Being an actor is a lot of hard work, but being an actor and a parent is even a harder job.
When your kids know you are famous and that you are in their favorite shows and movies, it can be a lot to handle. But, when your kids know you aren’t yet, but can be, it’s even crazier.
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Some famous actors have actually asked or accepted roles in TV shows and movies just for the benefit of their own kids!
1. Richard Harris wasn’t going to be Dumbledore, at first.
Richard Harris, the man who originally played Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter movie franchise, did not accept the role at first.
It was actually Harris’ granddaughter that talked him into the iconic role . She told him that she would “never speak to him again” if he did not take the job. He played Dumbledore for the first two movies until he passed in 2002.
2. Ryan Reynolds did a specific movie just to watch it with his kids.
Ryan Reynolds tends to do movies that are a bit risqué and inappropriate for very young children. For his three kids, it’s hard to watch dad’s films when they have tons of profanity.
However, Reynolds took the role in Detective Pikachu specifically so that he can watch the movie with them.
3. Julianne Moore said a role brought her closer to her kids.
Julianne Moore had not read the Hunger Games series until her kids ” demanded ” she do it.
Later, Moore was cast as President Alma Coin in the movie adaptation of Mockingjay , and, she said it’s brought her closer to her kids, who absolutely love the series.
4. Matthew McConaughey did the same as Reynolds.
Matthew McConaughey said he got “tired” of people asking him about which films he’s been in that his kids love the most. The fact of the matter was that many of his films at the time were “not kid-friendly.”
“So I’d watch animated films with them, and I was like, ‘You know what? I want to make an animated film, do some voice work.”
That’s precisely how McConaughey ended up as Buster Moon in Sing . One of his more criminally underrated performances, if you ask me.
5. Ben Affleck didn’t exactly “want” to be Batman.
Looking to impress his son, Affleck wanted a film that would make him proud of his dad . After taking the Batman role, Affleck says that it was worth “every moment” to see how happy his kids are.
Especially, when Ben decided to wear the actual Batman suit to his son’s birthday party!
Can you imagine being a little kid and having the real Batman show up in person to your birthday party?
I’m turning 33-years-old and if it happened to me — I’d probably faint.
6. Robert Downey Jr. asked to be in *Family Guy* for his son.
Robert Downey Jr., who has had quite a career as an actor, actually requested to be on Family Guy .
He reached out on behalf of his son, who is a huge fan. He ended up in an episode , as Patrick Pewterschmidt, the long-lost brother of Lois, in the 4th season.
7. I bet you didn’t know Larry David was on *Hannah Montana*.
Larry David, the Curb Your Enthusiasm comedian actually appeared as a guest star on Miley Cyrus’ Disney show Hannah Montana .
While the show is totally out of his wheelhouse, he and his two daughters were in the episode, totally because both girls “loved” the show so much.
8. Kate Winslet wanted to impress her teenagers.
Kate Winslet, who is well known for serious and romantic roles, took the role of the villain in the Divergent series, knowing it would appeal to her teenage children .
Winslet said that it was pretty awesome that her 12-year-old daughter’s friends were “bragging” about her mom’s new movie.
9. Raúl Juliá listened to his kid’s request for his very last film.
Juliá was in the 1994 film adaptation of Street Fighter because his children were absolutely infatuated with the Street Fighter video games . Even cooler, the kids got to come to watch the movie on set being filmed, however for a sad and tragic reason.
Juliá was sick with stomach cancer, so his family sometimes came to set to help out. He passed from cancer two months prior to the movie’s release date.
10. David Bowie appeared on a kid’s cartoon, just for his daughter.
The icon David Bowie actually voiced a character , Lord Royal Highness, for a SpongeBob SquarePants special. Why?
Bowie’s 6-year-old daughter absolutely loved the show and seeing her dad on there was a huge moment. Bowie, himself, was also pretty proud, saying the role was the “Holy Grail of animation gigs.”
11. Gary Oldman stepped away from his Oscar-winners for a specific reason.
The Oscar-winning actor decided to take a step outside his comfort zone when he went for the role of Sirius Black in the iconic Harry Potter film franchise.
He wanted to do something specifically to make his kids interested in his work.
“You become incredibly cool to your kids, and you get a young fan base. So you became the cool dad at school. You’re suddenly hip,” he said .
12. Ozzy Osbourne cleaned it up for his granddaughter.
While Ozzy Osbourne is known to be a bit of a rocker rebel, he decided to clean up his act to appear on the hit kid’s show Bubble Guppies .
