Actors have a tough job. They have to remember their lines, perform on cue, and deal with the sensitive egos, personalities, and idiosyncrasies of each individual actor on the set. It can be very stressful. In addition, often there are limited budgets and tight timelines to deal with. So, occasional moments of friction are to be expected when high-strung actors, tense directors, anxious producers, and over-worked film crews all have to work together in close proximity to each other, leading to costar feuds. Here’s a list of famous feuds involving some of Hollywood’s biggest stars. You can almost feel the tension building already. Which feud shocked you most? Let us know, and don’t forget to SHARE this list with your fellow gossips!
1. Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj – ‘American Idol’
American Idol saw a lot of temperamental judges with big egos and diva personalities come and go during its initial run. But the on-air feud between Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj takes the cake. Such gossip outlets as TMZ and E! were quick to report the feud, and viewers got to see first-hand the animosity these ladies had for each other. Carey complained that working with Minaj was “like going to work every day in hell with Satan.” Minaj retorted, “I’m not f**kin’ putting up with her f**kin’ highness over there.” Jeez, we should have put them in a ring instead of on a panel.
2. Robert Downey Jr. and Terrence Howard – ‘Iron Man’
While 2008’s Iron Man kick-started the multi-billion dollar Marvel Cinematic Universe, all was not well among the cast after the film’s release. According to Terrance Howard, who portrayed James Rhodes in the film, star Robert Downey Jr., “took the money that was supposed to go to me and pushed me out.” When it came time for Iron Man 2, Howard was replaced by Don Cheadle due to his financial complaints and feud with Downey. Considering the continued success of the Marvel movies, and Cheadle’s character’s evolution into a bigger role as the character of War Machine, one has to wonder if Howard regrets feuding with Downey just a bit.
3. Faye Dunaway and Roman Polanski – ‘Chinatown’
During production in 1974, actress Faye Dunaway and director Roman Polanski allegedly fought constantly during the filming of Chinatown. As the story goes, the feud first started when Polanski yanked an out-of-place hair from Faye’s head. She was not happy. Later in the day, Dunaway asked Polanski what her character’s motivation was for a scene; Polanski supposedly shot back, “Just say the f–king words. Your salary is your motivation.” The situation culminated with Dunaway reportedly throwing a cup of her urine in Polanski’s face after he had refused to let her use the bathroom during that day’s filming.
4. Bill Murray and Lucy Liu – ‘Charlie’s Angels’
On the set of Charlie’s Angels, things were not so heavenly between Bill Murray and Lucy Liu. According to sources, Murray was unhappy with Liu’s acting ability and made some distasteful comments about her talent. The actress, feeling insulted, allegedly punched Murray in response. Both Murray and Liu later tried to debunk the story as untrue. Murray said it was a simple misunderstanding, and Liu said there were creative differences and things never got physical between them. Years later, Murray said there never was a feud; they simply had a brief argument that was blown way out of proportion.
5. Charlie Sheen and Chuck Lorre – ‘Two and a Half Men’
Perhaps one of the best-known celebrity feuds took place between actor Charlie Sheen and producer Chuck Lorre on the hit TV show, Two and a Half Men. At the time, Sheen had a wild reputation for his overindulgence in drugs and sex. The two began feuding in 2011, and things got ugly fast, with Sheen referring to Lorre as a “contaminated little maggot,” a worm, a rat, a cockroach, and “Chuck-E-Cheeseball,” at various times. Lorre replaced Sheen’s character — unceremoniously killing him off — with one played by Ashton Kutcher. With Kutcher in the lead roll, the series lived on for four more seasons before ending on a finale that Lorre used to poke a great deal of fun at Sheen. Guess we know who was really “winning” in the end. Takeaway? Don’t start a feud with your show’s producer.
6. Bruce Willis and Kevin Smith – ‘Cop Out’
There have been few better examples of the correctness of the phrase “Don’t meet your heroes” than director Kevin Smith’s work with Hollywood heavyweight Bruce Willis. Smith, a longtime fan of the actor, first met Willis when the director cameoed in the fourth Die Hard film. The two initially hit it off and became friendly, prompting Smith to later sign on to direct Willis in the 2010 film Cop Out. However, things changed when Smith and Willis began working together. Smith has shared his side of the story in various podcasts, as well as one of his books, claiming that Willis was surly, never took direction, and coasted through the film doing the bare minimum. For his part, Willis has described Smith as a “whiner.”
7. William Shatner and George Takei – ‘Star Trek’
To boldly go where no feud has gone before. This is the mission of the William Shatner/George Takei feud. It’s Captain Kirk versus Sulu. It’s a feud that’s apparently lasted decades and continues to this day in interviews, tweets, videos, and even Reddit posts. Yet, even with all the media coverage, Takei insists there’s no real feud between them. According to Takei, “It’s all coming from Bill. Whenever he needs a little publicity for a project, he pumps up the so-called controversy between us. It’s difficult working with someone who is not a team player. The rest of the cast all understand what makes a scene work — it’s everybody contributing to it. But Bill is a wonderful actor, and he knows it, and he likes to have the camera on him all the time.” Of course, it didn’t help when Shatner’s book, Shatner Rules, was published; in it, he takes some pot shots at Takei, who Shatner claims has been “saying mean things about me for nearly 40 years now.”
