Actors Who Couldn't Keep Quiet About Upsetting Plot Twists

No matter how hard studios try to avoid leaks, spoilers from highly anticipated films tend to get out one way or another. Some actors just start going off on tangents during interviews and end up saying something they shouldn't. And with so many fans on social media who are eager to get any scrap of information about an upcoming release, spoilers spread like wildfire these days — once an actor opens their mouth, there's no getting those worms back in the can.

Sometimes, an actor will just get a slap on the wrist for saying too much, but other times, they might face more serious consequences for their mistake. With so many people working on the massive blockbuster productions that tend to draw the biggest crowds, it's actually a wonder that more spoilers don't get out. Here are a few actors who screwed up and spilled the beans on major plot twists before their films came out.

Will Smith has spent enough time in Hollywood to know that spoiling the ending of a film before it comes out is a surefire way to ruin it for an audience. But in 2007, he did just that at a news conference while talking about his film "I Am Legend." As Smith began rambling about the film, co-producer and co-screenwriter Akiva Goldsman realized that he had gone too far, and he yelled, "Don't give away the ending!" But it was too late, and Smith had already crossed the line. The journalists present were instructed not to report on the ending of the film, so thankfully, they were able to do damage control.

Since "I Am Legend" was based on a novel of the same name that had already been adapted multiple times, Smith might have figured that being loose-lipped about the details wasn't a big deal — after all, plenty of people had already read the book, so there weren't really any secrets to keep, right? Well, not quite. The screenwriters completely changed the ending of the film, so ideally, it was supposed to be a surprise for everyone.

With a franchise as huge as "Star Wars," spoilers are bound to get out every once in a while. At the 2016 Star Wars Celebration in London, Jiang Wen, who played Baze Malbus in the then-upcoming "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," answered a question about his own character. He started off by saying that he couldn't say much about his own fate, but then he proceeded to tell everyone in attendance that Donnie Yen's character, Chirrut Imwe, was going to die.

Luckily, panel emcee Gwendoline Christie came to the rescue and managed to stop Wen from giving anything else away, interrupting him and saying, "I think we need to leave it there now." While he did stick to his promise about keeping his own character's fate a secret, he did spoil another one. Whoops! It seems like he was so eager to deflect the attention from himself that he said a little too much.

Rachel McAdams starred in the film "The Time Traveler's Wife," which was based on the novel of the same name by Audrey Niffenegger. McAdams could perhaps be forgiven for assuming that the target audience for the adaptation was already familiar with the book. Of course, the plot of any film that involves time travel will almost definitely include some trippy twists and turns, and that was the case with "The Time Traveler's Wife." But those twists aren't as interesting when you know what's coming in advance — the element of surprise is key.

McAdams began revealing major plot twists during a 2009 interview with Jon Stewart on "The Daily Show." For instance, she caught herself describing the protagonist's journey forward in time to his own death. When she realized she had said too much, she didn't try to backtrack. Instead, it just seemed like she figured she might as well run with it and keep talking. Stewart joked that he still couldn't wait to see the film, but after watching that interview, you really wouldn't need to buy a ticket.

Gwyneth Paltrow has always had trouble holding back when it comes to spoilers. Throughout her time playing Pepper Potts in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, she has been known to let key details slip before the premieres. Before the release of "Avengers: Endgame," she revealed a major detail about Tony Stark and Pepper Potts' lives after the tragic events of "Avengers: Infinity War" ... and in doing so, she gave away a lot more than she probably realized.

In an interview for the official "Infinity War" magazine, Paltrow was asked about Pepper's relationship with Tony. "Pepper and Tony have had a real long journey together," she answered. "She obviously starts as his dutiful assistant, and then the relationship evolves, and now this decade later they're married, and they have a child." Given the piecemeal way in which these movies are often shot, it's not surprising that Paltrow probably didn't even realize that "Infinity War" would have the couple only briefly discussing potential parenthood and end with them a galaxy apart, only reunited and with a child after the time-jump in "Endgame." What is surprising is that the official magazine printed the quote in the first place.

Michael Keaton dropped the mother of all spoilers while promoting Tim Burton's 1989 "Batman" film. During an interview with David Letterman, the two started delving into Batman's origin story and his connection with the Joker. In the midst of their conversation, Keaton seemingly forgot that the audience was there for a second, because he got a bit carried away and revealed that the Joker was actually the mysterious man who killed Bruce Wayne's parents years ago. This, of course, was not an element of existing Batman mythology, invented as a plot twist for the '89 film.

