7. Cecil B. DeMille
For our next entry, we go a little further back in time to Cecil B. DeMille, one of cinema's early filmmakers, who also remains one of the most infamously demanding directors in film history. For instance, when making 1927's King of Kings, DeMille demanded that in order to preserve the film's spiritual integrity, the actors all had to enter into contracts promising that they would not do anything "unbiblical" for five years, ranging from going to baseball games, to frequenting nightclubs and even driving a convertible. Nevertheless, the film's set had one extra-marital affair and a divorce, so there goes that idea... In his later works, DeMille's notoriety heightened, with him being known as cavalier, even reckless towards the safety of his crew; during set-pieces, he would expect actors to simply get on with it, even at great risk to themselves. However, he did reportedly know of his reputation, and so would play on it by carrying a whip around with him on set.