Top 10 Times Celebrities Revealed Stories About Cast Members After Many Years

This Oscar winner was in show business for almost 80 years. Needless to say, there are probably countless stories we’ll never hear. But one lives on courtesy of Cloris Leachman’s co-stars on shows like “Raising Hope” and “Girl Meets World.” On a rewatch podcast, Topanga[b] actress Danielle Fishel mentioned how someone told her to hide her locks because Leachman had once cut an actress’ hair off. She didn’t say who, though! The same story was repeated by her “Raising Hope” co-stars during a 2021 reunion over Zoom. This time, the actors said it was “Lizzie McGuire” star Hilary Duff, who had a guest appearance on the show in 2013.

Acting is kind of a weird profession when you think about it, and the masters of the craft have very different processes. While filming Jane Campion[d]’s “Holy Smoke!” in the late 90s, Harvey Keitel wanted to do an improvisation exercise with co-star Kate Winslet to establish more intimacy. He asked that she play out a scenario where he was her dog, and she is trying to comfort him as he passes away. Winslet was game, but found herself at a loss while Keitel mimicked the whimpers of the pet. Her hilarious recreation of his performance is an acting masterclass in itself.

When “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” returned for its fourth season, the actress portraying Will Smith’s Aunt Viv did not. Indeed, Janet Hubert was recast. A feud between the stars was reported at the time, and Hubert’s side of the story was well-documented. But Smith publicly owned up to his culpability in 2020, with the two reuniting in time for the show’s 30th anniversary to talk through their tension. They were able to parse through their experiences together. It was a profound moment of forgiveness that millions of fans had been waiting for.

Every legend starts somewhere. Meryl Streep began her feature film career with the 1977 historical drama, “Julia.” Streep was very, very green when it came to movie acting at this point. Thankfully, she had Jane Fonda as a scene partner, and got a few pointers from the two-time Oscar winner herself. Apparently, Streep’s theater training had made her a bit too free on set. Fonda had to catch her up on some of the fundamentals of working on camera. Streep took the acting lesson, and needless to say, she ran with it.

For roughly a decade, Ross and Rachel made “Friends” viewers crazy with their on-again, off-again romance. But during the show’s reunion special for Max, the actors behind those characters made some confessions of their own. Though the two never got together in real life, they both carried a torch from the very first season. Still, they maintain that nothing ever happened off the set. Their first kiss was indeed in front of the cameras. Hearing the actors talk about their crushes just makes “Friends” fans want to go back and watch the whole series again. You know, to catch all the subtext.

“The Golden Girls” were four best friends who ate more cheesecake and had more dates than people half their age. But things weren’t completely hunky dory on set. Betty White, who played the lovably airheaded Rose Nylund[g], was apparently too nice for Dorothy Zbornak[h] actress Beatrice Arthur. White made jokes over the years, alluding to their opposite personalities, but it wasn’t until later that she actually stated how plain it was that Arthur just didn’t like her that much. Despite this, White says she loved her co-star. It does make us rethink all those times Dorothy yelled at Rose.

Alyssa Milano [j]and Shannen Doherty may have played supernatural sisters on “Charmed,” but there was little love lost between them. The late Doherty was fired after three seasons and replaced by Rose McGowan[k]. In 2023, after years of saying she chose to depart, Doherty confirmed that she was fired at Milano’s urging. Her version of events was corroborated by their co-star, Holly Marie Combs, on her podcast. Milano had built a case for a hostile work environment, and threatened a lawsuit if her fellow actress wasn’t let go. It cleared up a decades-old mystery around pretty scandalous behind-the-scenes drama.

After filming the 1985 historical drama, “Plenty,” co-stars Tracey Ullman and Meryl Streep were on their way back from the shoot in Tunisia. According to Ullman’s speech at Streep’s AFI Life Achievement Award dinner, their venting session was interrupted when the plane almost crashed. It was at that moment that the British star realized that if she dies with Meryl Streep, she’s going to get second billing in her own death. Ullman’s story doesn’t just highlight her own incredible sense of humor. It gives some fun and hilarious insight into Streep’s greatness, too!

Friendship on screen doesn’t always translate. That’s what “Sex and the City” fans everywhere found out when Kim Cattrall revealed that she did not consider her castmates her friends. On “Piers Morgan Life Stories,” Cattrall seemingly explained how she felt that co-stars blamed her for a third “Sex and the City” film not going forward. She further confirmed that she and Sarah Jessica Parker were not pals. The professional distance may be understandable, but it seemed to catch even Parker by surprise. As of season 2 of the sequel series, Cattrall has only made one appearance — and it was in a circumstance where she didn’t have to share the set with the others.

Clarice Starling and Hannibal Lecter have a relationship that’s hard to define. But one thing’s for sure: Anthony Hopkins[m] was terrifying in his role. Star Jodie Foster admitted that she didn’t really speak to Hopkins on the set of “The Silence of the Lambs.” Her reasoning was simple enough. He spent most of the time behind a glass wall, and frankly, he was scary. In fact, she says they didn’t really have a conversation until the last day of shooting. No wonder these two got Oscars. It’s kind of fun, and disturbing, to know that a set can be just as unsettling as the movie itself.
Did any of these celebrity stories shock you? Let us know in the comments.

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[c](HAR-vee kye-TELL)
[d](JAYN CAM-pee-uhn
[e](JAN-it HOO-buht)
[f](BEE AR-thuh)
[g](ROHZ NYE-luhnd
[h](DOR-uh-thee ZBOR-nak)
[i](SHAN-uhn DOH-uh-tee)
[j](uh-LISS-uh mih-LAH-noh)
[k](ROHZ muh-GOW-un)
[l](KIM kuh-TRAL)
[m](AN-thuh-nee HOP-kins