10 Major On-Set Clashes That Almost Ruined Recent Movies

Wild rants, sardonic put-downs, fisticuffs and handbags-at-dawn, the great feuds of modern film.

The Rock Vin Diesel Feud
Universal Pictures

Some movies are celebrated for their dazzling on-screen performances, their astonishing cinematography or brilliant screenplays. Others, however, become infamous for the on-set clashes, histrionics, flare-ups, walk-outs and grudges that erupt between the film industry’s vast array of divas. Be it directors against actors or actors turning on fellow thespians, the shaky foundations of film projects are never quite safe when Hollywood’s prima donnas take to centre stage.

Of course the reasons for these feuds can be as varied as a cross-genre Terry Gilliam mash-up. Punishing work conditions, endless retakes of scenes, studio pressure, financiers pulling the plug, and extras refusing to take it anymore- films have proved to be cauldrons of explosive emotions, often with hilarious results.

So, from explosive rants which went viral to handbags-at-dawn, here are the films that were almost crippled by the feuds behind them.

10. Tom Hardy Vs Shia LaBeouf, Lawless (2012)

The Rock Vin Diesel Feud
TWC

The story of three Moonshine bootlegger brothers played by Tom Hardy, Shia LaBeouf and Jason Clarke turned out to be a decent enough period movie. But maybe the actors had been suppin’ on some of the illicit grog themselves since LaBeouf suggested that he had to keep Hardy in check during filming. In response, Hardy has suggested, somewhat sarcastically, that LaBeouf ‘knocked him out’ on set.

It’s worth noting that Hardy was promoting his film Warrior, playing a nut-case meathead UFC fighter, when he admitted this. So, Shia LaBeouf knocked out Tom ‘traps’ Hardy? Well, director John Hillcoat has corroborated that some kind of fight did happen between Hardy and LaBeouf, but has downplayed how violent it was.

Just what the altercation was about is difficult to glean, although LaBeouf has posted a host of bizarre viral videos of late and has a string of offences against his name, from chasing a homeless man over his McDonald’s meal to slapping fellow theatre-goers during a performance of Cabaret. We’ll hear more from Shia later.

Contributor
Contributor

David Hynes is a freelance writer, working in print, online, on stage and for screen. A film and book enthusiast, he has just finished his first novel.