Protip: Don’t scratch your butt against sacred rocks.
Otherwise, you might go from A-lister to A-hole in the eyes of fans!
Tobey Maguire is an actor most known for his depiction of Peter Parker in
Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" trilogy. However, it's been alleged that the
web-slinging sweetheart he portrayed in that film is nothing like who he is in real life.
"Alright. Let's get to the heart of this thing."
In the '90s, the actor was part of a group of young Hollywood bachelors
that were notorious for their partying and romantic pursuits. According to Molly Bloom,
a woman who'd come to organize weekly private poker parties attended by members of that group,
Maguire was purported to be a challenging presence. In her memoir "Molly's Game," she wrote,
"Tobey was the worst tipper, the best player, and the absolute worst
loser, but I had to worry about my job security if he lost."
A former cocktail waitress, Bloom allegedly took home as much as $50,000 a night in her
new role as Hollywood's Poker Princess. When Maguire decided she was making too much money,
he tried to humiliate her in front of everyone by ordering her to bark for a
$1,000 chip. There have been other suggestions that Maguire is a jerk behind the scenes.
In 2003, for instance, Variety wrote that Jake Gyllenhaal was in talks to replace the actor
in "Spider-Man 2" after Maguire had reportedly exhibited difficult conduct during pre-production.
Julia Roberts has been working as a successful actor almost non-stop since the late '80s. With
such an impressive resume, it's hard to imagine her as anything less than a joy. Unfortunately,
there are a fair few celebrities who can't stand Roberts and may have suggested otherwise.
Her "I Love Trouble" co-star, Nick Nolte, is one such individual.
In 1994, Los Angeles Times reported rumors that the pair didn't get along on set,
and the lack of chemistry was obvious on screen. Everyone seemed keen to deny the rumors,
but the co-stars appeared to make their true feelings clear during interviews. Speaking to The
New York Times, Roberts suggested she actually found Nolte to be likable. However, she added,
"He's also completely disgusting."
Nolte defended himself to the Los Angeles Times and said:
"It's not nice to call someone 'disgusting.' But she's not a nice person. Everyone knows that."
The cattiness doesn't stop there. While filming 1991's "Hook," Roberts was allegedly nicknamed
"Tinkerhell" by the cast and crew due to her apparently disagreeable behavior.
This was said to include sitting in her trailer for hours at a time, per Entertainment Weekly.
The actor denied these allegations to the outlet, however. Regardless, Spielberg
griped about the experience to "60 minutes." While he commended her talent, he stated,
"It was an unfortunate time for us to work together."
He then tellingly avoided responding to a question about whether he'd work with her again.
In 2019, it seemed like Shia LaBeouf was making a new name for himself in Hollywood. After producing
and starring in a few widely acclaimed indie films, the artist-slash-actor was cast in Olivia
Wilde's "Don't Worry Darling." However, while scheduling conflicts had reportedly caused him
to leave the project, it was later revealed that he was actually dropped, per Variety. The outlet
included allegations that the actor was difficult to work with, and Wilde confirmed the news to
People, suggesting she kept a zero-tolerance approach to bad behavior on set. She explained,
"The no a–hole policy, it puts everybody on the same level."
When singer FKA Twigs accused LaBeouf of sexual battery and assault,
Wilde was one of the many women to publicly show her support. Twigs
filed a bombshell lawsuit against the actor in 2020, citing verbal and physical abuse.
LaBeouf's violence off-set seemed to follow him into the professional world
too. The darker he became in private, the darker his characters appeared to become.
Most notoriously, while working on the set of "Lawless," Mia Wasikowska was completely
terrified by the actor's method-drinking process. Speaking to Page Six, the actor explained that he
used moonshine to get into his role, claiming that he needed to look sufficiently bloated to
portray the character. His antics nearly caused Wasikowska to leave the film. LaBeouf said,
"She was calling her attorney, like,
'Get me the f— out of here. [...] I was really pretty aggressive about it."
Jared Leto has made quite the name for himself in Hollywood due to his extreme method-acting
techniques. On "Suicide Squad," that meant bugging his co-stars with horrifying Joker-esque gifts.
Meanwhile, his "Requiem For a Dream" process was so radical that it was
rumored to have almost destroyed his relationship with Cameron Diaz in 2000.
22 years later, "Morbius" director Daniel Espinosa confirmed rumors that
the Oscar-winning actor took it up a notch by staying in character even for bathroom breaks.
He told Uproxx that Leto initially used his character's crutches to limp to the bathroom.
When this took too long a wheelchair was arranged, along with someone to push Leto around
in it. Espinosa remained philosophical about the star's decision, stating,
"Hey, man, it's people's processes."
Leto has a history of being a jerk to journalists as well.
In a 2016 Rolling Stone interview with Brian Hiatt, the actor took the journalist on a
dangerous hiking path filled with jagged terrain. When it became impossible to safely hike through,
he told Hiatt that he was just messing with him before guiding them to a more reasonable path.
