10 Movie Actors Who Refused To Talk To Directors On Set
6. Alec Guinness - Bridge On The River Kwai
The Bridge on the River Kwai is a sure-fire classic war film from master director David Lean, though the lengthy location shoot caused cast and crew relations to deteriorate, especially between Lean and star Alec Guinness.
Guinness, who took the role of Colonel Nicholson after being initially reluctant to accept it, disagreed with Lean about how the part should be played. This came to a head in the later stages of shooting, by which point Guinness and Lean were refusing to speak to one another.
Reportedly the English cast were so hostile to Lean that he told them, "Now you can all f**k off and go home, you English actors," and when William Holden arrived to shoot his scenes, Lean said, "Thank God that I'm starting work tomorrow with an American actor."
Despite getting on well with Lean, Holden's presence only further strained the mood on set, with Guinness decrying the actor's "love to pontificate" while apparently boasting of his career successes.
None of this animosity evidently hurt the final film, which won seven Oscars including Best Picture alongside respective Best Director and Best Actor Oscars for Lean and Guinness. A happy ending, then.