20 Actors Who Quit Movies For Insane Reasons
19. A Dispute Over A Cookie - James Caan (Accidental Love)
It isn't uncommon for actors to get into a dispute with famously ill-tempered director David O. Russell, and in the case of James Caan, he decided to walk from Russell's flop comedy Accidental Love over the matter of a... cookie.
The legendary actor was hired to play the small role of a U.S. speaker of the house who chokes to death on a cookie, and Russell asked him to cough as he choked, only for Caan to argue that a person can't cough and choke at the same time.
Russell suggested they shoot the scene both ways, but Caan apparently felt that the director was coddling him and would simply end up using his preferred version, so he declined and walked off the set, never to return.
Caan was ultimately replaced by the venerable James Brolin, but considering that Accidental Love's production was halted due to financial difficulties and later "completed" and released without Russell's involvement, Caan was probably smart to take his leave when he did.