12 Actors Who Spoiled Their Own Movies

We live in a movie world that is increasingly concerned about spoilers. A few decades ago, it wasn’t that uncommon for a film review to reveal certain aspects of its subject’s plot — and it was very rare for a reader to actively get upset about it when it did. Heck, a few decades before that it wasn’t that unusual for someone to wander into a movie theater during the middle of a screening and just start watching the film from that point. They might come in during the last 20 minutes, watch the ending, then hang around for the trailers, cartoons, and newsreels, before watching the beginning of the movie.

Times change. Now I would say at least 15 percent of my job is making sure that whatever I write doesn’t spoil something — or at least ensuring that if I do spoil something, it’s with the proper warnings. Like I wouldn’t just come out and say Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker’s father. That kind of thing needs careful preamble to ensure you don’t just blurt it out and potential-OH NO, WHAT HAVE I DONE?!?

Anyway, if you think I have it rough, just imagine what it’s like for movie actors. They learn these closely-guarded secrets months or years before the rest of us, and then they have to keep those secrets, even as part of their jobs involves answering endless questions from the press about their work. Invariably, mistakes are made.

This list is a collection of those mistakes. It contains a dozen examples of actors accidentally spilling their guts on talk shows, in interviews, or just talking with colleagues. So the next time you see a filmmaker inadvertently spoiling their own work, take pity. We’re all just trying our best out here.