Famous Stars Who've Never Watched Their Own TV Shows and Movies: Unseen by Constance Wu, Jared Leto, Rupert Grint, and Others
Celebrities like Constance Wu, Jared Leto, and Rupert Grint have surprisingly not watched their own TV shows and movies Find out which other stars, including Harry Hamlin, Ellen Pompeo, and Julianne Moore, are also on this list Get the intriguing details here!
Over the years, several celebrities, such as Constance Wu, Rupert Grint, and Andrew Lincoln, have made the choice to not watch their successful projects. For instance, during his time on The Walking Dead from 2010 to 2018, Andrew Lincoln opted not to watch himself on the show.
"I take a bit of a step back from it all. The enjoyable part for me is actually doing it. I really love that. That's what excites me," he said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly in August 2013.
Lincoln clarified that his focus is to "be as authentic as possible in this role," which might be affected if he were to critique his performance by watching the episodes.
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“I don’t think it’s that unusual if you ask a lot of actors,” he said.
Keep scrolling to see which stars chose not to watch some of their biggest movie and TV hits:
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Celebrities Who Haven’t Seen Their Own TV Shows and Movies: Constance Wu, Jared Leto, Rupert Grint and More
Celebrities including Constance Wu, Rupert Grint and Andrew Lincoln have all chosen not to watch their own projects over the years — even if they were hits.
Lincoln, who appeared on The Walking Dead from 2010 to 2018, chose not to watch his own performances on the show. "I tend to distance myself from it. The enjoyable part for me is the act of performing. I love that. That's what excites me," he explained to Entertainment Weekly in August 2013.
Lincoln stated that it is his responsibility to be as honest as possible in his role, which could be undermined if he critiqued his performance upon watching the episodes. He added that many actors would likely agree with this sentiment.
Keep scrolling to see which stars chose not to watch some of their biggest movie and TV hits:
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Harry Hamlin
During his time as attorney Michael Kuzak on L.A. Law from 1986 to 1991, Hamlin received three Golden Globe nominations. However, he admitted that he did not watch the show until many years later.
"I never saw it because at the time, my wife Laura Johnson was always on another show at the exact same time," he revealed during a December 2023 appearance on Live With Kelly and Mark. "So, it was like, ‘Do we watch her show, do we watch my show?’ We went out to dinner instead. We didn’t have a VCR."
Hamlin expressed his recent fascination with the legal drama, describing it as incredible and reminiscent of a period show with no computers, only typewriters. He mentioned the absence of cell phones and the presence of a car phone in one scene, emphasizing the nostalgic and captivating nature of the series.
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Ellen Pompeo
The star of Grey's Anatomy made a surprising revelation in February 2022, admitting that she has not actually watched many episodes of her long-running ABC series. During an episode of her "Tell Me with Ellen Pompeo" podcast, she confessed, "I haven't really seen most of them, I've watched only a handful." She also mentioned, "The few times I've directed, I went back and watched some old episodes."
The Massachusetts native prefers to rewatch older episodes when she directs in order to maintain the "spirit" from the series' early seasons. "My goal is always to uphold the essence of the early days," she explained. "It's challenging, but it provides us with a clear goal to work towards."
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Eric McCormack
Will & Grace star McCormack confessed in October 2021 that he had never watched his popular 1993 Halloween film, Double, Double, Toil and Trouble, in which he portrayed the father of the Olsen twins' characters, Kelly and Lynn Farmer. "I'm planning to do it this year. I'm going to log into my Hulu account and finally watch it," McCormack revealed to Entertainment Weekly when discussing the beloved classic. "But no, I haven't seen it before. It's difficult to revisit certain appearances. Also, I was only about a year and a half into my television career, so I was still adjusting my stage acting to the camera. Maybe I was afraid to watch it."
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Barry Watson
"I never had the chance to watch any of the series," Watson exclusively shared with Us in October 2021, referring to his hit series 7th Heaven. "I was always so occupied with work. All I recall is putting in long hours on that show because I was the only one of the kids who was over 18. I was 21 when we shot the pilot. So they could keep me working for as long as they needed to."
The Michigan native went on to say, "Half the time I was talking to, like, pieces of tape on the wall that was supposed to be one of the other characters. And I'd be there until two o'clock in the morning. You know, I never had time to watch the show."
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Rupert Grint
The actor who portrayed Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter series surprised fans in February 2021 by revealing that he has only seen the first three movies at their premieres. "I've probably seen the first three at the premieres, but after that, I stopped watching them," said the British actor in an interview with Variety. "But now that I have a daughter, I will probably have to watch them with her."
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Constance Wu
"The most recent film I watched was Crazy Rich Asians. After that, I made a decision to stop watching anything," Wu explained during an appearance on Live With Kelly and Ryan in February 2020. "I didn't revisit my talk show appearances or watch Fresh Off the Boat or Hustlers. I just wanted to focus on the present and avoid being overly critical of myself or dwelling too much on the past."
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Adam Driver
The Girls actor admitted to the New Yorker in October 2019 that he felt embarrassed by his performance on the HBO show and decided to stop watching himself on screen. He also shared that he was unable to watch the premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 2015. Additionally, Driver revealed that he agreed to attend a showing of BlacKkKlansman but chose to hide in the greenroom while the movie played, only returning to the theater to take a bow.
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Busy Philipps
"I never watched Dawson’s Creek. I didn’t watch it before I was on the show and I barely watched it after I was on the show, so I don’t have the same connection that other people have to it," the actress, who portrayed Audrey Liddell on the WB series from 2001 to 2003, shared with the Belfast Telegraph in July 2018. "Freaks And Geeks, I think, is ultimately the classic [out of my shows]. And then probably Cougar Town."
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Jared Leto
After securing the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in Dallas Buyers Club, Leto admitted that he had never seen his own performance. "I can't listen to that voice! I haven't really heard much of it and I've never watched the movie," the 30 Seconds to Mars singer revealed during an August 2014 interview with the New York Times’ TimesTalks. "I will [watch it] at some point, I'm sure. But not too soon!"
He added: "It can never live up to the expectations I would have of it now because it was such a beautiful experience and the response that it got was really wonderful."
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Andrew Lincoln
The English actor revealed to Entertainment Weekly in August 2013 that he had several reasons for never watching himself as Rick Grimes on The Walking Dead.
One reason, he stated, was simply that he didn't enjoy seeing himself on screen. He also mentioned that he was wary of directorial choices that might affect how he viewed his performance. Additionally, he admitted to feeling self-conscious when watching himself, which detracted from his goal as an actor to fully inhabit his roles.
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Julianne Moore
"I haven't watched any of my own films," revealed the Still Alice lead to Britain’s Daily Express back in 2013. "I find it difficult to sit through a premiere or anything like that. I enjoy being in the film more than I enjoy watching them. That's what excites me the most, rather than seeing the final product."
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Naveen Andrews
"I found the ending confusing simply because I had never watched the show," Andrews, known for his role as Sayid Jarrah on Lost, shared with Daybreak in June 2012. "I only watched the pilot, just to have some familiarity with the show I was part of, but I never actually watched an entire episode of Lost."
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Helena Bonham Carter
The Enola Holmes actress revealed to The Telegraph in November 2009 that she has never viewed any of her numerous film or TV projects. "It's not like I am going to do exactly the same part next year, so what's the point?" she articulated at the time. "I love acting because I love doing it. You do it so that other people can watch it if they want to watch it."
