Some of our most beloved actors and actresses are downright assholes. On-screen they may portray themselves to be kind, sweet, disingenuous, rugged, heroic, etc. but at least behind the scenes, some of them are really crappy people to be around.
We've decided to do a break down of the Hollywood heroes with a bad rep and get to know the real people portraying our favorite characters.
Shia LaBeouf
Obviously right? Shia LaBeouf bursted onto the Hollywood scene in Transformers back in 2007. That movie and its sequels skyrocket LaBeouf's career. But what happened to him? No ones quite sure. Out of nowhere he started performing publicity stunts like putting a paper bag on his head which said "I'm not famous anymore" and taking on more radical roles.
In 2012 while filming the movie Lawless, LaBeouf tried to get into character (a man who runs illegal moonshine during the Prohibition) by chugging bottles of real moonshine. That was only the beginning. He also carved his name into co-star Mia Wasikowska's dressing room door and followed Tom Hardy (his brother in the movie) around the set pretending to be his real little brother. On another occasion back in 2014 he got into a fist fight with Brad Pitt on the set of Fury. Both of his roles received great praise from critics but you have to imagine it's a nightmare working with him.
Alec Baldwin
Who doesn't like Alec Baldwin? As of late he's well know for his Trump impressions on SNL which have been hilarious no matter which side of the political divide you sit on. However Mr. Baldwin has a red target on his back when it comes to getting blasted by the media. Alec has been accused of getting in fist fights with paparazzi, shouting homophobic slurs, and yelling at his co-stars and staff.
Although it is reported, it doesn't seem to bother people as much who have said that's just who he is. Does this mean he is a pleasure to work with? Not necessarily. Baldwin was apparently the reason that (of all people) Shia LaBeouf left the Broadway show Orphans in 2013. Co-star on 30 Rock Cheyenne Jackson once said, "What I learned from him was really good comedic timing and don't get in his light."
Edward Norton
Though Edward Norton is considered a very hard working and passionate actor, he has been known to be difficult to work with. There are many cases where actors need to be fired up and in character constantly to maintain the quality that they hope to achieve throughout a given role in a film. Norton was quoted saying, "I'm incapable of engaging as an actor on something without engaging as a dramatist. And when you work with great people, they not only accept it, they welcome it. But when you work with insecure people, it’s a problem.” There is no doubt that he takes his job seriously but blaming others for not being able to handle his dramatic antics and need for control seems ridiculous.
Especially when he states that it's their insecurity that's the problem. Seems like a low blow. A Hollywood statement explaining why they were replaced his role as The Incredible Hulk with another actor says it all, “We have made the decision to not bring Ed Norton back to portray the title role of Bruce Banner in the Avengers. Our decision is definitely not one based on monetary factors, but instead rooted in the need for an actor who embodies the creativity and collaborative spirit of our other talented cast members. The Avengers demands players who thrive working as part of an ensemble, as evidenced by Robert, Chris H, Chris E, Sam, Scarlett, and all of our talented casts. We are looking to announce a name actor who fulfills these requirements, and is passionate about the iconic role in the coming weeks.”
Gwyneth Paltrow
Surprise, surprise. Entitled princess Gwyneth Paltrow made the list! Paltrow may seem like a sweet a caring person, like her character in Iron Man, however she's totally spoiled and uptight. Paltrow is apparently too good to use toilet paper if the roll is already unwrapped and refuses to stand in "other people's shower water" at the gym.
Apparently she's not so easy to work with either, shocker. In 2010 on the set of Iron Man 2 Paltrow made a point to avoid Scarlett Johansson at all costs during the production. She supposedly got angry when Johansson upstaged her. Jealous much?
Russell Crowe
It's the booze that does it. Russell Crowe has been sited for many blunders in Hollywood including drunken fights, Threatening to kill movie producers over the phone, and insulting people on Twitter. He even went after George Clooney after calling him a sellout to which Clooney replied, "Dude, the only people who succeed when two famous people are fighting is People Magazine. What is wrong with you?"
Russell has tried to defend himself for his actions by stating, "I like to put a lot of effort into what I do and that comes with a certain amount of energy especially when you're weary and it requires you to dig deep inside yourself... I certainly have a temper that can flare up, but having a temper is a completely different thing from being and angry person." Crowe said in an interview that his bad temper and manners have been blown out of proportion in the media.
Chevy Chase
This one personally hits home... Chevy Chase is a fantastic funny-man and was an absolute riot in his movies in the 70's and 80's. He was also a hit on SNL but apparently just with his audience, not so much with his co-stars.
