons for becoming
an actor.
As he put it,
"I'm slightly wary of saying this, because
it can be frowned upon, certainly by members
of my community and people outside my community...but
I'm not just doing this for the art.
The money's fantastic and that's something
which I deem, and again, it is frowned upon,
very important."
As if that's not insulting enough to die-hard
comic book fans who might've been hoping to
find a nerdy ally in the actor, Cavill also
proceeded to explain how awful it is to fly
economy class.
These are not the most likable answers, but
perhaps they make sense when considering that
Cavill starred in three DC movies that grossed
hundreds of millions of dollars while earning
less-than-stellar reviews.
And this wasn't the actor's only misstep in
the interview.
When he was asked about the #OscarsSoWhite
controversy, he acknowledged a lack of diversity
within nominees in major categories.
But then he raised eyebrows when questioning
the usefulness of diversifying the Academy's
voting body, saying,
"But does that mean we are saying that to
have more black Academy members would result
in more black nominations?
Is that not racist itself?"
Academy Award-winner Sean Connery really needs
no introduction.
His illustrious career defines him as one
of the all-time greats.
But alas, he decided to retire from acting
after 2003's comic book adaptation The League
of Extraordinary Gentlemen, partly because
he felt frustrated by that role and by roles
in general for men his age.
He made his disdain for the whole cinema scene
loud and clear during an incredibly awkward
interview at the movie's premiere.
One by one, the knighted superstar systematically
insulted red carpet reporters, and the movie's
director, while also somehow remaining charming
and hilarious.
He asked one journalist if he was wearing
a jockstrap.
He declared that he would never do another
movie with director Stephen Norrington, with
whom he butted heads throughout filming.
When another reporter asked Connery why he'd
been away from the Hollywood scene for so
long, Connery asked the interviewer where
he was 12 years ago.
The reporter responded that he was still in
school, to which Connery replied,
"I've been all over the world working my ass
off, and you've done nothing.
I'm underwriting you, do you know that?"
Connery concluded by saying that his evening
was "wonderful" until he started talking to
the reporter.
How chivalrous!
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