16 Nov Demanding Movies Scenes That Pushed Actors To The Brink

Behind the alluring multi-million dollar paycheque, a movie set is a demanding place for an actor. The long hours, egotistical co-stars, insistent directors and stressful scenes are all challenging enough, let alone the fact that the stars have to put themselves through hours of highly emotional takes.

Yes, despite the fact SFX and CGI can do their part to make an actor’s job a little easier, there are still many factors that can push a performer to their breaking point. Sometimes, the promise of fame and fortune isn’t enough. As you’re about to find out, celebrities are extremely tolerant people, but even they’ve had moments where enough is enough, and they’ve had no choice but to threaten to QUIT their roles. Welcome to Tinseltown…

16. Daisy Ridley – Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens

Daisy Ridley had the weight of a billion dollar franchise on her shoulders after she was cast to play heroine and galaxy defender, Rey. Already incredibly anxious about being in the middle of the desert on the first day of shooting, this was the moment director J.J. Abrams decided to hand Ridley a note describing her acting as “WOODEN“. This was all too much for Ridley, who almost suffered a panic attack and very nearly walked off set for good. Luckily, she stuck with it.

15. John Cena – 12 Rounds (2009)

The 15-time WWE world heavyweight champion may face a lot of challenges in the ring, but it was on the movie set for 12 Rounds were he was pushed to the brink. The superstar openly admits that he has a fear of heights, which was aggravated when he was asked to shoot a scene where he abseils down the side of a building and then dangles from the rope in mid-air. On a DVD extra, Cena stated how the stunt made him so ANXIOUS that he almost quit movie altogether.

14. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio – The Abyss (1989)

Very few scenes in movie history have ever demanded so much out of an actor. Whilst her character was receiving CPR in a scene for James Cameron’s, The Abyss, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio had no choice but to be pushed, pressed, screamed at and even slapped by her co-star Ed Harris. To make matters worse, she was lying on a cold, wet metal floor. If that wasn’t bad enough, Mastrantonio then stormed off set after she found out a camera had BROKEN whilst filming the take, meaning they needed to re-shoot it. After cooling down, she returned, giving Cameron enough footage to stretch the scene out to the full five minutes.

13. Michelle Rodriguez – The Fast And The Furious (2001)

People love the Fast And The Furious Franchise just as it is, but it could have been very different. Whilst filming the very first instalment back in 2001, series regular and all-around badass Michelle Rodriguez actually considered walking away over concerns with her character, Letty Ortiz’s, storyline.

Specifically, Rodriguez took issue with the way the script called for a love-triangle, which saw Letty betray her true love Dom and fall for undercover cop Brian – a betrayal she felt made no sense at all. Refusing to betray her vision of Letty, Rodriguez put her foot down, telling producers she’d quit the movie if she had to. They backed down, and the rest is movie history.

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