Dark Secrets Of The Cast Of Justice League

Following the massive success of 2017's Wonder Woman—and despite the lukewarm reception to 2016's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (Sad Affleck, anyone?)—Justice League became one of the most anticipated blockbusters of 2017. The comic book flick boasts an iconic cast, but these stars are anything but squeaky clean. Painful pasts and controversy lurk just below the surface. Buckle up, DC nerds, here are some of the dark secrets of the cast of Justice League.

Ben Affleck, aka Batman, has secretly battled alcohol addiction for years. After initially going to rehab in 2001, the actor quietly sought treatment again in early 2017. "I have completed treatment for alcohol addiction; something I've dealt with in the past and will continue to confront," the Oscar-winner wrote in a candid Facebook post in March 2017. "I want to live life to the fullest and be the best father I can be."

"I want my kids to know there is no shame in getting help when you need it, and to be a source of strength for anyone out there who needs help but is afraid to take the first step," Affleck said he was lucky to have the support of his ex, Jennifer Garner, as he continued to seek treatment.

Henry Cavill came to prominence when he scored the coveted role of Superman in 2013's Man of Steel. That year, he was dubbed the sexiest man of the year by Glamour, so can you believe he was told the exact opposite for most of his life?

"I was a fat kid so I was an easy target. 'Fat Cavill' was the nickname, which was a totally fair nickname, because I was fat," he told the Daily Mail in 2013. "It was hard," the actor told People in 2015. "Even though for some it may be malicious, I think it's just kids being kids, and I don't hold any grudges. People have had it far worse than me." 

Cavill now uses his painful childhood to his advantage in his line of work. "Someone who is on the outskirts of popularity is someone who gets to look in," he said. "So I became very much an observer... If I can understand the inner workings of a human being, then I can probably be a better actor."

Gal Gadot rose to international superstardom with her breakout performance in Wonder Woman (2017). The Israeli actress often relates her Jewish heritage to the iconic role, noting that the values she shares with the character are the ones her late grandfather, who survived the Holocaust, instilled in her from an early age.

"His entire family was murdered—it's unthinkable," the Furious 7 (2015) actress told Rolling Stone in 2017. "He affected me a lot. After all the horrors he'd seen, he was like this damaged bird, but he was always hopeful and positive and full of love. If I was raised in a place where these values were not so strong, things would be different. It was very easy for me to relate to everything that Wonder Woman stands for...love and hope and acceptance and fighting evil."

Ezra Miller reprised his portrayal of The Flash in Justice League after appearing in Batman v Superman. Best known for his work in The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012) and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016), Miller's childhood was plagued with challenges.

He was born with a debilitating "breathe-line stutter," meaning he "wasn't breathing in enough to complete a word," he told the Daily Beast in 2012. "I had been doing speech therapy, and it had been making me more aware of the stutter, which actually made it worse." At the suggestion of his kindergarten teacher, 6-year-old Miller began training in opera, as it's "all about control and manipulation of the breath." Within a year, his stutter vanished.

But the actor often felt "isolated" and "ostracized" for the remainder of his childhood, as his sexuality made him a target for bullying. The tension escalated in a violent incident at a metal/hardcore show he attended during middle school. "I was walking away from the mosh pit after having a wonderful time and the word 'f**got' resounded in my ear," said Miller, who identifies as queer. "I turned around just in time to see someone snapping their fist down on my left eyeball... I have a scar on my eyebrow from the incident."

Stage and film actor Billy Crudup, best known for his roles in Almost Famous (2000) and Watchmen (2009), returned to the DC universe in Justice League as Henry Allen—the father of Barry Allen, aka The Flash. But did you know that his love life off-screen is allegedly pretty shady?

In 2003, he left his seven-months pregnant girlfriend of eight years, Weeds (2005-12) actress Mary-Louise Parker, for actress Claire Danes. Seriously. It was an infamous move that the stars didn't address publicly for years. 

"I've never commented on the situation, and I won't because it's not fair to my son," Parker told More (via The Huffington Post.) "Who wins? No child can benefit in that situation. Your love for your child should eclipse any other feelings you have for another person."

