10 Movie Actors Who Refused To Talk To Directors On Set

One of Sean Penn's first major roles was in the 1985 spy drama The Falcon and the Snowman, where he worked under veteran, three-time Best Director Oscar nominee and one-time winner John Schlesinger (Midnight Cowboy).

But Penn and Schlesinger never saw eye-to-eye during production, having different ideas for what his character should be, an argument which became heated enough they apparently stopped speaking. In a 2004 interview, Penn said of the experience:

"I had difficulty with John because he wanted my character to be something that I didn't think had anything to do with the story. Dustin Hoffman told me that he was jealous that I had won his crown from Schlesinger as the most unprofessional actor he had ever worked with. The way I see it, if the actor's instincts are against the grain of the director's, then the director cast the wrong guy. The director has got to support the instincts of the actor, every time. You can compromise and fit the director's mould, but the spark of spontaneity will be gone."

Given that Penn has a fair rep for being a difficult presence on movie sets and has himself said he's "not good with humans," we're going to give this one to Schlesinger.