Actors That Totally Forgot They Were In A Movie

We all get a little forgetful sometimes, even famous actors. Hey, we're all human. Everybody's lost their keys at least once in their life or used their phone flashlight to look for the very phone they're holding in their hand. But forgetting a high-profile job we've worked in the past is a horse of a very different color. 

As it turns out, some Hollywood A-listers occasionally forget they starred in certain movies. Stranger still, these slip-ups involve some of the most successful films ever made. These are movies that catapulted their careers to legit celebrity status, that made them the big bucks, or put them into world-famous franchises. Thankfully, it's a relatively small group of forgetful stars, but still, they might be worthy of a bit of public shaming and possibly a trip to their local neurologist. From YA actresses to MCU movie stars, these actors all forgot they were in a movie.

Gwyneth Paltrow, Academy Award-winning actress and founder of controversial self-help website Goop, has been in so many Marvel movies that she didn't remember her poignant appearance toward the end of 2017's "Spider-Man: Homecoming." Her movie memory lapse was revealed on "The Chef Show" (via Us magazine), courtesy of co-host and Paltrow's Marvel co-star, Jon Favreau. 

As the two were cooking, Paltrow denied having been in "Spider-Man: Homecoming" at all, only remembering her work in "Iron Man" and "The Avengers." It was only after Favreau reminded her of their scene with the bungled press conference and subsequent engagement ring back-up plan that Paltrow realized, "That was 'Spider-Man'? Oh my god!" 

Sure, the Marvel timeline can get confusing, especially after you've been in multiple films like Paltrow has. It probably doesn't help that the size of her role as Pepper Potts has varied from lead to bit player depending on the movie. But still, forgetting you've had a role of any size in one of the most popular "Spider-Man" adaptations in film history is next-level forgetfulness. Paltrow might need to add some memory-enhancing supplements to her Goop offerings or try one of those mindfulness techniques she often promotes. 

Being a world famous supermodel, Emmy-winning television host, fashion designer, businesswoman, and mom of four is a big job for Heidi Klum (or anyone, for that matter). It's so huge, in fact, that she forgot about her small appearance as part of the cast of the first "Zoolander" film. Klum was offered to reprise her role as herself in 2016's "Zoolander 2," but she was unable to make the commitment since her schedule was packed filming three television shows already.

When interviewers pointed out that she was in the first film, it took a few minutes for her to remember that she had in fact been a part of the star-studded cast. The host of "Germany's Next Top Model" and "Project Runway" first blamed it on the decade-and-a-half that had passed at the time since the 2001 movie came out. But when that didn't pass muster, she pinned the oversight on her children. "That's a brain fart," Klum said. "See what happens when you have four kids? They suck it all out of you."

"Thor: The Dark World" is not one of the best Marvel movies. The villains are boring, the plot is bland, and there's zero chemistry between the lead stars. So it makes sense that fans might forget that particular entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In fact, it's so bad that even one of the actors forgot he was in the 2013 movie at all: Irish actor Chris O'Dowd revealed to MTV that he'd forgotten his small role in "Thor: The Dark World." 

In the film, O'Dowd plays Richard, a guy who awkwardly dates Jane (Natalie Portman) as she's trying to get over Thor. As we said, "The Dark World" isn't really worthy of remembering (outside of its connections to "Avengers: Endgame"), but still, it's surprising that an actor would completely forget working across from an Oscar-winner like Natalie Portman or appearing in such a huge series. 

It's especially surprising since O'Dowd — who's super talented — doesn't have the level of celebrity or clout as his co-stars in the Marvel universe and beyond. And we're assuming the role probably earned him a nice little paycheck, so he should at least remember making that sweet Marvel money. 

Anna Kendrick made headlines around the world when she took to Twitter, confessing she'd forgotten about her career breakthrough role in not one, not two, but three of the "Twilight" films. In the popular vampire romance series, Kendrick plays Jessica Stanley, a mousy friend to Bella Thorne (Kristen Stewart), who's got her eyes on Bella's potential new love interest, Mike Newton (Michael Welch). And evidently, it just slipped Kendrick's mind that she'd starred in one of the highest-grossing franchises of all time, until one day when it all came flooding back. 

Kendrick tweeted in November 2018, "I just remembered I was in 'Twilight.'" That set the social media platform ablaze. The message has close to a million likes, over 100,000 shares, and over 6,000 comments, some of which threw some heavy shade the actress' way. One Twitter user pointed out that the "Pitch Perfect" star's 2016 memoir, "Scrappy Little Nobody," featured an entire chapter about her role in the films, casting doubt on whether this was an actual senior moment or if Kendrick was simply putting her extensive comedic chops to good use.

These days, Paul Bettany is best known as the Vision, the humanoid Avenger who's shown up in films like "Avengers: Age of Ultron" and "Avengers: Infinity War," as well as the TV show "WandaVision." Of course, he was initially the voice of Jarvis in "Iron Man," but believe it or not, Bettany often gets thrown when people compliment his work in that first film. 