In Justice League, Amy Adams reprised her role of reporter Lois Lane, having also appeared in Man of Steel and Batman v Superman. The A-list actress is a five-time Oscar nominee, yet personal life has been plagued with insecurities and phobias since childhood.

"I sort of cling to anxiety for some reason in my life," she told The Hollywood Reporter in 2016. "I wish I could let it go, but it seems to be a constant companion." As Adams explained to Germany's Glamour magazine in 2015, "I'm afraid of flying, I also have claustrophobia and a social phobia" (translation via Tribute.ca). "None of this has been diagnosed, but I recognize the symptoms as they affect me. Meditation and self-hypnosis help."

She said her insecurities are sometimes hard to shake. "I had opportunities presented to me and I let the nerves get the best of me," Adams told Esquire in 2013. "It was horrible. And the couple of years after that it was, 'I can't do this. I'm not strong enough to continue with this level of rejection, which was constant.' It was, 'What am I going to do with my life?' I was staring down 30. 'What do I want, what do I want to do?' It wasn't like my life was so bad. I was just lost, confused, I was horribly insecure."

Jason Momoa, DC's resident Aquaman, is well known for his roles on Stargate Atlantis (2005-09) and Game of Thrones (2011-), but his work on the latter as the warlord Khal Drogo was marred by scandal.

In October 2017, a clip from the HBO series' 2011 Comic-Con panel resurfaced. In the video, Momoa makes a joke about things he could get away with as his character. "As far as sci-fi and fantasy, I love that genre because there are so many things you can do," he says (via The Guardian). "Like rip someone's tongue out of their throat and get away with it and rape beautiful women."

When the clip went viral, severe backlash ensued. The actor took to Instagram to apologize: "I awoke in Australia to the justified reactions by many people to a distasteful joke I made years ago in Hall H for which I am sorry," he wrote. "I am still severely disappointed in myself at the insensitivity of my remarks that day. I know my sincerest apology now won't take away those hurtful words. Rape and sexual harassment can reach anyone and I have seen firsthand its painful torment among members of my own family and friends. I made a truly tasteless comment. It is unacceptable and I sincerely apologize with a heavy heart for the words I said."

Amber Heard debuted her portrayal of superhero Mera in Justice League, which she is set to reprise in 2018's Aquaman. Making headlines for a movie probably felt refreshing after the tabloid frenzy that surrounded her split from Johnny Depp the year prior. 

In May 2016, Heard filed for divorce from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise star, citing domestic abuse and obtaining a restraining order against him.

In a court hearing (via Variety), Heard said, "During the entirety of our relationship, Johnny has been verbally and physically abusive to me," Heard said in a court hearing (via Variety.) "I endured excessive emotional, verbal and physical abuse from Johnny, which has included angry, hostile, humiliating and threatening assaults to me whenever I questioned his authority or disagreed with him."

The accusations led to an explosive divorce, which included months of embarrassing headlines and damaging allegations from both parties. Depp denied Heard's accusations, and news resurfaced that Heard had been arrested for domestic abuse against a former partner in 2009.

When the smoke cleared and the divorce was settled in August 2016, the exes released a joint statement: "Our relationship was intensely passionate and at times volatile, but always bound by love. "Neither party has made false accusations for financial gains. There was never an intent of physical or emotional harm. Amber wishes the best for Johnny in the future. Amber will be donating financial proceeds from the divorce to a charity."

In Justice League, Jesse Eisenberg reprised his role of villain Lex Luthor, which he reinvented in Batman v Superman. While The Social Network (2010) actor is notoriously enigmatic, he's very open about his struggles with mental illness.

"I have total stage fright and anxiety," he told the Independent in 2016, explaining that he has used acting as an outlet to work through his anxiety since he was a child. Eisenberg also has obsessive-compulsive disorder. "I touch the tips of my fingers in a weird way," he told Digital Spy in 2014. "I don't step on cracks; if I'm going onto a new surface—be it carpet to concrete, or concrete to wood, or wood to concrete, any new surface—I have to make sure all parts of my feet touch equally the ground before I touch that new thing. So I'll often hesitate before walking into a new room."

