10 Actors Who Hated Working Together
5. Orson Welles & Peters Sellers - Casino Royale (1967)
The 1967 James Bond spoof Casino Royale saw stars Peter Sellers and Orson Welles at loggerheads, and according to screenwriter Wolf Mankowitz, this was due to how thoroughly intimidated Sellers was by the Citizen Kane filmmaker.
Apart from shots which absolutely required both actors, their scenes were largely filmed separately and stitched together through the magic of editing.
Despite Welles' larger-than-life reputation as a peerless egomaniac, most reports agree that Sellers was the problematic figure in the equation.
One version of the story suggests Sellers was hurt that Princess Margaret spoke to Welles first when visiting the set, and another that even Sellers' own friend Joseph McGrath, who also directed part of the film, complained about the actor's behaviour - and got punched by him for it.
This dovetails into the belief that Sellers was unhappy with the film's status as an outright comedy, causing his scenes to diminish throughout production as he was absent from set for up to weeks at a time.
Due to this, Sellers' scenes had to be awkwardly salvaged in editing, and much existing material was ultimately thrown out because it simply didn't make sense.
As for Welles? According to co-director Val Guest, he referred to Sellers as "that amateur." Oof.