It seems crucial that directors and actors at least respect each other while making a film, but there are numerous instances throughout Hollywood history where this simply hasn’t been the case. One of the most famous disagreements almost turned fatal when Werner Herzog threatened to shoot (with a gun) the notoriously unpredictable star Klaus Kinski during the filming of “Aguirre, the Wrath of God.” There were no guns brandished on the set of Hook, but Steven Spielberg famously didn’t enjoy his time working with Julia Roberts (they haven’t worked together since). And then there’s David O. Russellwho fought with and/or terrorized stars like Amy Adams, Lily Tomlin and George Clooney; If there is justice, O. Russell, a once-formidable talent who hasn’t made a worthwhile film since 2010’s The Fighter, won’t be allowed back behind the camera until he learns to behave like a decent human being.
One actor who has been known to clash with his directors is Bruce Willis. The sadly retired actor (who was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in 2023) had a terrible time filming the terrible “Cop Out” with Kevin Smith and was so unhappy with Lee Grant’s direction of “Broadway Brawler” that Studio Disney shut down the entire production production down (This forced Willis to make a film called The Sixth Sense.).
Willis also clashed with director Antoine Fuqua while making the 2003 Nigeria-set war film “Tears of the Sun.” This was Fuqua’s first film since the commercial and critical triumph of Training Day, which won Denzel Washington his first Oscar for Best Actor, so the timing of Willis’ dissatisfaction was somewhat surprising. Fuqua was one of the hottest directors in town and this was supposed to be a prestige action film. What could possibly have gone wrong?
Bruce Willis was a pain in the ass for Antoine Fuqua
In a 2004 interview with the BBC Coinciding with the release of Fuqua’s King Arthur (not to be confused with Guy Ritchie’s Kind Arthur: Legend of the Sword), the filmmaker opened up about his controversial experiences with Willis on the set of Tears of the Sun. When asked which actor was the “biggest nuisance” he’s ever worked with, Fuqua replied:
“Bruce Willis. Pain in my ass, no problem. We just didn’t get along. We got along off camera, but while filming Tears Of The Sun we just didn’t get along. Some men don’t get along. When it comes to work, you don’t mix – you have different work ethics, different opinions, different perspectives, different methods of filmmaking – and off camera we weren’t friends – Bruce is great – but we just don’t understand you, when it comes to work, and that’s pretty much it.”
For his part, Willis had the right to be hostile. During filming, he became unconscious when a projectile from a staged explosion hit him in the head. He then sued Revolution Studios for damages. Fuqua has continued to emphasize that his relationship with Willis was friendly off-camera, although he hinted at it he lost a power struggle with the star about the final cut of the film.