Needless to say, this was a shock for both Letterman and his audience, and Keaton quickly followed up with, "I'm kind of blowing the plot here." But by that point, the damage had been done, and the audience was probably a little disappointed. However, the spoiler clearly didn't affect the success of the film, which went on to make $411 million worldwide, revitalize the comic industry, and help define superhero movies as we know them. Unfortunately, the central twist wasn't a huge revelation for the people who caught that interview.

For some reason, it seems exceptionally difficult for the casts of superhero films to keep quiet about key plot points. Just look at Jason Momoa's slip up on "The Late Late Show with James Corden." While promoting their new film "Aquaman," Momoa and his co-ster Yahya Abdul-Maheen II made an appearance on the show, and they let the audience in on a few things they weren't really supposed to know.

Momoa started talking about the relationship between their two characters and had a slip of the tongue. He remarked, "There's a whole emotional scene with him and his father because I kill his dad." Momoa then paused and gasped, knowing he just made a big mistake, and joked that this is why he always has Abdul-Mateen answer the questions. He doesn't trust himself to keep the plots of his films under wraps! Perhaps he'll just direct all questions to a co-star the next time he's doing press to be on the safe side.

The ending of "Avengers: Infinity War" was gut-wrenching for Marvel fans. When the Mad Titan Thanos snapped his fingers, half of all life in the universe disappeared, including beloved characters like T'Challa, Groot, and Peter Parker. But if you caught a particular "Good Morning America" interview with Don Cheadle and Mark Ruffalo that aired almost a year before the movie came out, you might have seen it coming.

During their appearance on "Good Morning America," Ruffalo started getting hyped up about the upcoming film and announced, "In this next one, ha — everybody dies!" Cheadle was visibly upset afterwards, shaking his head and scolding Ruffalo. It's true that Ruffalo wasn't too specific with this spoiler (he seems to have caught himself specifying that "half" of the characters would die, and tried to cover by going hyperbolic), so it didn't seem too memorable at the time. But some fans probably did start to suspect that depressing finale — there's no doubt that some of them fully expected many of the Avengers to perish. Of course, having some time to steel yourself emotionally might have made it easier to accept your favorite character's demise.

Tom Holland is the undisputed king of Marvel movie spoilers. The actor has dropped so many spoilers during interviews that at this point, it's become a running joke. But Holland is so enthusiastic and endearing that it's hard to feel annoyed at him for his habit of letting spoilers slip.

Before a screening of "Avengers: Infinity War" in Los Angeles, Holland made an appearance and had an announcement for everyone: "I'm alive!" When the audience seemed confused, Holland's mistake slowly dawned on him — he was under the impression that they had just seen the film and knew his character would die, but it hadn't started yet. This is exactly why Benedict Cumberbatch was seemingly assigned the duty of silencing Holland during interviews. Even that wasn't enough in the end — Cumberbatch was at the screening, but Holland just couldn't help himself.

Jiang Wen might have spoiled the fate of one character in "Rogue One," but many years before that, David Prowse ruined the biggest plot twist in "Star Wars" history. When the man behind Darth Vader's mask was interviewed about "The Empire Strikes Back" in 1978 (two years before it was even released), he openly shared one of the most shocking moments in any of the "Star Wars" films. This pivotal scene is still regularly quoted today, and no one saw it coming. Well, almost no one.

Prowse was at a fan meet-up when he dropped this bomb regarding Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader's relationship: "Father can't kill son, son can't kill father." Thankfully, his reveal was only printed in a single local newspaper article. Today, that kind of spoiler would go viral in minutes. Clearly, not many people read the original article, because the vast majority of fans were totally caught off guard when they found out that Darth Vader was, indeed, Luke Skywalker's father.

"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" introduced some new faces to the franchise, like Elizabeth Debicki's character Ayesha. Though she begins the story as an ally of the Guardians, their amicable relationship doesn't last. This is one of the most important plot points in the film, but Debicki kind of ruined the surprise for the fans.

