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WARNING: Due to the nature of this post, there are mentions of violence, verbal abuse, and sexual assault. Please proceed with caution, and take care of yourselves!
For a long time, directors have been known to push boundaries to get the perfect take, and are often praised for being able to get the right performance out of an actor.
However, sometimes directors they can take their craft too far and, in turn, create an unsafe, inappropriate environment for their actors.
So with that in mind, here are some of the stories about directors' questionable behaviors while working with actors:
1. Stanley Kubrick's intense directing style took a toll on actor Shelley Duvall during the filming of The Shining.
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Warner Bros. / Via youtube.comOne of the most infamous stories in Hollywood of a director making an actor's life a living hell, Kubrick was verbally abusive towards Duvall. In a behind-the-scenes documentary directed by Kubrick's daughter, you see glimpses of his behavior towards Duvall, including berating her for missing a cue and telling his crew, "Don't sympathize with Shelley." The famous scene where Wendy swings a bat at Jack had a record-breaking 127 takes, which ended up being physically demanding.
2. Joss Whedon allegedly threatened Gal Gadot's career on the set of Justice League.
3. Aubrey Plaza was allegedly instructed to actually masturbate on camera while filming a scene for The To-Do List.
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Team Coco / Via youtube.comIn a recently resurfaced 2013 interview with Conan, Aubrey Plaza detailed a story of her experience filming The To-Do List. In the script, there was a scene where her character masturbates, which Plaza believed would be simulated. However, to Plaza's surprise, director Maggie Carrey set the camera on the ceiling and told her to do it for real, which ended up being an awkward situation. "I thought I was doing one thing and then when I showed up, it was a whole different thing, it was a full-body shot," she said. "I asked the director, ‘What should I do?’ And she said, ‘Masturbate, like it says in the script."
4. David O. Russell allegedly made Amy Adams cry almost every day on the set of American Hustle.
5. Tippi Hedren was allegedly attacked by live birds while filming The Birds.
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Movieclips / Via youtube.comAlfred Hitchcock's famous horror film, The Birds, had some real-life horror stories behind the scenes. In her memoir Tippi, actor Tippi Hedren wrote about how they were planning on using mechanical birds for the climactic scene where her character is attacked by birds. However, the mechanical ones were not working, so they were replaced with live ones. At one point, the birds were even tied to her costume as they pecked at her, leading her to have a breakdown on set.
6. Maria Schneider was understandably uncomfortable about an unscripted sexual assault scene added to Last Tango in Paris.
7. Björk allegedly faced sexual harassment from director Lars von Trier while filming Dancer in the Dark.
8. Léa Seydoux was allegedly told to hit her costar in the face for real while filming Blue is the Warmest Color.
9. Robert Downey Jr. was allegedly not allowed to take bathroom breaks on the set of David Fincher's Zodiac.
10. William Friedkin had the propmaster fire live guns on the set of The Exorcist.
11. And speaking of firearms, Werner Herzog held actor Klaus Kinski at gunpoint while filming Aguirre, the Wrath of God.
12. David O. Russell called Lily Tomlin a "cunt" on the set of I Heart Huckabees.
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Vundacast Productions / Via youtube.comAs with Amy Adams, Russell has a history of abusing his coworkers, with one of his most infamous incidents happening on the set of I Heart Huckabees. This leaked video shows an instance of an argument between them where he berates and shouts at her on set.
13. In fact, David O. Russell allegedly abused almost everyone in Three Kings, including George Clooney.
14. Darren Aronofsky used real explosives near actors on the set of Noah.
15. Herbert Ross allegedly was cruel to Julia Roberts while filming Steel Magnolias.
16. And finally, Quentin Tarantino made Uma Thurman perform an car stunt without a stunt double in Kill Bill.
What's the wildest story you've heard from an actor regarding a director's treatment on a movie set? Let us know in the comments below.
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE, which routes the caller to their nearest sexual assault service provider. You can also search for your local center here.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline is 1-888-950-6264 (NAMI) and provides information and referral services; GoodTherapy.org is an association of mental health professionals from more than 25 countries who support efforts to reduce harm in therapy.
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