To cope, the actor not only loses himself in the characters he portrays, but also seeks professional assistance. In 2013, he told The Guardian that therapy "helps" because it gives him "a captive audience for an hour a week."

After disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein's sexual misconduct scandal broke in October 2017, one of his initial accusers, Charmed (1998-2006) actress Rose McGowan, called out other actors in Hollywood for their alleged complacency and silence—including Affleck. 

"They knew. They funded. They advised. They covered up. They must be exposed. They must resign," she tweeted, adding, "Ben Affleck Casey Affleck, how's your morning boys?"

Soon after, One Tree Hill (2003-12) star Hilarie Burton claimed Affleck grabbed her breast when she was a VJ on MTV's TRL in the early 2000s. "I didn't forget," she tweeted, adding, "I was a kid." 

Affleck responded to Burton's claim, which was supported by unearthed video footage, tweeting: "I acted inappropriately toward Ms. Burton and I sincerely apologize."

Makeup artist Annamarie Tendler also accused Affleck of groping her. "I would also love to get an apology from Ben Affleck who grabbed my *ss at a Golden Globes party in 2014," she tweeted. "He walked by me, cupped my butt and pressed his finger into my crack," she recalled, adding, "Like most women in these situations I didn't say anything but I have thought a lot about what I'd say if I ever saw him again."

While filming The Perks of Being a Wallflower in 2008, Miller was charged for possession of marijuana. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the then 18-year-old actor had been riding shotgun in a car that was stopped by police due to a faulty brake light in Peters, Pa.—right after he lit a joint. Law enforcement confiscated 20 grams of pot from the car.

"Pot was strewn about, covering me like a quilt," Miller told New York magazine in 2012. The actor said he got off easy, thanks to a "kindly magistrate" who gave him two counts of disorderly conduct and "a lengthy lecture regarding [his] influence on the young extras of [the] film, one of whom [the magistrate] later revealed was his daughter." Oh boy. 

Miller seems to have no regrets. "I don't feel like there's any need to hide the fact that I smoke pot," he told the mag. "It's a harmless herbal substance that increases sensory appreciation."

Best known for her iconic roles in The Princess Bride (1987) and House of Cards (2013-), Robin Wright returned to her Wonder Woman gig of Antiope in Justice League. While the actress' career has been booming steadily for three decades, her love life has proved far less stable.

According to People, her roller coaster relationship with actor Sean Penn finally concluded quietly in August 2010 after 14 years of marriage. Divorce proceedings for the exes, who share two grown children, daughter Dylan and son Hopper Jack, initially began in December 2007. After reuniting and splitting twice more, Wright finally filed for divorce again in August 2009 with no plans to reconcile.

Wright found love again with actor Ben Foster, whom she met on the set of 2011's Rampart. According to Us Weekly, they got engaged in January 2014 but called it off that November, only to rekindle their romance in January 2015. Sound familiar? 

Wright reflected on her love life in an April 2015 interview with Vanity Fair. "I was pregnant and ostensibly married at 24," she said. "You hear people say how they have 'arrived,' but it was just always there, waiting to come out. For me, it just took a long time. I'm 48. I'm finally a person. I think I'm finally ready." However, by August of that year, Wright and Foster had called it quits again.

Momoa's most notable physical feature is the scar across his left eyebrow, and the story behind how he got it is pretty intense.

According to the Los Angeles Times, a verbal altercation broke out in November 2008 between the Conan the Barbarian (2011) actor and another patron at the Bird Café in Los Angeles. The situation escalated to a full-on bar fight when the other man smashed a pint beer glass in Momoa's face.

Momoa got 140 stitches, reconstructive surgery, and that thin facial scar. The other guy, Dominic Bando, pleaded no contest to assault with a deadly weapon and was sentenced to five years in state prison.

Strange as it may seem, Momoa is actually glad the brawl happened—for the sake of his reputation, that is. "I got called 'pretty boy' my whole life," he told the New York Post in 2011. "If anything, it's like, 'Good.' It's not my thing now."