Rebecca Ferguson says her recent revelation that a former co-star treated her abusively on a film set caused some panic among her former castmates.
The Dune: Part Two and Mission: Impossible franchise star says she received calls from several of her former co-stars after she went viral in February for recalling how an “absolute idiot” actor screamed at her and caused her to walk crying off a set. Ferguson’s anecdote caused a media and online frenzy with people trying to determine which of Ferguson’s former co-stars — which include several A-list actors — was the toxic thespian.
In a new interview, Ferguson told The Jess Cagle Show on SiriusXM that she was “not expecting” her comments to start such a guessing game.
“Number one, yes, I kind of enjoyed the grab,” she said. “But what I realized even at the age that I am now — 21 — is it doesn’t matter. I definitely think I’m much more open. I also know where my boundaries are. But the point of the interview wasn’t about finding the person — of course, people will be interested. But I was excited about the question, which was a very good question by [Josh Smith]. Because the point was: Is there a point in your career where you were treated in a way where you changed your decision on — this is how I formulated it in myself — where you want change, or you will not accept it? And it was such a clear moment for me working with this person.”
“But I got phone calls from amazing co-stars who I’ve worked with going, ‘You understand what you’ve done, right?!’” she continued. “And I was like, ‘Oh my God. No, I didn’t think.’ I mean, it’s not my responsibility, to be honest. I don’t really care. You know, ‘You’re great, but my story is my story, and if you’re a good person, then don’t worry about it.’”
Cagle then added, “The person was Meryl Steep, and everybody knows it,” to which Ferguson jokingly replied, “Dammit!”
In her original revelations, Ferguson had said, “I did a film with an absolute idiot of a co-star — doesn’t matter who it is. I’m going to try not to give this away, but I remember there was a moment, and this human being was being so insecure and angry because this person couldn’t get the scenes out. And I think I was so vulnerable and uncomfortable that I got screamed at,” she said.
She explained that “because this person was number one on the call sheet, there was no safety net” for her. “So no one had my back. And I would cry walking off set,” Ferguson said. “This person would literally look at me in front of the whole crew and say, ‘You call yourself an actor? This is what I have to work with? What is this?’ And I stood there just breaking.”
Ferguson said she felt “scared” after the ordeal and confronted her co-star, noting it was the first time she spoke up for herself as an actor. “I looked at this person, and I said, ‘You get off my set. You can F off. I’m gonna work towards a tennis ball. I never want to see you again.’”
After the producers informed her she couldn’t do that to the “number one” and the person would have to remain on set, Ferguson said, “The person can turn around, and I can act to the back of the head.” And that’s what she did. “I remember thinking that time I was so scared. I feel it now when I’m saying it,” she continued. “But I thought, ‘It shouldn’t have to be that way.’”
Ferguson quickly ruled out that the person was either Tom Cruise or Hugh Jackman but that still left plenty of names for people to speculate about.
Both Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Emily Blunt publicly denied they were the “idiot” co-star. Johnson posted on X, “Hate seeing this but love seeing her stand up to bulls***. Rebecca was my guardian angel sent from heaven on set. I love that woman. I’d like to find out who did this.” While Blunt denied it was her through a rep statement which read, “Rebecca and Emily are friends and there’s nothing but love between them.”