"She enlists the Guardians to help her fight a sort of galactical beast... it's all going swimmingly until it all turns very, very sour," Debicki told Gizmodo. "Let's just say it goes from amiable to not-so-amiable quite quickly." It's understandable that Debicki was excited to talk about her character's arc, but in doing so, she gave away quite a bit. To be fair, she didn't get into the nitty gritty details of her character's journey, so there was still plenty for audiences to speculate about before seeing the film.

If you don't recognize the name Tyler Nelson, there's a reason for that: he put a stop to his acting career when it had barely begun. Nelson was cast as an extra in "Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull," and naturally, he was over the moon about the opportunity to be a part of an "Indiana Jones" film. His involvement got some attention in his hometown, and a local newspaper interviewed him to get the scoop on the film.

But instead of simply sticking to the story of how he ended up on set, he started revealing the entire plot of the film. He might as well have handed the reporter a script. He completely violated his non-disclosure agreement, and as a result, he faced some serious consequences. Once word got back to the studio that Nelson had blabbed, Steven Spielberg's spokesman, Marvin Levy, commented, "Who knows whether that particular person will ever work in this town again?" Nelson was promptly cut from the film, and his mistake cost him a future in acting.

The "Rocky" film series had seemingly ended in 2006 with the release of the legacy sequel "Rocky Balboa." But while that film felt like it put a bow on the franchise, it came roaring back with a spin-off film "Creed" in 2015. Written and directed by Ryan Coogler and starring Michael B. Jordan, "Creed" centers on the son of Rocky's former rival-turned-friend Apollo, and series creator and star Sylvester Stallone returns to the role that made him famous. Unfortunately, in his excitement to drum up publicity, Stallone accidentally gave away a major plot twist from the film's final moments.

Posting on his social media almost a year before the film's release, Stallone published a photo of his desk as he helped put the final touches on the film's story in December of 2014, with a page of the script in full view. But in his haste to put together an artful looking image, Stallone neglected to notice that the page of the script featured some pretty juicy, spoilery tidbits. This included the fact that Creed wins the film's final boxing match, something that audiences surely wouldn't want to know going in. 

Though some might scoff — of course the protagonist of a sports movie is coming out on top in the end, right? — it's important to remember that Rocky himself doesn't win his own match in the series' first film, and "Creed" could very well have followed suit. But worst of all, the single page also reveals that Rocky Balboa is diagnosed with cancer.

The "Star Wars" prequel trilogy was among the first major movie series to be produced in the era of internet spoilers. As fan communities popped up in the mid-to-late '90s and more and more people logged on to the information superhighway, it became harder and harder to prevent plot leaks from reaching the masses. But while Lucasfilm surely took security seriously to prevent spoilers, they couldn't stop one of their own stars — Samuel L. Jackson — from giving away his own character's fate.

Star of all three films in the series, Jackson played the lightsaber-wielding warrior Mace Windu. He was also one of the biggest actors involved in the trilogy and was always being asked about his part in the films by the media. And in one particularly revealing interview with Now Playing Magazine (relayed by MovieWeb), he talked a little bit too much when asked about what part his character had to play in the third prequel. "Dying!" Jackson bluntly told the magazine, flagrantly ignoring any orders he may have had to stay mum on what secrets the movie held.

But Jackson went further, spilling tea that he wouldn't be the only one to die. "Like all of the rest of the Jedi. I can't tell you [the specifics], but yeah, it's an awesome death." Admittedly, most fans probably knew this was likely given the backstory established in earlier films, but it was a startling admission from an otherwise tight-lipped production and sent fans into a frenzy.

When your big blockbuster movie is based on a well-loved and widely read comic book universe, it might be hard to keep all of the story a secret; the movie's biggest plot points might be common knowledge among comic book readers, but that doesn't mean wider audiences know what's coming. Such was the case for "X-Men: Apocalypse," the third film in the relaunched franchise. Fan favorite Peter Maximoff — aka Quicksilver — returns from the previous film, and one of the major twists is the revelation that he's the son of longtime "X-Men" villain Magneto, a fact that comic fans might've already guessed.

Unfortunately, actor Evan Peters, who played the super-speedy superhero, just couldn't keep the secret for everyone else while talking to JoBlo about his character's place in the film. "I have learned that [Magneto's] my father at this point," Peters began, explaining how Peter's discovery of his lineage affects his story. "It's like an adoptive child or any kind of child who has a strange father trying to ... He knows who he is now so he is trying to find him. He's been searching for him. It's been 10 years and he hasn't found him and then something happens."

