A great Hollywood partnership can make movie magic, but sometimes directors and their stars simply do not get along.
With ego, processes and stressful filming situations to contend with, it’s no wonder some stars walk away with horror stories or feuds.
In May 2026, Nicolas Cage namedropped not one, not even two, but three directors he doubted he’d ever work with after he (accidentally) hurt their feelings.
Cage has no hard feelings – but his claims suggests some directors can’t say the same. Getty
After that juicy morsel, we’ve done a deep dive into other movie stars and directors who are not big fans of each other.
From on-set altercations to feeling betrayed in the media, there is a lot to unpack.
Nicolas Cage and Christopher Nolan, Woody Allen and Paul Thomas Anderson
Nicolas Cage has an Oscar and well over 100 film credits to his name, but there are a few high-profile directors the acting legend doubts he will ever work with – because he has told them no.
Cage, 62, said a group of fellow Oscar winners, including The Odyssey director Christopher Nolan, will not “call [him] back” after he turned down roles in their films.
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Cage claims several directors, including Nolan (pictured), will not “call [him] back” after he turned down roles in their films. Variety via Getty Images
Paul Thomas Anderson was also name-checked by the actor. Alastair Grant/Invision/AP
“David O. Russell offered me a movie a million years ago,” Cage told The New York Times.
“It was a good movie, and he offered it and I said no, and he’s the only director that I ever said no to who actually came back and offered me another movie.
“Most of them, they get their feelings hurt and don’t call you back. It’s happened a million times to me. It’s happened with Christopher Nolan, it’s happened with Woody Allen, it’s happened with Paul Thomas Anderson. They don’t call me back.”
Julia Roberts and Steven Spielberg
Both among the most famous and revered people in their careers, it came as a shock to audiences to learn Julia Roberts and Steven Spielberg clashed on the set of 1991’s Hook.
Production was not at a great time for Roberts, whose engagement to Kiefer Sutherland ended during it and led to plenty of added scrutiny.
Sutherland and Roberts ended their relationship just three days before their wedding date. Getty
It was also her first experience with CGI and, as Tinkerbell, she spent a lot of time acting alone and waiting for shots to be set up.
She made her frustrations about this known, leading to the nickname “Tinkerhell” in the press.
Spielberg and Roberts have not worked together since. WireImage
Afterwards, Spielberg acknowledged her “unfortunate time” and said he would not work with her again – which Roberts said hurt her feelings.
“People disappoint me. It’s too bad. We did have an enjoyable time, we did actually have moments of great humour on that set,” she told Vanity Fair.
George Clooney and David O. Russell
While Cage was happy to receive a phone call from Silver Linings Playbook director David O. Russell, George Clooney would never say the same.
Clooney, 65, famously hated working with Russell, with the pair’s bitter feud beginning on the set of their 1999 film Three Kings.
Clooney is not a Russell fan. Getty
In one infamous on-set moment, Clooney even stepped in to defend an extra and ended up in a physical fight with the director.
The black comedy was critically acclaimed, but it came at a cost that Clooney would not want to pay again.
“The older you get, time allotment is very different. Five months out of your life is a lot,” he said 25 years later in a 2024 GQ interview.
“And so it’s not just like, ‘Oh, I’m going to go do a really good film, like Three Kings, and I’m going to have a miserable f— like David O. Russell making my life hell. Making every person in the crew’s life hell.’ It’s not worth it. Not at this point in my life,” Clooney said.
Russell is known to have blow ups with his stars. Getty Images for 20th Century S
Florence Pugh and Olivia Wilde
The Don’t Worry Darling mess was the gift that kept on giving in 2022, with what felt like an endless stream of news surrounding an alleged on-set conflict between director Olivia Wilde and star Florence Pugh.
The cast of Don’t Worry Darling’s Venice Film Festival red carpet got plenty of tongues wagging over who stood where. Getty
Eyebrows were first raised over reports debating whether Wilde had fired actor Shia LaBeouf from the lead role, or whether he had quit.
LaBeouf released a video to try to prove Wilde had not wanted him to leave, in which Wilde said: “I feel like I’m not ready to give up on this yet, and I, too, am heartbroken and I want to figure this out. I think this might be a bit of a wake-up call for Miss Flo, and I want to know if you’re open to giving this a shot with me.”
The “Miss Flo” nickname raised eyebrows, as did Pugh’s lack of involvement in the film’s promotion.
Pugh has remained very coy on what really happened. Getty Images for Disney
An investigation by Vulture said Wilde and Pugh fell out about three-quarters of the way through filming, as Pugh became fed up with Wilde’s unexplained absences – reportedly with Pugh’s co-star, Harry Styles, whom Wilde was dating.
Eventually, things broke into a “screaming match”, an insider said.
Wilde called claims of a feud “baseless” and was defended by 40 members of the film’s crew, who also called it “completely untrue”.
Freddie Prinze Jr and Jim Gillespie
I Know What You Did Last Summer was Freddie Prinze Jr’s big break, but he nearly walked away from the film altogether because of the film’s director.
In 2023, Prinze Jr said he constantly felt picked on by Jim Gillespie, who made no secret of the fact he wanted a different actor for the role of Ray.
“I’ll give the man this, I think his name is Jim, he made no bones about it,” Prinze Jr told TooFab.
“There was no passive aggressiveness, which I hate. He was very direct in the fact that, ‘I don’t want you in this movie.’ So when that’s your first job and you hear those words, it just wrecks you, man. It just wrecks you.”
He recalled receiving “psychotic notes” during production like, “Don’t leave your mouth open. You look stupid when you do that,” and said he was close to quitting.
Prinze Jr still credited the breakout film for his career, despite the tough filming experience. Getty
But looking back, Prinze Jr had a unique perspective.
“It sounds weird to say this – I’m forever grateful for Jim for being such an arsehole because I’ve never met one like that since. I’ve been prepared for every lesser A-hole in the business,” he said.
Prinze Jr has returned for multiple I Know What You Did Last Summer sequels without any awkward run-ins, because they have thankfully had different directors.