In an interview with Digital Spy, Bettany spoke about his memory lapse, saying, "Someone said, 'I loved you in 'Iron Man.' I said, 'You've got me mixed up with someone else.' I forgot I did the voice because it was only 30 minutes in a recording studio laughing my [expletive] off."

Ironically, in the same interview, Bettany said that the "Iron Man" films were the best gigs of his life since all it involved was reading and recording his voice. "I say the lines and they pay me money," Bettany said. And honestly, that seems like a pretty good way to remember you were in a movie. Who forgets where their paychecks are coming from? Marvel actors, apparently.

Unlike his co-stars, Mark Ruffalo hasn't forgotten any of the projects that he's worked on. But the man behind the Incredible Hulk revealed that he did forget that he and Brie Larson had been in a film together before "Avengers: Endgame." 

Ruffalo was surprised to learn that Larson had a small role in his iconic rom-com "13 Going on 30," as one of the bully "Six Chicks" in a flashback scene. Larson was just 15 at the time, while Ruffalo was 37, so the huge age difference makes a lot of sense for the gaffe. Of course, over a decade later, the two would reunite in one of the highest-grossing movies of all time to defeat the evil armies of Thanos. It's safe to say that a whole lot changed for these actors in that 15-year gap. 

Back in 2015, the fifth installment of the "Terminator" franchise, "Terminator Genisys," was about to hit theaters, and that's when Arnold Schwarzenegger really put his foot in his mouth. Looking back at the series, the Governator took aim at "Terminator: Salvation" and claimed to not have been in the fourth film, saying on "Good Morning America" (via Movies.com), "Thank God. It sucked." Granted, "Salvation" is pretty bad, but still, that takes some heavy metal alloy cojones to say while promoting the next film in the series.

Regardless, Schwarzenegger's statement might ring true for lots of old-school "Terminator" fans. But unfortunately, it seems the actor is a bit forgetful. As it turns out, he actually was in "Terminator Salvation." Okay, sure, it was a CGI appearance, but it was an officially approved likeness he would have been contracted to include in the film. In fact, Schwarzenegger actually viewed the footage and gave it the okay before the film hit theaters. Whoops. 

Jack Black is known for his contributions to blockbuster film franchises like "Jumanji," "Kung Fu Panda," and "A Minecraft Movie," not to mention his comedic music as part of the duo Tenacious D. He's done so much across so many genres, in fact, that even his fans might have trouble remembering everything he's a part of. It's such a broad resume that even Black himself has forgotten some of the projects he's been involved in, so much so that when interviewed on the red carpet he didn't even remember one of his own movies: director Nancy Meyers' Christmas rom-com "The Holiday," co-starring Kate Winslet and Jude Law.

Granted, "The Holiday" isn't among Black's most famous or even most beloved films, but what makes it a head-scratcher that he couldn't remember it was that he was specifically asked about his favorite Christmas movie. When he name-dropped the Will Ferrell comedy "Elf," the interviewer from Variety thought he was being humble, responding, "I appreciate the humility; you could have said your own movie." To which a dumbfounded Black replied, "Do I have a Christmas movie? Which one is mine?"

Even funnier, you can see the wheels turning in his head as he furrows his brow, mentally reviewing his own filmography before suddenly having a lightbulb moment: "Oh, 'The Holiday!' Obviously, 'The Holiday.' Nancy Meyers ... genius!" As good as it is, though, "The Holiday" doesn't make our list of 15 best Christmas movies of all time.

The 1980s are home to many of the best teen movies of all time, including classics like "The Breakfast Club" and "Pretty in Pink." But one of the most legendary is 1982's "Fast Times at Ridgemont High," the Amy Heckerling-directed film that took an inside look at the lives of average high schoolers in an otherwise ordinary California public school. It features a bevy of future Hollywood stars, including a young Sean Penn, Phoebe Cates, and Jennifer Jason Leigh, as well as an early appearance from Nicolas Cage — though he doesn't remember it very well at all.

Cage had a small part in the film as "Brad's Bud," a friend of one of the main characters, Brad, played by Judge Reinhold. But in a 2021 interview with USA Today, where he was promoting his dark thriller "Pig," Cage was asked about his role in "Fast Times" and admitted he had no recollection of it. "I don't even remember being in that movie," Cage told the outlet, although he did use the opportunity to clear up an old rumor that he'd lied about his age to audition for the role of Brad, because he was only a teenager at the time. "I think they were afraid they couldn't work me a certain amount of hours because I was 16," he said. "But I never lied about my age."

Getting his start in the early 2000s as part of the cast of the teen TV comedy "Freaks and Geeks," actor Samm Levine has rubbed elbows with some of the biggest names in Hollywood, many of whom launched their careers alongside him — from Jason Segel and Linda Cardellini to series creator Paul Feig and producer Judd Apatow. He's even friends with producer Damon Lindelof, landing an uncredited cameo in the final season of "Lost" as a result. And while he sometimes loves those uncredited moments, one of them led to him entirely forgetting he was in a movie.

