Why Jennifer Garner Was Forced To Do A Movie She Couldn't Stand
Jennifer Garner is considered one of the most versatile actors in Hollywood today. Over the course of her decades-long career, she has portrayed a diverse range of roles, from an ass-kicking spy to a time-skipping teenager to an FBI agent to a doting mother. It seems that there's no role she can't do, but she's admitted to having favorites.
In a 2016 interview with Vanity Fair, Garner revealed that her character Sydney Bristow in "Alias" is "the best character I will ever get to play." While she found it challenging to execute the stunts the role entailed, she enjoyed the overall experience. "It felt like dance to me," she said of the fight scenes. But in terms of Garner's all-time favorite type of role, she told Variety that she loved playing moms. In fact, she finds it absurd when fans try to overlook actors who play mothers. "That's crazy!" she exclaimed. "I love playing a mom because there are no higher stakes than something involving your kids. Nothing will push you further."
But just as she has her fair share of favorite roles, there are also projects that she absolutely loathed. For Garner, that certain project was "Elektra."
Jennifer Garner supposedly thought Elektra was 'awful'
Make no mistake: Jennifer Garner had a great time playing the titular character in "Elektra." It was her own spin-off movie, after all, following the success of "Daredevil." In an email she sent to the Los Angeles Times in 2005, Garner shared that she was completely dedicated to doing the character justice. "I was as focused as I've ever been before," she penned. "I lived and breathed this character. I was just completely myopic in my vision of what needed to happen every day."
Unfortunately, the film was a box office failure and was largely received negatively by critics. It was even revealed that Garner never wanted to do the spin-off at all. Garner's ex-boyfriend, Michael Vartan, told Us Weekly (via SF Gate) that Garner herself thought the film was a letdown. "I heard ['Elektra'] was awful. [Garner] called me and told me it was awful," he dished. "She had to do it because of 'Daredevil.' It was in her contract."
Apparently, a huge part of the reason why the film bombed was that the studio rushed it to the theaters. "The final theatrical version of Elektra is not a total version. I got it done," director Rob Bowman told IGN in 2005. "It was just due to the nature of the short post, and we wanted to hit a certain release date. And you've got to do what you've to do."
Jennifer Garner wishes Elektra had been part of the MCU
Jennifer Garner starred in "Elektra" when superhero movies weren't as big as they are today. Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, the actor regretted that she missed her chance to be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. "It's such a shame, honestly, because once [Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige] took over everything there was elevated," she told the outlet. "The writing, the direction, the comedy inside of the stories they were telling. And I did not have that experience."
Still, Garner thoroughly loved playing Elektra, regardless of the behind-the-scenes drama. "Elektra is such a dark character," Garner told MTV. "[In the film], this is the time where she is falling in love, so there is kind of this romantic overtone, and there is kind of a sweetness and tenderness that you wouldn't normally associate with Elektra. I love that about her. I love that in this movie you get to see kind of the duality of her."