Ultimately, of course, "X-Men: Apocalypse" wasn't the popular, acclaimed blockbuster that the previous films had been, and the spoiled revelation wasn't something that wound up ruining the movie. Thankfully, though, Peters remained much more tight-lipped when it came to his return in Marvel's "WandaVision" in 2021.

You might not expect a modest, low-budget character drama about a man and his dog to be the subject of a major spoiler discussion, but here we are. Starring Channing Tatum, the 2022 film "Dog" was inspired by the actor's own life and a road trip he took with his dying dog in 2018. The film doesn't include any truly dramatic plot twists, stunning revelations, or major mind-benders that other films on this list do. In fact, it's a fairly light-hearted, family-friendly tale with a happy ending. But that's exactly why Tatum himself gave away the ending before it released.

In a kind of "reverse spoiler," Tatum talked about what didn't happen in the movie, and it wasn't a mistake or slip-up. In fact, it was in an attempt to attract more people to the film, considering the history of animal movies like "The Call of the Wild" and "Marley & Me" — both were advertised as upbeat family films and end with the death of a beloved pet. As a result, Tatum wanted to assure audiences (and parents of little ones in particular) that "Dog" would not conclude a depressing or morose ending.

It happened while on the talk show circuit, where Tatum wanted to reassure host Jimmy Kimmel that the dog wouldn't die in the film's last act. "I think 'Marley & Me' scarred everyone," he told Kimmel. Happy to give a spoiler, he proudly declared to the audience: "It's a good ending, so everyone knows. ... don't not see the movie because you're afraid."

There have been few movies more hotly anticipated than "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," which saw the long-awaited comeback of legacy franchise stars Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher as Han Solo and Princess Leia. Plot details were kept tightly under wraps, with rumors swirling that newcomer to the series Adam Driver might be a sith lord or alternatively an X-wing pilot. But when it came to the film's ending, it was Ford who gave away a major twist of fate, though few people picked up on it at the time.

Long reluctant to return to the franchise, Ford was finally convinced to return by director J.J. Abrams, and ahead of the film's release, both Ford and Abrams sat down with talk show host Conan O'Brien to talk about why he came back. Inadvertently, Ford gave away a massive spoiler. Expressing his long-standing wish for the character to be killed off, he implied that this is exactly what would happen in the then-upcoming film, saying, "I thought that the best utility for the character would be to sacrifice himself to a high ideal."

Vox, covering the story after the film hit theaters, noted the spoiler, and how director Abrams visibly bristled at Ford's comment. They also noted, however, how nobody seemed to catch on to what Ford was really saying. This was a good thing, because Solo's death at the hands of his son Ben in the dramatic climax is one of the film's most shocking moments.

When it comes to tragic character deaths, few can top the emotional tour de force that audiences endure in "Logan," the third solo film for Wolverine, played by Hugh Jackman. His ninth appearance in the role, it was highly publicized as the last time Jackman would wield the adamantium claws, and the rumor mill was spinning that Logan wouldn't survive the events of the movie. Very loosely adapted from the epic comic book miniseries "Old Man Logan," the film might not have killed off its hero had it stuck closer to its source material, but in the end, with Jackman insistent on retiring the role, it indeed ends with the death of the title character.

But while many were expecting Logan's demise, it most assuredly was not a certainty going into the release of the film. That is, not until Jackman himself decided to say it rather plainly in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. According to Jackman, he had to be convinced to come back to play Wolverine one more time, but it was the film's heartfelt story and his character's death that clinched it for him. "As soon as I saw the script, I got it," Jackman told EW. "Logan is someone who is most scared of intimacy, and so he wants to be alone and do things for himself. The idea that, in the end, he must give his life to save someone else ... I thought that was really powerful."

With his casting announced all the way back in 2007, former WWE wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson starred as the titular anti-hero in "Black Adam" when it was finally released in 2022. Though it lacked Shazam — the hero whose comic books originally spawned Black Adam back in the 1940s — the film still has plenty of surprises. This includes the Justice Society of America, an iconic superhero team featuring heroes like Doctor Fate and Hawkman. But it also included a jaw-dropping post-credits scene that had to be seen to be believed, as Henry Cavill — after half a decade out of the DCEU — reprised his role as the Man of Steel in a sequence that set up a future clash of titans. The only problem was The Rock himself had already spoiled the scene in the days leading up to the film.