Appearing on Pete Holmes' podcast "You Made it Weird," Levine talked about his single scene in the Ashton Kutcher-led Steve Jobs biopic "Jobs" and how he requested to go uncredited. But years later, he didn't even remember he did it. "I forgot about it," Levine admitted, explaining how, years after he filmed the scene, he was on a plane that had the movie on its in-flight entertainment. Much to his surprise, he saw himself in the film, which stunned him because he had assumed his cameo had been cut. 

"I was kind of half-awake, half-asleep when it started," he said. "And I'm watching the movie, and my hand to God, this is the only time this has ever happened in my life. I forgot I was in that movie." Levine also recalled that despite his request to go unnamed, his name did appear in the movie's credits. 

More a comedy writer than an actor, Conan O'Brien got his start in Hollywood by contributing scripts and jokes to "Saturday Night Live" and "The Simpsons" in the early '90s before replacing David Letterman as host of "Late Night." Still, O'Brien has shown up on screen a bunch of times, usually in cameos and often playing himself. But one of those cameos — where he played an iconic real-life celebrity — completely left his brain after he filmed it: his role as Andy Warhol in a scene in the spoof biopic "Weird: The Al Yankovic Story," starring Daniel Radcliffe, which proved that parody movies need another shot in Hollywood.

"Weird Al asked me to do this, so I did it shortly after my late-night show [wrapped up]," O'Brien said in an interview with Howard Stern. But as O'Brien explained, his entire career has consisted mostly of appearing on shows or interviews that air within hours, if not live, and he's not used to projects that take a while to be released. So when "Weird" finally came out, he didn't remember being in it.

"I started getting texts from people saying 'liked you in the Weird Al movie!'" he added. But O'Brien had no recollection of the project: "Like a year and a half ago, I shot this thing, and I have no memory of it." Thankfully, the movie was met with rave reviews, and audiences are still talking about it, with O'Brien's single scene as Andy Warhol proving to be a standout moment.

John Stamos is most famous for playing Uncle Jesse on the '90s sitcom "Full House," as well as the sequel series, "Fuller House." Stamos has had movie roles, too, but most of them have been forgettable, like the 1991 action movie "Born to Ride" or the 2004 rom-com "Knots." Ironically, however, his biggest and most popular movie is one that the actor himself doesn't remember making, and totally forgot that he was in: The 2016 comedy "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2."

Tragically, Stamos says that it was because of his problems with alcohol that he had his lapse in memory. Stamos appeared on "The Howard Stern Show" and opened up about his alcohol abuse, and how during a particularly bad period, he had to be flown out to Toronto to film scenes for the Nia Vardalos sequel — which happened to be the day after his 2015 arrest for driving under the influence. "I don't even remember being on set," Stamos says, relating that when he returned home, his friends staged an intervention, after which he got clean. 

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Also known as Annie Judis, Jean Bell got her start as a model in the 1960s before more recently becoming an author and athlete. Most famously, Bell was a Playboy Playmate of the Month in 1969 and was among the first African Americans to earn that moniker. But Bell also had a career as an actress, and while she got her start with a recurring role in "The Beverly Hillbillies," she had a longer career in blaxploitation films, an entirely new genre in the 1970s that got its start thanks to movies like "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song" and "Shaft."

Bell appeared during that decade in similar films like "Black Gunn" and "Cleopatra Jones," and played the title role in the 1974 film "TNT Jackson." But Bell was also in another, much bigger '70s cult classic, the 1972 film "Trouble Man." Best known for its iconic soundtrack by Marvin Gaye, "Trouble Man" centered on a private eye named "Mr. T.," played by Robert Hooks. 

Bell only had a small role in the film, so it's certainly a bit more understandable that she might forget that she was in it. And sure enough, she had to be reminded that she had a part in the film by a fan on Threads, who spotted her while watching the film. "I forgot I was in that movie," Bell responded. "Thank you for the reminder."

There are plenty of big Hollywood stars who refuse to watch their own movies. And if an actor generally doesn't watch their own films, but has also been in more than 150 titles over the course of six decades, they're bound not to remember some of the movies they've done. That's exactly the case with British legend Malcolm McDowell, best known to sci-fi fans for playing Alex in "A Clockwork Orange" and Dr. Soran, the man who kills Captain Kirk (William Shatner), in "Star Trek: Generations." 

"I never watch any of my films more than once, if there's a premiere. If [there isn't a premiere], I never see them at all," McDowell told Dread Central in 2009. In fact, McDowell claims that there are nearly two dozen films that he's never seen, and as a result, there are fans who recognize him for roles he doesn't recollect at all. 

"People stop me and say: 'Oh, we loved you in blah-blah' and I say: 'Sorry, that wasn't me,'" McDowell recounted to The Guardian in 2020. "And then they'll show me on their phone or show me the DVD cover and sure enough, there I am. ... And I have no memory of doing it at all." But it's not just that he did so many movies, or the fact that he's getting older. According to McDowell, he's simply done so many forgettable films that it's hard to account for them all. "I've done way too many movies," he told Dread Central. "The good ones I remember."