Friction and disagreements can happen in many areas of our lives, and Hollywood is no different. Behind the scenes, relationships between actors are not always the best and, in some cases, can cause problems in future projects. There are some actors who refuse to work together, and the reasons for this can vary greatly, from creative disagreements to personal reasons.
Today we will talk about actors who refuse to work together, avoiding professional partnerships and we will explain the reasons behind these decisions. You will discover the stories that led to these conflicts and how this can affect not only current productions, but also future ones. Want to know who are the actors who refuse to work together? Check out a complete list below with the most famous cases!
Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Cattrall
Fans of Sex and the City will probably already know this actress duo, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Cattrall. In fiction, they were best friends, but in reality, the two did not get along at all on the set of the film. They are on our list of actors who refuse to work together because everything came to light when, in 2018, Cattrall used her social media account to publicly criticize Sarah.
At the time, Cattrall's brother had passed away and, according to the actress, Sarah was using the unfortunate incident to promote a good image. She also added that Parker was "cruel" to her while the two worked together. From then on, Kim Cattrall completely stepped away from the Sex and the City franchise, which returned with a new series called And Just Like That, in 2021.
The actress even made a brief appearance in the second season, but had no contact with anyone from the original cast.
Lucy Liu and Bill Murray
This feud began back in the 2000s, during the filming of Charlie's Angels, one of the most iconic films in Lucy Liu's career. They are among the actors who refuse to work together and the explanation for this was only given in 2021, when the controversy came to light. In an interview with the Asian Enough podcast, the actress revealed that Murray used “inexcusable and unacceptable” language during filming. According to her, the actor's behavior ended up causing a major disagreement between them.
Apparently, Murray was making negative comments about Lucy's performance and there are rumors that this fight intensified behind the scenes, leading the crew to separate the two professionals and calm them down. Murray also did not return for Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003), a sequel to the first film, which further increased the rumors of intrigue between the two.
Bruce Willis and Kevin Smith
Despite having worked together on projects such as Die Hard 4.0 (2007), Bruce Willis and Kevin Smith are among the actors who refuse to work together because they had a falling out behind the scenes of Cops and things seem to have not been very friendly. According to Smith, Willis did not have a friendly demeanor on the set, which ended up causing some conflicts between the two. Smith also said that working with Willis was “difficult” and that the experience was “devastating”.
According to Smith, actress Tracy Morgan, who worked with Willis on Cops (2010), helped bring the project to completion without Smith abandoning it. However, after Bruce Willis was diagnosed with aphasia, Smith apologized for the negative comments and stated that he felt like an idiot for making such complaints.
Julia Roberts and Nick Nolte
Even though she is a renowned actress in Hollywood, Julia Roberts is one of the actors who refuse to work together, and in her case, it was with Nick Nolte. The problem allegedly happened on the set of I Love Trouble, a 1994 romantic comedy film. In interviews, both would take digs at each other and make negative statements about each other.
Julia told the New York Times that Nolte's behavior was "completely disgusting," while Nolte said Roberts was "not a good person." These things happened so often that rumors spread that Charles Shyer, the director, had to film the two's scenes separately so that they didn't even have to interact.
Lena Headey and Jerome Flynn
Game of Thrones is one of the most popular series in recent times and has also generated intrigue behind the scenes, involving Lena Headey and Jerome Flynn. Both are actors who refused to work together on the HBO series and could not stand each other in the same environment, which led to the refusal of both to film scenes together.
This happened for reasons related to both of their personal lives, as they dated before Game of Thrones even went into production. It is speculated that the relationship did not end well and that they could not even stand sharing the same space during filming.
George Clooney and Russell Crowe
The friction between Clooney and Crowe was a sudden thing and came to a head in December 2013, when Clooney (during an interview with Esquire) said he needed to apologize for the insults. According to Clooney, Crowe had snapped at him for no reason and ended up starting a conflict when he said “George Clooney, Harrison Ford and Robert De Niro are complete sellouts.”
But this is one of the frictions between actors who refuse to work together that has already been resolved, as Crowe sent Clooney a CD of his band with a note that said, “This was a meeting all wrong.” However, despite the apology, we haven’t seen the two together in a project.
Sylvester Stallone and Richard Gere
The film Lords of Flatbush was filmed in 1974 and, even after so many years have passed, Sylvester Stallone and Richard Gere have maintained their decision to remain actors who refuse to work together. The friction between the two during filming was so intense that Gere left the film and had to be replaced by actor Perry King.
Although the reason for the fight remained a mystery for years, in 2006, Stallone spoke about what happened: according to him, Gere had a problematic behavior, quite unpleasant and rude. It was also revealed that the crew was the one who decided who would leave the filming and Gere was the chosen one, which intensified the intrigue between them.
Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel
Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel certainly share one of the most popular intrigues in Hollywood, as they are a pair of actors who refuse to work together and this started back in 2016, when The Rock joined the Fast and Furious franchise. The Rock stated that some members of the cast were not professionals and, even without mentioning names, the shoe fit Diesel.
In an interview with Rolling Stone in 2018, The Rock also stated that the two had a major disagreement about professionalism, which led to them no longer wanting to share the same scene. However, it seems that the two are making peace and Dwayne has returned to the franchise after being absent from the eighth film.
Will Smith and Janet Hubert
Another friction that has had a lot of repercussions from actors who refuse to work together is the case of Will Smith and Janet Hubert. During the series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Hubert played Aunt Vivian during the first three seasons, but was later replaced by actress Daphne Reid. This happened due to some creative differences, where Will revealed that “she was difficult to work with”.
Hubert didn't let it go and, in 2011, she declared to TMZ that she would never want to work as Will Smith again. But this disagreement calmed down when, during a recording of a special about The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, the actress apologized to Will and they both made peace.
Conclusion
Even though the film industry is a millionaire, there are actors who refuse to work together due to disagreements ranging from personal issues, such as breakups, to professional disagreements. In some cases, it is possible to complete projects and the public does not even suspect the fights behind the scenes. In other cases, everything is exposed on news portals. In any case, the industry loses when good professionals refuse to work together.
If you like this type of content and want to know more about movies and series, be sure to check out our articles on ranking of the best Tom Holland movies e How to watch the Mad Max movies in chronological order!
How do these conflicts impact productions?
Conflicts between actors have a direct impact on productions, since in some cases (as we saw in the list), one of them has to leave the production for it to be finished, or scenes have to be filmed separately so that the actors do not need to interact. Even in future productions, where the cast is limited by friction and extra-professional disagreements, directors have to reformulate their choices to avoid problems.
Can studios control or manage these conflicts?
In some cases, yes, so that the work can be completed and the project can be made into a movie. But there are cases in which the removal of a professional ends up being the only solution.