While promoting the movie on the red carpet of the film's world premiere — more than a week before its wide release — Johnson talked to Entertainment Weekly and decided to let the cat out of the bag when asked about the presence of Superman in the film. "Just like I fought hard for 'Black Adam' for 15 years ... we've all been fighting for this moment, so I will say this: Welcome home." Though he didn't say it explicitly, Entertainment Weekly knew exactly what he was saying, and tweeted out the clip with the announcement that Henry Cavill had returned as Superman and was back in the DCEU. As we all know now, of course, that didn't last.

The 2005 prequel "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith" wasn't the last major blockbuster movie that Samuel L. Jackson wound up spoiling in his effort to promote his next big flick. Nearly 15 years later in 2019, Jackson also starred in "Captain Marvel," a surprising prequel to the MCU set in the 1990s. In addition to introducing cosmic hero Carol Danvers, it shed new light on the history of Jackson's Nick Fury. Digitally de-aged, Jackson was a major part of the story, which revealed Fury's first meeting with a superhero and how he conceived of the Avengers Initiative. But that wasn't all, and one of the most fun revelations was spoiled by Jackson himself — across two separate interviews — before the movie even released.

It all started while Jackson was speaking with Entertainment Tonight in January of 2019, where he recklessly revealed that the film would tell the story behind Fury's famous eyepatch. "You'll see, specifically, the origin of what happened to his eye," he said, but didn't elaborate on how he'd lose it. That detail would come while he was being interviewed for The Playlist just days before the film landed in theaters, though it may not have been entirely his fault. 

Having seen the film ahead of its official release, interviewer Gregory Ellwood directly addressed how he lost the eye following a vicious scratch from an alien cat. Well, Jackson went right along and talked openly about the scene, even addressing rumors that he doesn't like cats (an allegation he fiercely denied).

At the time of its rollout, arguably the biggest star in Phase 1 of the MCU was Natalie Portman in 2011's "Thor." The A-list actress won an Oscar earlier that year and starred opposite Chris Hemsworth as Jane Foster, a scientist who discovers the Asgardian prince after he's banished to Earth. But following a bad experience on the sequel, "Thor: The Dark World," Portman swore off working for Marvel. Some years later, the prospect of working with director Taika Waititi was enough to lure her back to the MCU for "Thor: Love & Thunder." But in her excitement, she also spoiled a major plot twist before the movie came out.

While it was well known thanks to trailers that her character Jane Foster would be given the powers of Thor, what audiences who weren't comics readers probably didn't see coming was that Foster is stricken with terminal cancer, and her powers allow her to stave off her own death. Unfortunately, Portman went a little too far in talking about all that while speaking with Hindustan Times while promoting the film a month early. "She's new at [being Thor]. And also keeps reverting to human form, so there's kind of danger always that, like, it might be her last moment getting to experience that." But apparently Portman realized her snafu, because she immediately acknowledged the cardinal sin she'd just committed. "I don't know that might be ... that might be a big spoiler, sorry."

When it was announced that Kang the Conqueror would be the villain of the third "Ant-Man" film, speculation went into overdrive on what the film might be about. Paul Rudd remained cagey on the details, but his co-star Evangeline Lilly let the excitement of her return get the better of her. Eager to share her prep work on the film ahead of the movie's production, the actress took to social media, posting images for her legions of followers. What they briefly saw was the front cover of the film's screenplay, and while it wasn't enough to reveal any of the script's secrets, who she tagged gave the game away.

Because in addition to tagging her former co-stars Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, and Michelle Pfeiffer — and incoming cast member Kathryn Newton, who would be playing her daughter Cassie — she also curiously tagged Corey Stoll. The actor who had co-starred in the first film in the series as the villain Yellowjacket had not been officially announced as a member of the cast, and when the media got wind of her post, the rumor mill immediately fired up. Her rushed deletion of the post only added fuel to the fire.

As many suspected, Stoll did wind up returning in the threequel. Thankfully, though, Lilly never let slip that his character had been transformed into the comic book villain MODOK, a secret that the studio was clearly saving for the film's release.