Being a movie star isn’t all about a glam life and award shows. It takes investing a lot of effort and hard work, sometimes to such an extent that they injure themselves and almost quit a movie altogether.
But it’s their dedication that makes them stay and that eventually produces those legendary scenes that we all applaud with enthusiasm. ViralSection tracked down some of these actors for you below.
1. The Fast and the Furious: Michelle Rodriguez and the unwanted love triangle
After Rodriguez read the script, she became infuriated about her character, Letty Ortiz, who was supposed to betray Dom for Brian. She believed that such an alpha woman would never leave an alpha man for a pretty boy. She wanted to do justice to the role, to such an extent that she was even ready to call it quits, but eventually the director changed the script and introduced Dom’s sister, Mia.
2. The Revenant: The things Leonardo DiCaprio went through to win an Oscar
Leonardo DiCaprio has openly admitted that his character in The Revenant has been his most challenging performance ever. He is a pretty proud vegan, but there was a scene where he actually had to eat a raw bison liver on screen in order to survive.
3. Star Wars: The Force Awakens: Where Ridley chose to awaken her Force instead
Daisy Ridley had a panic attack on the very first day of shooting Star Wars: The Force Awakens. This was because the director, J.J Abrams, left her a note that will be etched in her memory for life. He described Ridley as “wooden.” The actress was already struggling to fight her way through the jitters, to the point that she almost left the franchise, but eventually she chose to not give her power over to someone else and continued shooting.
4. What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?: What’s eating Johnny Depp?
Johnny Depp had a really hard time working on this movie because it was really close to his own personal experience. He was drinking heavily during that time, which was coupled with some creative tension since the director had an incomplete screenplay. Depp was also really upset with the way Gilbert was so cruel to his mother and that he had to call the actress “a beached whale.” He even called her up to apologize afterward.
5. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: Gandalf let Ian McKellen pass.
In the movie, Ian McKellen had to consistently act alone on the green screen. It got so lonely and prolonged for him that he ended up having a breakdown. Director Peter Jackson made sure help was around. The crew organized a “Gandalf Appreciation Day,” to make him stay and they decorated his tent with Lord of the Rings souvenirs.
6. The Godfather: An offer Al Pacino would have easily refused
Al Pacino was nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and Best Actor for its sequel. But the producers at the time of the shooting, thought quite the opposite. While on set, he could really feel the resistance from them. They were so critical of him that he wanted to call it quits. But director Francis Ford Coppola stepped up, supported Al Pacino, and told the producers to back off.
7. How the Grinch Stole Christmas: How the military saved Jim Carrey
The makeup sessions for the movie were so strenuous that Jim Carrey actually felt tortured when sitting in the makeup chair for 3 and a half hours a day. He also had to put those green, Frisbee-like eye lenses on with it. Carrey was ready to leave it all until producer Brian Grazer called up his CIA trainer friend and told him to spend a weekend with Carrey. He then resumed the shoot for the movie.
8. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay: Jennifer Lawrence’s unbearable costumes and difficult scenes
It took 3 weeks to film the sewer scene and what made it worse was the 20 pound costume the actors were wearing. The temperatures were also so excruciating, that it almost made Lawrence quit.
9. Batman: Uneasiness lasted the whole time for Michael Keaton
Nowadays, superhero costumes are highly customized to allow them to fit the actors comfortably and be worn for the entire day of the shoot. But Keaton’s costume was so constricting that it made him claustrophobic and the shooting almost came to a screeching halt. Despite that, he still managed to deliver an amazing performance in this legendary role by suppressing his own uneasiness.
10. Wayne’s World: No Bohemian Rhapsody? No Mike Myers.
Mike Myers himself wrote the screenplay of the movie and was super excited about the scene where he head bangs with the boys to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” But the studio didn’t want this song and found something cheaper to replace it with, like a Guns n’ Roses song. Myers believed that the song was essential and threatened to quit if the song got replaced. The studio gave in and kept both. Win-win!
11. Maze Runner: The Death Cure: Dylan O’Brien endured till the end.
While Dylan was filming the movie, he got into a terrible accident that caused him bone fractures, lacerations, and a concussion. This delayed the production of the movie for a very long time and it was eventually released in 2018. Dylan insisted on continuing acting after the accident and he managed to finish filming the movie after he was cured.
12. The Shining: Shelley Duvall had it rough.
Director Stanley Kubrick is famous for being a perfectionist, and for this movie he insisted on filming a few scenes in multiple takes, so much so that it caused Shelley Duvall to have a nervous breakdown. The popular ’bat scene’ was shot 127 times. Later, it became so chaotic that Duvall was almost dehydrated by all the crying and exhaustion. Even Jack Nicholson admitted that this was the hardest job he’s ever seen an actor perform.
13. Batman Returns: Michelle Pfeiffer’s uncomfortable costume
Catwoman’s costume was made of latex and Michelle admitted that putting her outfit on was such a pain. It took hours and a lot of baby powder to ensure that it didn’t stick to her skin when she took it off. Because of this, bathroom breaks were impossible once she was in the costume. It was also hard for her to breathe in it, which caused her to faint multiple times. Later she claimed that she could only put on the costume for a certain amount of time during the days of the shoot.
14. The Reunion: Seems like John Cena has some fears too.
This movie called for John Cena to perform a lot of stunts that he agreed to do, with the exception of one. It was a scene that required him to do a helicopter stunt, which was a challenge for him because he is afraid of heights. No matter how big and intimidating a wrestler may seem, they have their fears too. But eventually, Cena performed the stunt — he hated it, but he did it anyway.
15. Knock Knock: an awkward intimate scene for Keanu Reeves
This movie had an intimate scene that involved the director’s wife, Lorenza Izzo, which made it very awkward for Reeves. Nonetheless, he kept things super professional and the director, Eli Roth, also made things easy for everyone in rehearsals by just trusting the cast.
16. Revolutionary Road: Kate Winslet was reluctant to kiss Leo.
This was hard for us to believe it too! Her husband, Sam Mendes, was the director of the movie, and there was a strange awkwardness Kate felt to kiss another man in his presence. But both Leo and Sam seemed the least bothered. Kate believed it was her own fears that held her back, but the scene was successfully shot and she ended up winning the Golden Globe for best actress.
Truly appalling, aren’t they? Were you aware of these movie scenes that almost made these actors quit on the set? Share your opinion with us in the comments below.
Preview photo credit Knock Knock / Lionsgate Premiere
