Actors Who Left In The Middle Of Filming

“I didn’t enjoy being laughed at. I stormed off the set and into my trailer, slamming the door,” said one actor.

On more than one occasion, actors have grown fed up with the drama going down on set and have decided to walk away in the middle of filming. While some celebs are justified in their actions, others only made the issues worse.

Find out why these celebrities walked away from set.

1. Emma Watson

While Emma Watson was working on This Is The End, it was long rumored that she had stormed off set amid a disagreement about a change in the script. After Seth Rogen seemingly confirmed the story in an interview with British GQ, he was forced to clarify what actually happened on set. Seth explained that while Emma did leave set, he noted that she did not angrily storm off.

“The scene was not what was originally scripted, it was getting improvised, changed drastically and it was not what she agreed to. The narrative that she was in some way uncool or unprofessional is complete bulls–t,” Seth wrote on X.

He continued, “I, for sure, should have communicated better and because I didn’t, she was put in an uncomfortable situation. She and I spoke on the night; it was overall a s–tty situation and it must have been hard for her to say something. And I’m happy and impressed that she did. We agreed on her not being in the scene together.”

2. Joaquin Phoenix

While working on Her, Scarlett Johansson says her co-star Joaquin Phoenix had to leave the set while they were filming her orgasm scene. Calling the moment in the movie “gross” and “bizarre,” Scarlett said that Joaquin left because he needed a break.

“We tried to get through one take, and he was like, losing it. He left the studio. He needed a break,” she said on the Armchair Expert podcast. “You definitely don’t want to hear what you sound like having an orgasm. You definitely don’t want to hear what you sound like having a fake orgasm — ew.”

Director Todd Phillips also said similar things happened on the set of Joker, explaining that “in the middle of the scene,” Joaquin would just “walk away and walk out” because he “wasn’t feeling it.”

3. Sharon Stone

Back in 2014, Sharon Stone stormed off the set of A Golden Boy, according to the film’s director Pupi Avati. Looking back, he says there were too many people on set for Sharon’s liking, including photographers and a TV cameraman. In the heat of the moment, Sharon left until the set was cleared.

“She immediately disappeared. We looked for her everywhere, but nothing! Then my brother received a phone call from Los Angeles from her manager: she wouldn’t come back on the set until the photographers and especially that damned TV cameramen had gone away. Obviously we did so and she, like nothing happened, shot the scene,” Pupi told The Hollywood Reporter.

Sharon’s rep, however, later denied the reports.

4. Nicolas Cage

Nicolas Cage is rumored to have stormed off the set of The Old Way when cast and crew safety was put in jeopardy. According to key grip Stu Brumbaugh, the film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, failed to follow basic gun safety protocols. After she allegedly fired live ammo without warning for the second time in three days, Brumbaugh said Nicolas yelled at her and left the set.

“Make an announcement, you just blew my f–king eardrums out!” Cage reportedly said before storming away, according to the grip’s interview with The Wrap.

Nicolas has not addressed the incident but one producer told the outlet that he did not recall any trouble with the armorer. Reed was sentenced to 18 months in prison for a similar incident on the set of Rust, after being found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Halyna Hutchins.

5. Patrick Stewart

Patrick Stewart admits that while working on the first season of Star Trek: the Next Generation, there was a moment that caused him to storm off set. Looking back in his book, Making It So: A Memoir, Patrick said he grew increasingly upset when he felt his castmates were goofing off and messing up their lines.

“I grew angry with the conduct of my peers, and that’s when I called that meeting in which I lectured the cast for goofing off and responded to Denise Crosby‘s, ‘We’ve got to have some fun sometimes, Patrick,’ comment by saying, ‘We are not here, Denise, to have fun,’” he wrote.

Patrick added, “In retrospect, everyone, me included, finds this story hilarious. But, in the moment, when the cast erupted in hysterics at my pompous declaration, I didn’t handle it well. I didn’t enjoy being laughed at. I stormed off the set and into my trailer, slamming the door.”

6. Frankie Muniz

Frankie Muniz may have been just a teenager while filming Malcolm in the Middle but he says he once walked off set to protest the show’s toxic environment. While appearing on I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here, Frankie shared that “certain people” had contributed to the tension, causing cast and crew to be scared of them.

“There were two episodes I’m not in. I walked off the set,” he said, according to News.com.au. “Everyone was so afraid to stand up when certain people were controlling or rude or disrespectful. Like, they walked on pins and needles … I was so mortified by seeing people afraid to stand up for themselves, I was like, ‘Say something.’ I didn’t care if they told me I was never going back, because it was worth it to me…It helped [that the show was based around me].”

7. Chevy Chase

Chevy Chase reportedly had a difficult moment on set towards the end of season 3 of Community. According to Deadline, tensions were already high between Chevy and the show’s creator Dan Harmon and Chevy had walked off set on multiple occasions. While filming the final episode of the season, Chevy reportedly stormed off set, which he later attributed to not getting the script earlier in the week — a story which crew members later confirmed.

The incident ended up causing a major rift between the two men and at the wrap party the following day, Dan allegedly called out Chevy in an inappropriate and scathing speech. Chevy and his family left the party and he later called Dan, leaving him a heated voicemail. In the end, Chevy did not return for the next season.

8. James Caan

While the late James Caan was filming Accidental Love, he got into an altercation with director David O. Russell that caused him to storm off set and then leave the movie entirely. According to Entertainment Tonight, during a scene where James’ character was choking to death on a cookie, David wanted him to “cough and choke.” James argued that a person couldn’t both cough and choke at the same time — and when David suggested they film the scene both ways, James reportedly left the set.

James’ publicist later confirmed that the actor had left the project but said it was amicable and due to “creative differences.” The part in the film was eventually recast.

9. Diana Rigg

Diana Rigg kept things short while she was working on the set of Game of Thrones. According to her former co-star Jessica Henwick, Diana arrived on set while the crew were still setting up. She recited her lines twice and when she was asked to film a close up, she simply walked off the set.

“She walked onto the set, and she went, ‘I’m ready now!’ A cameraman came over and went, ‘Well, okay, but we haven’t finished setting up.’ She interrupted him and said, ‘Roll the cameras!’ And she just started doing her lines. She did two takes, and then the guy came over and was like, ‘Great, now we’re going to do a close-up.’ And she just stood up and she went, ‘I’m done!’” Jessica told Entertainment Tonight.

She continued, “Now, she can’t walk fast. She has to be helped. So basically we just sat there and watched as Diana Rigg effectively did her own version of storming off the set, but it was at 0.1 miles per hour. She cracked me up.”

10. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio

Back in 1989, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio was working on James Cameron’s notoriously difficult film The Abyss alongside Ed Harris. In one scene in the film, Mary’s character sacrifices herself and then is revived by Ed’s character. While trying to wake her, Ed was asked to scream at Mary and slap her. After filming for some time, Ed realized that the camera had run out of film as they continued to act out the brutal moment — upsetting both of them.

“I was slapping her across the face and I see that they’ve run out of film in the camera — there’s a light on the camera — and nobody had said anything,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “And Mary Elizabeth stood up and said, ‘We are not animals!’ and walked off the set. They were going to let me just keep slapping her around!”