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Happy Friday the 13th

News
13 November 2015
If youโ€™re staying in bed to avoid a bout of bad luck on Friday the 13th, M-Net Movies is here to tell you that youโ€™re not alone in your worries about luck, superstition and curses.
friday 13

If youโ€™re staying in bed to avoid a bout of bad luck on Friday the 13th, M-Net Movies is here to tell you that youโ€™re not alone in your worries about luck, superstition and curses.

Weโ€™ve brought you a list of actors who (with the exception of one) probably lock the doors and bar the windows whenever Friday the 13th rolls around. Distract yourself from this bleakย day by tuning into M-Net Movies, and peruse our list to learn that sometimes even bad luck can be good.

The Bad Decision-Makers

1. Molly Ringwald

Itโ€™s a story with no end: the great roles actors turned down. Eightiesโ€™ darling Molly Ringwald, uncomfortable with the content of Pretty Woman, turned down the role of Vivien. Considering its eventual star became the highest-paid actress in Hollywood in the โ€˜90s and later won an Oscar, weโ€™re not sure it was Mollyโ€™s best move.

2. Mickey Rourke

If we were living in an alternate universe, weโ€™d have watched John Travolta as Forrest Gump, Hugh Jackman as Bond, Tom Selleck as Indiana Jones, Will Smith as Neo, Sean Connery as Gandalf and Jim Carrey as Captain Jack Sparrow. These actors all turned down these iconic roles. Mickey Rourke joined their ranks, turning down the role of Butch in Pulp Fiction, which ultimately went to Bruce Willis. Unlike Ringwald, this โ€˜80s hunk had better luck later in life, making a comeback in the 21st century and even receiving an Oscar nomination in 2009.โ€‹

The Bad Luck Club

3. Henry Cavill

On the flip side, we have the actors who wanted the ultimate roles, but didnโ€™t get them. Henry Cavill was one such man, losing the part of Twilightโ€™s Edward to Robert Pattinson, Batman to Christian Bale and Superman to Brandon Routh. Years later he nabbed the latter role nevertheless, but at the time his bad luck led Empire magazineย to call the actor โ€œthe most unlucky man in Hollywood.โ€

4. Liam Hemsworth

Itโ€™s never easy when you donโ€™t land the role you want, but at least Liam kept it in the family when he lostย Thor to his older brother, Chris. Unfortunately he also failed to cinch a part in The Expendables and (spoiler alert!), when he was eventually cast in the sequel, it was only to be killed off in the beginning. On the bright side, he has the whole Hunger Games franchise under his belt.

The Money Problem

5. Nicolas Cage

From trading arms and swapping faces to raising babies and adapting books, you never know what to expect form Nic Cageโ€™s next role. Itโ€™s as unpredictable to guess what will happen to his money. Cage is quite the spendthrift; burning through $100 million during the turn of the century, and ultimately owing the IRS $13 million.

6. Lena Headey

Game of Thronesโ€™ Cersei wasnโ€™t living a queenly life back in 2012, when she divorced husband Peter Loughran. She petitioned for half of the their tax return, just to be able to cover living expenses and support her son. Considering she stars in one of the biggest shows on TV, and makes movies in between, it raises questions about womenโ€™s salaries in Hollywood โ€“ as Patricia Arquette highlighted when she won her Oscar.

The Charmed Ones

7. Colin Farrell

Do you have a rabbitโ€™s foot hanging from your rearview mirror, or a horseshoe hanging on your wall? Youโ€™re not alone. The Irish actor has a lucky beltย heโ€™s spent thousands having repaired.

8. Cameron Diaz

The blonde beauty wears a horseshoe necklaceโ€ฆapparently to prevent the effects of ageing. It seems to be working so far!

9. Benicio del Toro

The Oscar winner wears a ring with a wooden centre so that he can โ€œknock on woodโ€ whenever he needs a bit of luck.

The Superstitious Ones

10. Jennifer Aniston

Averting fate in another form is Jennifer Aniston. Before flying she always steps onto the plane with her right foot first, and taps the outside of the plane.

11. Christian Bale

Although Christian Bale goes to extremes when preparing for roles, he doesnโ€™t apply it to fate. The Oscar-winning, Batman-starring actor merrily admits, โ€œI walk under ladders, I do all that stuff. I do it on purpose. I like provoking superstitions.โ€

The Cursed

12. Jim Carrey

If you thought Leonardo DiCaprio's Oscar luck was rough, youโ€™ve got to feel even sorrier for Jim Carrey. Despite magnificent performances and several awards for his work in The Truman Show, Man on the Moon and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, the Academy has never even nominated him.ย 

13. Oscar Winners

Carrey might have to count himself lucky, because winning the coveted golden statuette may just have afforded more bad luck. For years there have been claims of anย โ€œOscar curseโ€, leading actorsโ€™ careers to spiral downwards after winning.ย Professed victimsย are Cuba Gooding Jr, Adrien Brody, Marcia Gay Harden, Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Helen Hunt and Mira Sorvino. Seen them around lately? Besides Hardenโ€™s new role in Code Black, weโ€™re wondering what happened to the rest.