Some of Chevy's worst moments moments was getting into a fist fight with Bill Murray and also suggesting that SNL co-star Terry Sweeney (who was openly gay) do a weekly segment where he would get weighed to see if he had contracted AIDS yet. Chevy Chase clearly did not care at all about others and he'll even admit that becoming famous screwed him up. In 2012 he said, "Nobody prepares you for what happens when you get famous, and I didn't handle it well."
Val Kilmer
This troubled actor reportedly walked off the set of his first job. It was a commercial for hamburgers when he was only 12 years old. Kilmer famously came head to head with director Joel Schumacher, who told him that his poor treatment of the crew was unacceptable. Long ago, Val Kilmer was a promising actor in the Hollywood arena. And yet, every director he has ever worked with has something very nasty to say about him, which has likely led to the state of his career being barely a career nowadays. He has his friends, fans, and defenders, of course – those who still believe he was once truly and honestly dedicated to his acting. They assume his bad temper has manifested, and later escalated, only as a result of his frustrations with many incompetent filmmakers.
He also might be slightly insane, given his flamboyant spirit and going a bit wild and loud in interviews, which certainly hasn’t helped his image. Furthermore, there are all those ex-wives and ex-lovers who have gone on the record to let everybody know how crazy this guy can be. His most famous outburst happened during the making of Batman Forever, where Kilmer allegedly had a very serious fight with Joel Schumacher. Whatever the cause for this meltdown was, judging by the movie, we may say we are on Kilmer’s side here. “There’s a dark side to Val that I don’t feel comfortable talking about,” said screenwriter Kevin Jarre. Did you know that he turned down Patrick Swayze’s role in Dirty Dancing (1987) because he didn’t want to be seen as a “hunk”?
Mike Myers
Myers has built a reputation throughout the years for being a high maintenance control-freak. His Wayne’s World director claimed she assigned her daughter as his personal assistant to deal with his endless demands. Who knew that a guy with such a friendly face and a great sense of humor can be like this? I guess that with so much positive things surrounding this actor, something negative had to pop up… This man is certainly one of the people you would gladly go out on a drinking-spree with, dressed in costumes, driving an old corvette while taking pictures through the window with your tongue out. It’s sad that he actually may be insane in real life.
Maybe we should try with Bradley Cooper, instead. They say he’s fine. Anyway, it seems like this guy has worked all his life just to be remembered by his craziness. Though his colleagues who worked with him on Austin Powers have said that he’s a genius, there are others who say he’s a moody, temperamental control freak. That’s not a nice thing to say about someone, so our guess is that he earned it. We all enjoy a little gossip here and there, so here’s something hot. It is reported that one guy even got fired for just looking him in the eye while he was practicing Austin Power’s character on the set. Have you seen him lately? Of course you haven’t. It seems that he has succeeded in alienating everybody in Hollywood.
Katherine Heigl
Publicly slamming people she has worked with, rude behavior and outrageous demands, led to this actress’s hasty decline from one of the highest paid actresses in Hollywood to a non-speaking role in a commercial for cold medicine. Known for rants, Katherine had something to say about almost everyone she has worked with. Knocked up was sexist, for example, according to Katherine. The worst of it got the writers of ”Grey’s Anatomy” after her statement that she will not accept an Emmy nomination because of “bad writing”. This is what her colleagues said (we’re sorry no names were given, but not all of us enjoy gossip): “She can cost you time every single day of shooting… Wardrobe issues, not getting out of the trailer, questioning the script every single day. Even getting her deal closed at Warners was hard.
She hit that point of ‘no.'” Still, there are others who claim they would work with her again. Greg Berlanti, director of Life as We Know It, said, “I would work with her again in a heartbeat. She’s an amazing actress, and her in a TV show that’s a great idea and well executed would be something I would watch and would feel lucky to work on myself.” According to a source close to her, she’s giving herself another chance, “She’s really determined to put everything behind her. The only way to do that is to go to work in film or television with good people and for those people to have good things to report back. And it’s not an overnight thing. There’s a really loyal, huge fan base that’s waiting to see her.”
Steven Seagal
The antics of this action star are so legendary that you would be hard pressed to believe them if they didn’t come directly from the mouths of other actors and crew members. Between outright fabrications about his own life and kicking random guys between the legs on set, what’s not to love. Not to mention the brutality and sheer force in his series: Steven Seagal: Lawman where he has driven a SWAT tank on one of the raids. During the filming several animals were injured and killed accidentally. It’s been rumored that this tough guy is the lamest of them all. They even say he’s a compulsive liar. We’re giving you some of his (in)famous quotes, so you can judge by yourselves.
