Top 10 Actors Who Refuse to Work Together

In 2011, Charlie Sheen was officially let go from “Two and a Half Men”. He wasn’t out of work for long though, as the following year his new show, “Anger Management” premiered on FX. Sheen’s co-star on the show was actress Selma Blair, known for projects like “Legally Blonde” and “Cruel Intentions.” While their relationship may have been good at the start of filming, it didn’t remain that way. Indeed, it was reported that Blair expressed unease about Sheen’s “work ethic” and overall behavior. He was said to have taken this information very poorly, giving the producers a her-or-me type scenario… They chose him. It should be noted, however, that Sheen later said that Blair’s character was axed for creative reasons.

According to Mickey Rourke, Martin Scorsese was interested in meeting with him for a role in “The Irishman”. But it didn’t happen because “Robert De Niro said he refused to work with [him]”. Or at least, that’s what Rourke says. The film’s producers deny that Rourke was ever considered, but the story does go to illustrate the apparent rift between the two actors. It reportedly has its origins on the set of the 1987 film “Angel Heart”. According to Rourke, De Niro didn’t want them to speak – and didn’t want Rourke touching him in character. With that, De Niro went from being Rourke’s role model to his enemy.

With all of the characters and storylines in “Game of Thrones”, fans had a lot of stuff to pay attention to. But even with all that, many did notice that Cersei Lannister and Bronn almost never appeared in a scene on camera together. You’d think that since Bronn worked for her brothers and eventually for her that they would’ve been seen together multiple times. Well, they might've had actors Lena Headey and Jerome Flynn not reportedly previously dated and had a difficult split. One crew member at the time was quoted as saying that “Jerome and Lena aren’t on speaking terms.” That definitely would’ve made filming together difficult if true, though Robbins denied this.

Roberts and Nolte might’ve loved trouble in the fictional sense, but they apparently didn’t like each other much during the filming of their 1994 “I Love Trouble” rom-com. That might sound rather harsh, but allow us to tell you what the actors themselves have said about each other. Roberts didn’t hold back when she called Nolte “completely disgusting,” though to be fair she also said he had the ability to be “charming and very nice.” Nolte reportedly responded by saying “It’s not nice to call someone ‘disgusting’. But she’s not a nice person.” Since they were the stars of the film, they couldn’t avoid being on camera together. But rumor has it efforts were made to maintain separation during filming where possible.

In 1995’s “Batman Forever,” Two-Face and the Riddler teamed up against Batman. Now, the ancient proverb that “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” might’ve held true for the two villains in the movie. But there was apparently no friendship between the two actors off screen. According to Jim Carrey and the late director Joel Schumacher, it was all Tommy Lee Jones’ doing. Schumacher wouldn’t get into details, but did say that Jones “was not kind to Jim Carrey”. As Carrey has recalled, he approached Jones one evening during dinner, and the latter didn’t hold back his negative feelings towards his co-star.

In 2016, a dog bit an “NCIS” crew member, injuring them enough that they required stitches. What does this have to do with anything you ask? Well, the animal belonged to series star Mark Harmon. Actress Pauley Perrette - for the safety of herself and the crew - reportedly disapproved of the pet being allowed back. It’s been said that a rift between the two actors then formed. Things apparently got so tense in Perrette’s final season on the show that the actors worked on separate days. Even some scenes of theirs together were reportedly filmed in a way that minimized the actors’ having to be there together.

In 2016, while in production on “The Fate of the Furious” Dwayne Johnson posted on Instagram calling out some of his male co-stars. He wrote that “Some conduct themselves as stand up men and true professionals, while others don’t.” He didn’t name names, but it seemed he was taking aim at Vin Diesel. We don’t know the specifics, but we do know that things were so bad that Johnson and Diesel didn’t shoot any of their F8 scenes together. Johnson largely left the franchise behind following this. However, he does make a brief appearance in “Fast X”’s post-credits sequence.

Kalinda and Alicia’s close friendship was one of the most important relationships for the first six seasons of “The Good Wife”. And while their final drink together at the bar was an emotional moment for fans of the show - it wasn’t so for the two actresses. In fact, Archie Panjabi and Julianna Margulies didn’t even film the scene together. What was the supposed beef between them? We don’t know. But while CGI was able to bring them together in that bar scene, bringing them together on screen without the help of advanced technology is probably not in the cards. As Alan Cumming jokingly said about the possibility of any kind of Kalinda and Alicia reunion, “Good luck with that!”

“Charlie's Angels” was one of the hits of the 2000 box office and, like with many money-making movies, there was a sequel a few years later. But while all three of the angel actresses came back for the second film, one famous name didn’t return for “Full Throttle”. Bill Murray played John Bosley in the first film, but was replaced by Bernie Mac as Jimmy Bosley – his adoptive brother – for the second one. Why the switch? Well, it turns out that during a scene rehearsal on the first film Murray began insulting Lucy Liu quite vigorously in a manner that she has characterized as “inexcusable and unacceptable”. Liu defended herself, and as Drew Barrymore explained, “we all supported her and backed her up”.

Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Cattrall played best friends for six seasons on “Sex and the City”, and in two movies. But things were different off screen. Despite spending years denying any rumors of tension, the mid-to-late 2010s saw those denials turn to confirmations. Cattrall went so far as to tell Piers Morgan that she and the other women were “never friends”. Then in 2018, after Cattrall’s brother passed away, SJP said some nice things on TV. Cattrall replied via Instagram, posting “I don’t need your love and support at this tragic time”. The actress later revealed that she was “never asked to be part” of the “And Just Like That...” sequel series. However, it appears she’s briefly reprising her role for a second season cameo!