8. Sylvester Stallone and Richard Gere – ‘Lords of Flatbush’
During the shooting of 1974’s Lords of Flatbush, Richard Gere and Sylvester Stallone reportedly didn’t get along too well. On one occasion, Gere allegedly dropped chicken grease on Stallone, who retaliated with an elbow to Gere’s head. To ease tensions, one of the stars had to go; ultimately Gere was replaced with actor Perry King. Gere also blames Stallone for a nasty urban legend involving Gere and a gerbil. Stallone denies having anything to do with the gerbil story. The future Rocky star instead puts the onus on Gere’s method acting, saying years later, “We never hit it off. He would strut around in his oversized motorcycle jacket like he was the baddest knight at the roundtable. One day, during an improv, he grabbed me (we were simulating a fight scene) and got a little carried away. I told him in a gentle fashion to lighten up, but he was completely in character and impossible to deal with. Then we were rehearsing at Coney Island and it was lunchtime, so we decided to take a break, and the only place that was warm was in the backseat of a Toyota. I was eating a hotdog and he climbs in with a half a chicken covered in mustard with grease nearly dripping out of the aluminum wrapper. I said, “That thing is going to drip all over the place.” He said, “Don’t worry about it.” I said, “If it gets on my pants you’re gonna know about it.” He proceeds to bite into the chicken and a small, greasy river of mustard lands on my thigh. I elbowed him in the side of the head and basically pushed him out of the car. The director had to make a choice: One of us had to go, one of us had to stay. Richard was given his walking papers and to this day seriously dislikes me.
9. Jamie Foxx and LL Cool J – ‘Any Given Sunday’
According to the script of the 1999 football flick Any Given Sunday, the characters respectively played by Jamie Foxx and LL Cool J were supposed to play bitter rivals. Fantasy became reality during one key scene, when the two actors came to blows. Apparently, the acting got a little too real and intense as they continued to fight even after director Oliver Stone yelled “cut.” Foxx felt justified in calling the police. Although LL claimed he was just acting, Foxx felt the simulated altercation had turned a little too real. The feud lasted until 2006 when they finally made peace during a Miami Heat game. As proof of their renewed friendship, LL appeared in a Foxx song “All This Love”and Foxx appeared in LL’s song “Best Dressed.”
10. Julia Roberts and Nick Nolte – ‘I Love Trouble’
When I Love Trouble was released in 1994, critics said the on-screen chemistry between Julia Roberts and Nick Nolte was some of the worst in movie history. Apparently, that was because their off-screen chemistry was terrible. Roberts has called Nolte “a disgusting human being” and the worst actor she’s ever worked with. Nolte responded by saying she’s simply “not a nice person,” and “everyone knows that.” Harsh.
11. Will Smith and Janet Hubert – ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel Air’
Kids from the ’90s eagerly awaiting a Fuller House-style Fresh Prince of Bel Air TV reunion shouldn’t hold their breath. Janet Hubert (the show’s original Aunt Viv) has revealed in recent years that she’s not exactly a Will Smith fan. She has called him an “egomaniac” and said, “There will never be a reunion. I will never do anything with an a**hole like Will Smith.” Hubert also has said Smith did “heinous, horrible things to me. They were like bad kids, Will and Alfonso .” According to Hubert, the feud eventually led to her getting fired and was later replaced by Daphne Maxwell Reid. She shouldn’t worry too much about being called for any projects, though. If they did do a reboot, wouldn’t they use the Aunt Viv who didn’t get fired? Just saying.
12. James Franco and Tyrese Gibson – ‘Annapolis’
Franco and Gibson’s feud began on the set of the film Annapolis. As Franco is prone to do, he got totally into the character preparing for his role. During one of the final climactic scenes, Franco is in a boxing match with Gibson’s character, who plays his commanding officer. In keeping with his total immersion in a role, Franco slugged Gibson in the face several times, hard. As you can imagine, Gibson was not happy. Franco admits he took his role too seriously. Gibson, in disgust, said, “I never want to work with him again. It felt very personal.”
13. Shannen Doherty and Alyssa Milano – ‘Charmed
Shannen Doherty already had a reputation for being difficult to work with from her days on the set of Beverly Hills: 90210 when she was cast in Charmed. Her reputation was confirmed on the new show’s set, as Alyssa Milano reportedly complained that Doherty was not very “charming” (we see what you did there Milano) and was quite difficult to work with. Not surprisingly, Doherty only lasted three seasons on Charmed, and Milano has refused to work with Doherty again.
14. Harrison Ford and Josh Hartnett – ‘Hollywood Homicide’
Harrison Ford has a reputation for having “disagreements” with his co-stars and/or directors. Over the years, he has been rumored to have had spats with George Lucas, Ridley Scott, Shia LaBeouf, Sean Young, and Sacha Baron Cohen. On the set of Hollywood Homicide (2003), actor Josh Hartnett learned that Ford’s reputation was well deserved. Hartnett has said, “there were times we would end up just sitting in the car when we were supposed to be doing a scene and neither of us would say anything for like an hour.”
15. Sharon Stone and Billy Baldwin – ‘Sliver’
There wasn’t even a sliver of hope these two could work well together. On the set of this erotic thriller, Stone and Baldwin apparently didn’t have any off-screen chemistry. In fact, Stone apparently bit Baldwin’s tongue so hard during one scene that he was unable to speak normally for several days. According to director Joe Eszterhas, Stone would even use mouthwash after love scenes.
16. Wesley Snipes, Ryan Reynolds, and David Goyer – ‘Blade: Trinity’