This is all too much for us. He’s, after all, our childhood hero. ”I am hoping that I can be known as a great writer and actor some day, rather than a sex symbol,” says Steven in a very modest way. ”There was a time when I thought I was doing a good thing with good guys for a good cause. Looking back, I think I really wanted to be a warrior.” We hear you, alright. ”You can say that I lived in Asia for a long time and in Japan I became close to several CIA agents. And you could say that I became an adviser to several CIA agents in the field and, through my friends in the CIA, met many powerful people and did special works and special favors.” OK, Steven, seriously?
James Cameron
Known for telling people who wanted to talk with him on set to “take a number”, Cameron has ruffled some feathers in the past but also directed some of the most successful movies ever. He has a reputation for pushing his cast and crew to their boundaries. He’s commonly known as ‘Iron Jim’ for his bossy attitude. Let’s explain it in his own words: “I mean, you have to be able – you have to have made the commitment within yourself to do whatever it takes to get the job done and to try to inspire other people to do it, because obviously the first rule is you can’t do it by yourself.”
And a little critic, “I watched a couple of really bad directors work, and I saw how they completely botched it up and missed the visual opportunities of the scene when we had put things in front of them as opportunities. Set pieces, props and so on.” Other than being bossy, one could say he’s modest, too, “Building upon the world we created with ‘Avatar’ has been a rare and incredibly rewarding experience.
In writing the new films, I’ve come to realize that ‘Avatar”s world, story and characters have become even richer than I anticipated, and it became apparent that two films would not be enough to capture everything I wanted to put on screen.” He’s also a time traveler. This is one of his most creative and (perhaps) delusional quotes: “I’m a storyteller; that’s what exploration really is all about. Going to places where others haven’t been and returning to tell a story they haven’t heard before.”
Kanye West
When you think of Kanye West many things probably spring to mind and “high maintenance” is definitely close to the top of the list. He’s infamously exacting, demanding and difficult to deal with. Here’s what Will Ferrell said about their cooperation on the set of Anchorman 2: “It was very surreal to have Kanye – who’s such a big fan of comedy – in our movie hanging out for two days. He was playing the new tracks a lot – over and over. Even when you’re trying to film, he’s playing the tracks. They’re loud, too. We got a scared 18-year-old intern to ask him to turn them down.” “He hung out, even after we said: ‘You’re done.’ He was like, ‘no, no’ and stayed in the background, hanging out and fighting with people.“
Let’s just take a look at what he thinks of himself, before me make any further judgments: “I think what Kanye West is going to mean is something similar to what Steve Jobs means. I am undoubtedly, you know, Steve of internet, downtown, fashion, culture. Period. By a long jump. I honestly feel that because Steve has passed, you know, it’s like when Biggie passed and Jay Z was allowed to become Jay Z.“ “I don’t even listen to rap. My apartment is too nice to listen to rap in,“ the star is just being honest. Oh, wait…
And then, this: “You should only believe about 90 percent of what I say. As a matter of fact, don’t even believe anything that I’m saying at all. I could be completely f****** with you, and the world, the entire time.“
Sharon Stone
Sharon Stone is a diva with a capital “D” and thoroughly enjoys her stardom, and who can blame her? She worked hard to get there and refuses to feel guilty about making demands.We suppose she’s been giving her colleagues hard times, but her quotes are quite right. Oh, yes, we forgot she is out-of-this-world intelligent. “Some people work hard in this business and become really popular, really big stars but they never receive an award from within the business.
Somehow, when your colleagues and friends believe in you to the point of handing you an award it means so much more,“ she says in her diva manner, and continues about life wisdom, “I feel more grounded and more settled than I ever have. I don’t know whether that is to do with my spirituality or whether I’m wiser about life, but as you age you become more selective about what you listen to, devote your time to and who you hang out with.“
On a website Failing at Famous, you can read an experience of her former assistant, saying, “Ugh, I worked for her as her personal assistant for a couple of months and I’m pretty sure she’s my least favorite person on the entire PLANET. She was a complete b**** all the time, yelled at me for everything, unless she wasn’t yelling, at which point she was belittling me.“ On the other hand, we can understand this as she is just another aging sex symbol. In addition, just to show she knows it, too: “There was a point in my 40s when I went into the bathroom with a bottle of wine, locked the door, and said, ‘I’m not coming out until I can totally accept the way that I look right now.’
