5 Directors And Co-Stars Who Absolutely Despised Each Other — And Made Masterpieces Anyway

Werner Herzog Allegedly Pulled A Gun On His Own Leading Man

Klaus Kinski's on-set meltdowns during Aguirre, the Wrath of God got so extreme that Werner Herzog says he threatened him at gunpoint just to keep him from walking off the production. The two later reunited for four more films together, including the notoriously grueling Fitzcarraldo, where Kinski's rages reportedly made him so unpopular with the indigenous crew that a tribal chief actually offered to kill him for Herzog — an offer Herzog declined because he still needed him for the shoot.

127 Takes Later, Shelley Duvall Was Barely Acting Anymore

Stanley Kubrick reportedly refused to print anything before the 35th take on The Shining, and the notorious baseball-bat stairway scene put Shelley Duvall and Jack Nicholson through so many repetitions that her hands were shredded from gripping the bat and her voice went hoarse from crying. Duvall herself later described dreading Mondays because she knew she'd be crying on command all day, though she never described the experience as abuse and remained fond of Kubrick personally.

Faye Dunaway Threw Her Own Urine At Roman Polanski

Faye Dunaway and Roman Polanski clashed constantly on Chinatown, starting when he yanked a stray hair from her scalp between takes and she stormed off cursing him out. Things reportedly escalated to Dunaway filling a cup with her own urine and throwing it at Polanski after he denied her a bathroom break — and the film still landed her an Oscar nomination.

Bette Davis And Joan Crawford Turned A Kick Scene Into A Real One

Decades of Hollywood rivalry between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford came to a head on Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, where Davis reportedly kicked Crawford hard enough during a floor-dragging scene that it left a real injury, while rumors swirled Crawford weighted her pockets with rocks in retaliation. The feud only deepened afterward, famously culminating in Crawford accepting a rival's Oscar on stage the year Davis was snubbed.

"I Cannot Sanction Your Buffoonery" — Tommy Lee Jones Meant It

Jim Carrey has recounted running into Tommy Lee Jones at a restaurant during Batman Forever's shoot, only to watch the color drain from his co-star's face before Jones told him flatly that he hated him and "could not sanction" his buffoonery. Director Joel Schumacher later confirmed the tension was real, saying Jones simply couldn't stand that nobody could steal a scene from Carrey — yet the two villains' rivalry only sharpened their scenery-chewing performances on screen.