The Black Sabbath frontman voiced “Sid Fishy” on the show to see his 2-year-old granddaughter’s reaction to hearing his voice on the TV show.
13. Idris Elba signed on for the live-action *Jungle Book* remake for his kids, as well.
Idris Elba, AKA People’s Sexiest Man Alive, signed on to voice the character of Shere Khan the tiger in the live-action remake of The Jungle Book .
The reason? Elba said that it was a moment in his mind, for him, where his son and daughter would realize it was their dad in the classic remake .
14. Michael Sheen signed up for *Twilight* for his daughter.
Sheen played the iconic role of Aro in the Twilight franchise films, which earned him a lot of pride from his daughter.
The actor shared he went after the role because his 10-year-old loved the novels, and she ” squealed with delight ” when she found out he had gotten the part.
15. Cate Blanchett became Marvel’s first female villain in *Thor: Ragnarok* completely by accident.
Appearing in a superhero film wasn’t exactly on Cate’s radar at that point in her career.
She says that playing Hela would never have happened had her kids not (happily) dragged her into the Marvel Universe.
16. Michael Caine only appeared in *The Muppet Christmas Carol* for his children.
When Michael was asked what compelled him to play the crotchety old miser, Ebenezer Scrooge, his answer was simple — his daughter .
She was seven years old at the time, and Michael had never appeared in a movie that was suitable for a child of that age.
17. Will Smith got animated for his daughter in *Shark Tale*.
Will told Today that “As soon as you see one of these casts come together, you’re like, ‘Okay, yeah, somebody’s kid just turned seven. Somebody’s kid just turned seven .’ That’s why they are doing this.”
His own daughter Willow was three at the time.
18. Mary Steenburgen’s children were diehard fans of *Back To The Future*.
So when it came time for Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale to cast the role of Clara — Mary was first in line.
She said that together, she and her kids watched the first two films dozens of times.
19. Viggo Mortensen’s son basically forced him to be Aragorn in *The Lord Of The Rings* trilogy.
It wasn’t that Viggo was opposed to playing Aragorn, he had just never read any of Tolkein’s books up until that point.
His son convinced him to play the part after he spilled the beans about Aragorn becoming king.
20. Djimon Hounsou decided to play Korath the Pursuer in *The Guaradians Of The Galaxy* after his son noticed the lack of diversity in the MCU.
During an interview with Collider, Djimon said:
“So, it was very shocking when my son said that. It shocked me, but at the same time, it was not a surprise. It’s one of those things that even I have been looking for.”
21. Jamie Foxx wanted to be Electro in *The Amazing Spider-Man 2* because his daughter was obsessed.
She couldn’t believe that her father was going to be in a movie with her favorite superhero.
When Jamie told her that he’d be playing the villain , she responded by saying that Spider-Man was going to whop his butt!
22. James Marsden thought his kids would like seeing him in *Enchanted*.
In an effort to pique his kids’ interest, James decided to play Prince Edward in Enchanted .
Sadly, James’ daughter had a small anxiety attack while watching once she realized her father was both on the TV and on the couch sitting beside her.
23. Frank Langella shocked the world when he decided to play Skeletor in *Masters Of The Universe*.
Frank is one of the most respected stage actors of his age, having won four Tony Awards.
His son was a huge fan of the He-Man cartoon, specifically the villain Skeletor .
Of all the iconic roles Frank has taken on over the course of his career, Skeletor remains his favorite.
24. Donnie Yen’s kids wouldn’t let him turn down playing Chirrut Imwe in *Star Wars: Rogue One*.
Donnie wasn’t exactly thrilled at the prospect of being away from his family for months on end.
But when he asked his children if they would like to see him in a Star Wars film — they absolutely flipped out and insisted he take the part.
25. Tommy Lee Jones only had one reason for playing Two-Face in *Batman Forever*.
Tommy’s son Austin was captivated by Batman at the time, and Two-Face just so happened to be his favorite villain.
When director Joel Schumacher came to Tommy in order to convince him, Austin had already laid out a pile of Batman comics that featured Two-Face.
26. Dennis Hopper agreed to be King Koopa in *Super Marios Bros.* for his son.
During an appearance on Late Night with Conan O’Brien_ , Dennis said that his son, who was 6-years-old at the time, was fascinated by the plumber brothers.
When he saw the film years later, he wished his Dad had never said “yes.”
27. Donald Pleasance might never have been Dr. Sam Loomis in *Halloween* were it not for his daughter.
Donald’s daughter was a musician and was absolutely obsessed with the scores of director John Carpenter .
After she saw John’s work in Assault on Precinct 13 , she begged her father to appear in Halloween .