Charlie Sheen
Love him or hate him, but you simply can’t ignore him. After Charlie Sheen’s very public break-down and departure from the highly successful Two and a Half Men, his “Tiger blood” started to boil once more on the set of his new series Anger Management when he attempted to fire his co-star. Here’s what a celebrity expert, Robin, says about him: “As an actor, replenishing his narcissistic supply is inevitable because public adoration goes along with the job. Can Charlie be cured?
I would guess it’s unlikely. Regardless of what he does for a living, he is still going to find some group of people who will feed his need for admiration, keep his narcissistic supply well stocked. As long as the media finds the story of the escapades of Charlie Sheen compelling, his saga will live on.“ Jon Cryer, on the other hand, has only good things to say about his brother in Two and a Half Men: “Charlie and I had a great rapport, and the writers had a great facility with using that, so we felt like, “Well, it’s gonna be a fun show to do if we get a chance to do it.” And CBS were very big fans of Charlie… at that time.“ Anyway, as said before, you can love him or hate him, but he is a true entertainer. And we think all the prostitutes and drug dealers think so too.
Madonna
Madonna has never pretended to be easy to work for. She has an incredible work ethic and expects the same of others. She doesn’t really care what people think, just as long as they work hard and she get her what she wants. Some journalists revealed what is was like working with her. Ginny Dougary of The Times said, “I’d gone to Los Angeles to interview Madonna. The first thing was that she cancelled the interview on the day with no explanation. Then, two days later, when it did happen, she was sort of pale in her personality, but also rude. She didn’t particularly acknowledge me and was rude to her assistant in front of me.
At one point I thought I would have to resign. It was disappointing because I admired her so much, but it was stupid of me – you don’t admire Madonna because she’s nice.” Madonna’s trainer, beautiful Nicole, seems to be very open minded when she explained how it was like working with pop diva: “Madonna stands as an icon. Her body, work ethic, and persistence is an inspiration to the people,” says Nicole. “The gym is a place where people can experience the ‘Addicted to Sweat’ workout that is inspired by the workouts I have been doing with Madonna for five years. I update the program every three months, so the gym always has fresh new content.” “She is the most incredible woman in the world. Her dedication, persistence, intelligence and work ethic are bar none,” says Nicole. “I couldn’t ask for a better workout partner.”
Lindsay Lohan
Lindsay Lohan certainly hasn’t had an easy ride for the last few years thanks largely to her inability to show up on time on sets, and be extremely demanding when she eventually gets there. Grant Bowler has confirmed one of the worst kept secrets ever – Lindsay Lohan is indeed very hard to work with. Grant starred with Lindsay in Liz & Dick. As he told Celebuzz: “Lindsay is not the easiest person I’ve ever worked with, but acting is acting. We’re not hired as marketing people or as greeters or as anything else — you’re hired to do a job. I’ve always found it amazing that people expect actors to be wonderful human beings as well as good at their job, because they never expect lawyers to be the same.”
“I found it very challenging, but the interesting thing about that was I think that relationship was very challenging, so maybe it made good for the characters.” “It was a lot of mirroring and how I imagine how Burton and Taylor must of been. probably did us a lot of favors.” This is, maybe, how she explains her bad temper: ”I want to win an Oscar. I want to be known for more than, like, going out. For being the ‘party girl’. I hate that. I bust my ass when I’m filming and when I have time off, yeah, I like to go out and dance.I’m the hardest working person I know. I’m 20 years old – is it a crime to want to go out dancing with my friends?”
Mariah Carey
Mariah is well known for being one of the most diva-like and demanding Hollywood stars of all. Nicki Minaj said of their time working together on American Idol that she was a nit-picky nightmare. So, after all that fuss about her being this or that, she explains, ” But I think I’m a nice friend and a good person, and I try to do my work as best I can.” ”I try not to be a jerk. I really do. I try to be nice and cordial.” Do you? Really?
”I think certain people like to torture me because they think I’ve had it easier than I actually have and they think: ‘Oh, she’s got this, she’s got that, she’s always had everything perfect,’ and it’s sooo not true.” Sometime, though, she seems like a nice lady, thankful and all, ”Forget the image, forget the ensemble, forget the rumors, forget the short skirts, the big hair, whatever! I owe this to the fans and I will never forget you so I want to accept this award on behalf of all of you.” ”I am very insecure about my looks, and I always have been because of being mixed race.
You really have to look inside yourself and find your own inner strength, and say, ‘I’m proud of what I am and who I am, and I’m just going to be myself.” Let the audience be the judge. After all, she did say: ”In this world, I call the shots and I think I know best.”
