10 Movie Roles That Pissed Actors Off
7. Gene Hackman - Royal Tenenbaum (The Royal Tenenbaums)
There's perhaps no greater proof that Gene Hackman was one of the greatest actors of all time than the fact that he apparently hated making The Royal Tenenbaums and was a total curmudgeon for the entire shoot.
Despite giving a terrific performance as eccentric family patriarch Royal Tenenbaum, Hackman was hesitant about taking the role and was only talked into it by his agent.
According to director Wes Anderson himself in a recent Sunday Times interview following Hackman's death, there were a few factors which left the acting legend frustrated:
"Gene was very annoyed about the money. He was furious. Also, he didn't want to do the film anyway. I talked him into it - I just didn't go away... And everybody else said yes to the salary, so Gene just went with it - and that just became our way. He left without saying goodbye. He was grumpy - we had friction... He didn't enjoy it. I was probably too young and it was annoying to him. He liked [the movie]. But he told me he didn't understand it when we were shooting."
Hackman's casting was however instrumental in Anderson being able to secure numerous other high-profile actors to fill out the ensemble.
And so, despite Hackman's distaste for making the movie, Anderson's career surely wouldn't have been the same without him.