Meanwhile, in a 2013 interview with The Telegraph, the actor repeatedly
and emphatically pretended not to know what "My So Called Life," is — the TV show that launched
his career. Following the frustrating exchange, journalist Emma Forrest wrote,
"Either you dismiss Jared Leto as a big jerk, I realize, or you go with it."
In 2013, actor Gwyneth Paltrow was named the most hated celebrity in the world by Star
Magazine. Despite her successful career in film, the "Goop" founder has cultivated a bad reputation
seemingly based on her eccentric choices and apparent ignorance of her own privilege. Paltrow
has long riled people up by making insensitive comments, like the time she told Conan O'Brien,
"I would rather die than let my kid eat Cup-a-Soup."
Additionally, she's been known to make inappropriate and backhanded comments that
don't paint her in the best light. In 2019, for instance, Vulture noted that the star
had told the same anecdote to three different publications wherein she essentially credited
herself for the popularity of yoga. Meanwhile, in 2006, she shared her shock that great actors like
Reese Witherspoon were wasting their talents on mediocre projects. She told The Guardian,
"You think, 'Why is she doing these stupid romantic comedies?'
But of course, it's for money and status."
Speaking of money, Paltrow often insists that her fortune was self-made,
despite the fact that her father was a television producer and her mother was an actor.
She has maintained that she didn't take a dime from her parents, telling The Independent,
"[My father] said, 'You are completely on your own.
So he never gave me anything ... he never helped me with my rent, I never had a trust fund."
Terrence Howard's reputation for being a jerk dates back decades. In 2007,
for instance, he raised eyebrows during an interview with Elle when he
offered his bizarre take on essential feminine hygiene requirements. His personal life has been
fraught with drama and assault allegations, but his professional life hasn't fared much better.
"I have a little story of my own. It's called Jerk and the Beanstalk."
When Don Cheadle replaced him in "Iron Man 2," Entertainment Weekly reported
a rumor that it was due to Howard's difficult behavior behind the scenes of the first film.
The outlet noted that there may have also been a dispute over the star's
salary — a rumor apparently dispelled by Marvel Studios, per New York Post.
A source alleged to the outlet that Howard has had issues with his temper, explaining,
"Terrence has to be in control of everything, all the time. When he doesn't get his way,
he loses his s — very easily."
However, the actor has suggested that he's unfairly garnered a reputation for being
difficult simply because he wouldn't comply with expectations. He told Rolling Stone in 2015,
"I get all these accolades [...] But now they've set it up that Terrence
is difficult, and so that has followed me."
Tom Cruise is famous for his roles in "Top Gun," "Jerry Maguire," and "Eyes Wide Shut."
But throughout his time in Hollywood, he has built a reputation for being difficult to work with.
Two decades after starring alongside him in the 2000 action flick "Mission Impossible II,"
Thandiwe Newton told Vulture that the Hollywood legend was
a lot to deal with during filming. She explained:
"I was so scared of Tom. He was a very dominant individual. He tries
super hard to be a nice person. But the pressure. He takes on a lot. And I think
he has this sense that only he can do everything as best as it can be done."
Former Scientologist Leah Remini praised Newton for her comments.
She even accused the Church of Scientology of controlling Cruise's public image,
telling The Daily Beast that their PR machine had perfected his good-guy persona. Remini added,
"But if you actually look at his actions, they're not consistent."
In 2020, Cruise attracted controversy when audio clips from the set of "Mission: Impossible 7"
appeared to capture him explicitly scolding crew members for breaking Covid-19 protocols.
Though his outburst went viral, he assured Empire magazine that he held
no regrets given how heavily the pandemic had postponed production. As he explained,
"I was thinking about the people I work with, and my industry."
Jennifer Lawrence rose to fame in the 2010s for her quirky personality and her roles
in box office hits like "The Hunger Games" and "Silver Linings Playbook."
With her notable proclivity for red carpet pratfalls, the star seemed relatable and down
to earth. However, her star power has noticeably dwindled ever since. The downfall may have begun
in 2016 when she made some insensitive comments during an appearance on "The Graham Norton Show."
Sharing an anecdote about filming "The Hunger Games" in Hawaii, the star was all
chuckles as she described being wilfully disrespectful to some sacred rocks on the island.
She explained how it was forbidden to take a seat on the rocks, then said,
"I, however, was in a wetsuit for this whole
shoot, so—" "So it doesn't count, right?" "Oh my god, they were so good for butt itching!"
Per Daily Mail, the backlash was swift and ferocious,
forcing Lawrence to issue an apology via Facebook.
She stated that she intended the story to be self-deprecating rather than offensive.
Along with desecrating shrines, Lawrence can apparently be conspicuously unpleasant with fans,
too. While in conversation with Adam Sandler for Variety, the actor confessed,
"Once I enter a public place I become incredibly rude, I turn into a huge a–hole."
The reason, she stated, was a defense mechanism to help maintain privacy. So if you're a fan
hoping for a selfie with the star in the near future, you're probably out of luck.