Christian Bale
Christian Bale is an extremely talented Hollywood actor, and like many other extremely talented Hollywood actors he takes his work extremely seriously. Unfortunately, that makes many of the people working with him very nervous indeed. He’s got one hot temper and he’s not afraid to show it. We all love him for his looks, charms, talent, but there’s another side to the story. Everybody hates him. And he prefers to stay silent about his private matters, ”I don’t want to know about the lives of other actors and I don’t want people to know too much about me. If we don’t know about the private lives of other actors, that leaves us as clean slates when it comes to playing characters.
That’s the point, they can create these other characters and I can believe them. I think if you’re a good enough actor, that’s the way to longevity in the film business. Keep everybody guessing.” And what do you think about this? This is the way this Hollywood hottie feels about violence (maybe there’s the reason for the hatred towards him): ”You can’t help but find that violence is endlessly fascinating–and I mean true violence, not action-movie violence, just because it is used as the answer to so many problems. We’re all taught as kids not to be violent, but you can’t help but also see that violence is what works very often. Bullies thrive.”
Jennifer Aniston
Who’d have thought that everybody’s favorite “Friend” was a bit of a diva at heart? Instead of eating with the rest of the crew on her latest movie she opted to eat alone. Does that make her a diva? Maybe she doesn’t like to eat in company. Or she just had a bad day. Some say she’s trying too hard.
As the source told Radar Online, Jennifer has been isolating herself from the cast and crew on the set of the Untitled Elmore Leonard Project. ”Every day at lunch the entire cast and crew head to a cafeteria facility where they all sit down and eat lunch together for well over an hour. But the only person who doesn’t eat with everyone else is Jen. She quickly grabs a lunch to go and leaves.” The insider claimed that Jennifer has her private luxury trailer much farther away from the set than the other cast members’. Is she a loner or a diva, we ask?
”All the actors ride in normal production vans when they head to lunch, but Jen has her own luxury SUV,” the source said. ”And not only is Jen’s private trailer miles away from the set, but she heads all the way back there each day to eat her lunch away from everyone else.” But there’s something even worse. Rumor has it that Jenny’s most outrageous diva demand ever is that she wants the studios pay for her hair guy, Chris MaMillan. She even wants him to travel with her during tours. That costs $50,000. Per week.
Jennifer Lopez
If rumors can be believed, our beloved J Lo is a real fire-cracker and horrible to work for and with. If her exacting demands are not met before she shows up, she’s more than likely to go off. This is what is required to be her assistant: “The person has to be graceful under pressure, have a thick skin, and be resourceful in foreign countries, among others things,” an insider told the Scene Queens.
“You’ll be expected to travel at a moment’s notice and must know how to adjust in each city.” “The job is 6 days a week, at least 12 hour days with one day off, but you may not get off for weeks,” says the source.
“You’ll be on call 24/7 and you’ve got to be organized and always on point.” The insider also notes the candidate must be comfortable around “very high profile people”.
“You have to change diapers, work on little sleep and cook if the butler is away,” the insider continues. But our source says there are some glamorous moments attached to working with this horror-diva. Qualified candidates get to help J. Lo dress for red carpet appearances and photo shoots. The salary for this gig? $55,000 to $65,000. Tickets to the Oscars and other fancy events may or may not be included! Good luck!
Beyoncé
Apparently the officials at the 2013 Super Bowl will be very happy if they never meet her again. She was unofficially crowned the “Most Difficult Celebrity” after her ridiculous demands the last time. This is how she explains her stardom, “I think people have an idea in their heads about entertainers, celebrities. I think they feel like their lives are so perfect, and it’s really hard to go through painful experiences when you’re in the public eye, because it’s hard to have closure.”
Her dancer, Ashley Everett, said that Beyoncé really was an inspiration to her, “I love her work ethic, it inspires me to keep striving to be better because she never settles for anything and she never feels like she’s reached the top. I love that about her and it makes me want to be like that. It drives me to be better and push myself harder. She knows what she wants and doesn’t settle for things that aren’t going to make her completely happy and satisfied.”
And this is how B reminds us to be fierce: “The reality is: sometimes you lose. And you’re never too good to lose. You’re never too big to lose. You’re never too smart to lose. It happens.” “I don’t have to prove anything to anyone, I only have to follow my heart and concentrate on what I want to say to the world. I run my world.” You don’t say. Anyway, we still love her and adore her and want to be just like her.