Actually, all the plumbers I’ve contracted for home repairs have done just that. To which I am inclined to respond, “Really, now, you are no Michelangelo!”
I cannot stand to listen to my own recordings, so I have nothing but sympathy with actors who don’t want to see their own performances on film.
I wouldn’t say it disappoints me, though I prefer that they avoid actively disparaging it, especially if they haven’t watched the finished product. I do, however, regard it as missing out on a professional opportunity. It seems to me that it would be worthwhile to watch the completed version so that you can see your work fits into the whole. Even if the result is a dreadful piece of schlock, you might come away with a new insight into your own technique that will improve your acting in better material.
Especially since nowadays more and more actors perform in front of green screens.
Yeah, I’m wondering how many sci-fi shows are watched by the actors in order to see the finished result? I know there’s an episode of SG-1 where the actors said [in the DVD commentary] that they totally under-reacted to a huge space ship because they just couldn’t see [in their imaginations] how huge it was going to be. And in another they (or at least one of them!) over-reacted to something that was added in post.
There’s one episode were the commentary goes silent, cos they’re all too busy watching the episode to say anything 
Well there is a lag between the shooting and the broadcasting or release so they might be quite busy. And just as many of us rarely see movies or episodes multiple times, they might not do so either, it can hardly be entertainment for them.
Not disappointed, but I don’t really understand it. Whenever I make something collaborative I always watch/play/read/listen to/whatever the final product so I can:
[ul]
[li] See where I messed up with my own eyes[/li][li] Get a sense, for continuity, of what material was removed so I can keep it in mind if I do a follow-up[/li][li] See what other people were doing, in sections that I had no part in – both so I can keep it in mind if affects future related works I might do, or just to see how my peers did[/li][/ul]
And so on. I’m not saying they have to enjoy it, but it baffles me that they don’t want to give the finished product a once-over just to hammer down what made it in, analyze their own flaws, etc. I can understand if, say, the director doesn’t (since he was probably sitting there with the editors making the final product), but I don’t really understand actors who don’t keep current with the finished products of their works. But again, I’m not disappointed, just confused.
ETA: Though this is for collaborative works, if it’s just a single-author book or something I can see not reading it.
There’s some I’ve heard say that they never watch their own work, because they spend so much energy nitpicking themselves that they barely see the rest and don’t enjoy it at all. My thought in those cases is “ah yes, another perfectionist (I have quite a few in the family). Being a perfectionist sucks.” - and then I go on merrily not being a perfectionist, and watching those people’s work.
You’re a translator like me, Nava, aren’t you? Can you really bear to look at your own work after you’ve sent it to the client?
Most of my work is self-translation: when it is, I use the translation process as self-QC on the original writing process. And yes, I can - even if I sometimes find a sentence I could have written better, it’s still universes above what your average translator will do with technical materials (and let’s not get started on traductores jurados).
Well, OK, let’s: traductores jurados are required to be “completely literal” and many of them take that as meaning “translate word by word, not at the expression level, and taking the first word the dictionary provides without checking whether another one would be a better fit”, leading to such things as calling a matrícula de honor “license plate of honor” instead of “tuition waiver” (in my college records). You ever seen a university that gave license plates? I sure haven’t!
My university allows alumni to buy special alumni state license plates… granted that’s not “giving,” they’re as expensive as any other state-certified vanity plate.
Johnny Depp gave one of the best statements as to why he never watches his movies.
He said something like, "When I finish doing the acting, my job is done. Why should I watch the finished movie? I will just see the work of all the editors, post-production people, etc. If I believe they have done a bad job, it will only lead to unpleasantness when I have to work with them again. Much better to just do my job and walk away.
Good answer, I was thinking of this too 
No, it doesn’t bother me. They are actors, that’s their job. And if they do that job well, that’s good enough for me. Although it is a plus if they have seen their own movies/shows. It’s nice if they can converse about the whole story, but I’m not necessarily disappointed if they don’t. Oh well.
I know that Johnny Depp doesn’t watch any his own movies, because he hates seeing and hearing himself on film. I’ve heard of a few actors like that, and it is totally understandable, and I don’t think it makes him a jerk at all. But yeah, I know there are other reasons actors may not watch their own work. And yeah, sometimes it makes them seem like a douche. But I try not to judge; I don’t know their situations.
He’s the biggest one I know for this. He actually went to the premiere of Pirates 1 at Disney World and watched the whole movie. It was one of the few movies he is in that he has even seen.
I don’t mind that, but I do mind when they are totally ignorant about things they are in. For what it is worth, I bet Johnny Depp could talk reasonably well about the stories and experience of the Pirates movies. He seems well informed.
Also, you don’t need to get 100% on a course to be able to buy one.
In general, no. I don’t mind if the actor doesn’t watch the finished product. I get it for many of the reasons already stated…feel uncomfortable watching themselves on screen, squirm with embarrassment over flaws only they see, already know the script inside out.
But if it’s a piece I really like and from interviews the actor seems like someone who has a lot in common with me and I can realistically fantasize that we would be friends and watch movies together, then it disappoints me a bit, because it interferes with my little friend fantasy.
Like, it would disappoint me if Simon Pegg said he didn’t watch the Star Trek movie and he wasn’t really into science fiction, just doing a job.
What happens when the cast turn up for film premieres? Do the likes of Depp just do the red carpet interviews and then go straight out the back door of the theatre?
Couple of great lines there from Michael Caine.
Back when I was young and naive, I thought “Hey, they’re on this most amazing television show, ever, imagine how wonderful it is to be a part of that, so why would they not sit through and enjoy it with the rest of us?”
Learning about the filming process (scripts get changed, scenes are filmed out of order and multiple takes and multiple directions, hashing up the flow of scenes until there isn’t a consistent story they experience, etc), I learned to appreciate that it doesn’t matter.
All an actor owes is that they portray their character in the scenes they’re filming as believable. If they accomplish that, that’s all they owe. They’re not required to like the character, or like the story, or even like the genre of the story. Honor their craft with the best performance they can turn out, then move on.
Now it is enjoyable when they do have some reverence for the material, some appreciation.
Admiring their own work is one thing, but what about the plumber standing back and criticizing the decor in the living room? Acting a role is only contributing to one part of the “house”.
Yes, this is what a ton of them do.
With intensive world wide promotion, there can easily be 20 “premieres” for a standard film. The stars don’t sit thru all 20. So for at least 19 of them, they just walk the carpet and then go hang out somewhere.
Since no one expects stars to actually attend things anymore, they now have “photo calls”: red carpet events without the event. The stars and “guests” show up, have their picture taken, and leave. (It’s the “guest” part that’s really weird. They are B-listers and such that want to get their picture taken and shown as having been … at what I don’t know. There have been movie photo calls at times when only D-listers could be swayed to show up. The stars and producers were not happy over the jokes made about that.)
Watching oneself on screen is apparently very hard on many actors. So I’m quite used to the idea that many have not watched their films or TV shows. And since they film a lot of stuff that doesn’t get put in the film and things get switched around from the original script, asking them details about the work is likely going to lead to a blank look.