Everyone knows that work is lame.
Even if you're an actor!
Sometimes all the fame and money that come with a big role don't seem worth enduring
a cruel director or a miserable film set.
We've already spotlighted a few times where one scene nearly caused an actor to walk away,
but it's apparently a lot more common than you'd think.
We explored some maddening moments that drove their actors crazy in our earlier video, Scenes
That Almost Caused The Actors to Quit.
Well, we're now back with more scenes that almost pushed actors right over the edge...
Daisy Ridley in Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Starring in one of the most anticipated movies of the century is an opportunity most actors
would kill for.
But the pressure of filming 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens nearly proved too much for
Daisy Ridley.
The British newcomer didn't have much experience before J.J. Abrams cast her as Rey, and Screen
Rant reports she almost quit on the first day when he told her that her performance
during a desert scene felt "wooden."
That note, along with bearing the weight of the biggest franchise in movie history, almost
prompted Ridley to get on a spaceship to anywhere far, far away.
Shelley Duvall in The Shining
Shelley Duvall set a Guinness World Record for her portrayal of Wendy in Stanley Kubrick's
1980 horror classic The Shining – but it's not a record anyone would want.
The perfectionist Kubrick insisted on 127 takes of the scene where Duvall's hysterical
character uses a bat to fend off a deranged Jack Nicholson.
By the end, she so was exhausted and dehydrated from crying that she nearly quit.
She didn't, but the stress of filming the scene was bad enough that she reportedly began
losing her hair.
Zoe Saldana in Pirates of the Caribbean
Before she landed leading roles in huge blockbusters like Avatar and Guardians of the Galaxy, Saldana
was just another struggling actress getting by on bit parts.
She had a small one as Anamaria in 2003's Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the
Black Pearl, and she said she was treated so badly that she nearly quit, telling The
Hollywood Reporter,
"It was very elitist.
People disrespecting me because they look at my number on a call sheet and they think
I'm not important."
It was so demoralizing, Saldana said she even considered quitting acting altogether.
“Anna Maria.”
“I suppose you didn’t deserve that one either.”
“No, that one I deserve.”
Mike Myers in Wayne's World
Mike Myers created the character of Wayne Campbell on Saturday Night Live, and the recurring
sketch became so popular that Paramount wanted a Wayne's World movie.
Myers wrote the screenplay, and he was especially excited about the scene where Wayne and the
boys pack into the Mirthmobile and headbang to Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody."
But the studio wanted to replace the song with something fresher and cheaper to license.
Myers thought the Queen song was crucial, as he revealed on WTF with Marc Maron.
“At one point I said to everybody well I’m out.
I don’t want to make this movie if its not Bohemian Rhapsody.
And they were like, who the Fu*k are you?”
“Yeah.”
“I said, I’m somebody that… that wants to do that movie.
That’s the movie I want to do.”
Both Myers and Bohemian Rhapsody stayed.
Gene Hackman in The French Connection
Gene Hackman won an Oscar for his turn as New York City police detective Jimmy "Popeye"
Doyle in 1971's The French Connection, but it almost didn't happen.
A notoriously difficult actor, he often clashed with director William Friedkin, especially
after Friedkin revealed Paul Newman was his first choice for the part.
Things came to a head during a scene where Hackman – dressed in a Santa Claus costume
– tackles a criminal on the street.
Friedkin demanded 27 takes, and Hackman nearly quit.
Fortunately, he stayed and even mentioned it in his speech at the Academy Awards.
John Cena in 12 Rounds
Few wrestling stars are bigger than John Cena, so when WWE produced the direct to video cop
thriller 12 Rounds in 2009, casting him as the lead was a no brainer.
Although his day job is to battle hulking beasts in the ring, Cena apparently isn't
fearless.
One scene called for his character to rappel down a skyscraper and dangle mid-air from
a rope.
But Cena revealed later that his severe fear of heights triggered intense anxiety and he
considered walking away before he ever got up there.
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio in The Abyss
The dark, claustrophobic sets and constantly gushing water made for some difficult days
on the set of James Cameron's 1989 sci-fi flick The Abyss.
But one day in particular stands out for Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio.
For a scene in which her character's estranged husband administers her CPR, Cameron asked
co-star Ed Harris to frantically slap Mastrantonio as she lay motionless on the cold, wet floor.
Then the camera ran out of film and enough was enough.
“And she hear that and she just like freaked.
She just said hey man, we are not animals.
I don’t know what you are doing here but we are not animals.”
After leaving the set, she eventually calmed down and returned.
Carl Weathers in Rocky IV
A big part of the fourth Rocky movie involves Rocky's mentor, Apollo Creed, staging a comeback.
Played by former NFL linebacker Carl Weathers, Creed gets roughed up in the ring pretty bad
by Communist pugilist Ivan Drago, played by Dolph Lundgren.
But one of the boxing scenes got a little too real when Lundgren threw Weathers into
a corner, causing Weathers to break character and throw a real punch.
Lundgren responded in kind, knocking Weathers out.
When he regained consciousness, he quit the movie and sent production into limbo for four
days.
That's when Sylvester Stallone finally convinced Weathers to return.
Tippi Hedren in The Birds
Alfred Hitchcock had a reputation for being unkind to actresses, but Tippi Hedren signed
on to 1963's The Birds under the guarantee that she'd only be attacked with mechanical
birds during the film's climactic scene.
But Hitchcock is the king of twists, and he wanted Hedren's terror to feel real, so he
instructed crew members to throw real, live birds at her.
This real-life game of Angry Birds went on for five full days and Hedren had a breakdown
when it was over.
She only finished the movie when a doctor ordered Hitchcock to give her a week off to
recover.
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