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10 Popular On-screen Duos Who Gave Each Other a Hard Time On Set

Here are some costars from Hollywood who despised working together in a movie or TV show...
PUBLISHED OCT 6, 2023
Cover Image Source: Debbie Reynolds and Gene Kelly | Getty Images | Hulton Archive  | Jason Alexander and Heidi Swedberg | Getty Images | Hulton Archive
Cover Image Source: Debbie Reynolds and Gene Kelly | Getty Images | Hulton Archive  | Jason Alexander and Heidi Swedberg | Getty Images | Hulton Archive

These Costars From Hollywood Who Loathed Working Together

Actors Nina Dobrev and Paul Wesley | Getty Images | Ethan Miller
Actors Nina Dobrev and Paul Wesley | Getty Images | Ethan Miller

Some of the best on-screen chemistry between actors is not always a result of the impeccable friendship offscreen. Tinseltown is known for being all-consuming from time to time and it can sometimes take a toll on relationships between co-stars. However, we all know that you don't always have to like someone to be able to work with them. Today we are looking at some examples of ego or personality clashes between costars or simply cases of mistreatment based on one's discontent. Here are some costars from Hollywood who detested working together in a movie or TV show.

1. Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams

Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams | Getty Images | Lee Celano
Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams | Getty Images | Lee Celano

Although the pair later went on a few dates after the filming of "The Notebook" was over. It was reported that the lead pair did not get along while the production was on. Director Nick Cassavetes told VH1 that the two were not getting along. "Ryan came to me, and 150 people are standing in this big scene, and he says, 'Nick, come here.' And he's doing a scene with Rachel, and he says, 'Would you take her out of here and bring in another actress to read off-camera with me?' I said, 'What?' He said, 'I can't. I can't do it with her. I'm just not getting anything from this.'" The duo was seen screaming and yelling at each other on the set. 

2. Nina Dobrev and Paul Wesley 

Nina Dobrev and Paul Wesley | Getty Images  | Michael Yarish
Nina Dobrev and Paul Wesley | Getty Images | Michael Yarish

On the podcast Directionally Challenged, Dobrev revealed that while she did respect Paul she did not like him. She said that she would often be taken aback when people asked her if they were dating in real life as everybody thought that they had such good chemistry in "The Vampire Diaries". She continued, "I realize now that there's a fine line between love and hate, and we despised each other so much that it read as love but...we just didn't get along for maybe the first five months of shooting."

3. Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey

Actress Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze | Getty Images | 	Bettmann
Actress Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze | Getty Images | Bettmann

The two had a difficult time filming the renowned movie "Dirty Dancing" together. In his 2009 memoir, Swayze wrote that they had a "few moments of friction." "She seemed particularly emotional, sometimes bursting into tears if someone criticized her. Other times, she slipped into silly moods, forcing us to do scenes over and over again when she'd start laughing," he said. He also said that he was exhausted from shooting the same scene multiple times and did not have a lot of patience. 

4. Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio

Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio | Getty Images | 20th Century Fox
Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio | Getty Images | 20th Century Fox

Claire Danes was reportedly tired of DiCaprio playing pranks and found him really immature and the two reportedly didn't talk to each other between takes while shooting "Romeo and Juliet." However, she later revealed that she had a crush on him at the time. She told W Magazine that it was problematic, "I couldn’t have a crush on the guy I was professionally having a crush on!" Leonardo DiCaprio on the other hand thought that she was being too uptight when she did not take his practical jokes in the right spirit.

5. Jay Mohr and Jennifer Aniston

Jennifer Aniston and Jay Mohr | Getty Images | Kevin.Mazur
Jennifer Aniston and Jay Mohr | Getty Images | Kevin.Mazur

In 2010, Jay Mohr revealed that it was awkward for him to be on the same set of "Picture Perfect", where the leading woman was unhappy with his presence and made it clear from the very beginning. While he did not take her name, it was pretty evident that he was talking about Jennifer Aniston. He said that when she saw him on the set she complained to the people, saying, "Six guys they screen-test! Six! ... The one fucking guy I hate, that's the guy they hire!"

6. Debbie Reynolds and Gene Kelly

Getty Images | Hulton Archive
Debbie Reynolds and Gene Kelly | Getty Images | Hulton Archive 

In her memoir released in 2013, Debbie Reynold wrote that her "Singin' in the Rain" costar/director was a "cruel taskmaster" and came to the rehearsals to criticize everything she had done. She also writes how she never received any word of encouragement from him. She also talked about how he made unwanted advances towards her during an intimate scene and how she felt really uncomfortable. In another instance, Gene Kelly said, "I wasn't very nice to Debbie. I'm surprised she still speaks to me."

7. Richard Gere and Debra Winger

Actor Richard Gere  and Debra Winger | Getty Images |  Elisabetta Villa
Actor Richard Gere and Debra Winger | Getty Images | Elisabetta Villa

Louis Gossett Jr. alleged that his co-stars in the movie, "An Officer and a Gentleman" Richard Gere and Debra Winger were not at all getting along. He wrote, "The onscreen chemistry between the two of them was terrific, but it was a different story once the camera was turned off." She reportedly once called the actor, "a brick wall costar." In 2002, she  told the Guardian, "I had this reputation for being 'difficult.' But would a man have suffered the same accusation? He would probably have been admired for speaking his mind and be called a 'perfectionist.'"

8. Julia Roberts and Nick Nolte

Julia Roberts and
Julia Roberts and Nick Nolte | Getty Images | Hulton Archive

Julia Roberts told the New York Times that Nick Nolte who was her "I Love Trouble" costar could be both "completely charming and very nice" but was also "completely disgusting." From the moment they laid their eyes on each other, they have only given each other a hard time and they naturally get on each other's nerves quite a lot. "He’s going to hate me for saying this, but he seems to go out of his way to repel people. He’s a kick," she added. 

9. Jason Alexander and Heidi Swedberg

Getty Images |
Jason Alexander and Heidi Swedberg | Getty Images | Hulton Archive

Jason Alexander said that he didn't like working with Heidi Swedberg on "Seinfeld" because he simply was unable to figure out how to play off her. He said on "The Howard Stern Show", "Her instincts for doing a scene, where the comedy was, and mine were always misfiring. And she would do something, and I would go, 'OK, I see what she's going to do — I'm going to adjust to her.' And I'd adjust, and then it would change." He added that the rest of the cast also could not figure out how to work with her. 

10. Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny

 Actors David Duchovny (L) and Gillian Anderson | Getty Images | Albert L. Ortega
Actors David Duchovny (L) and Gillian Anderson | Getty Images | Albert L. Ortega

The "X-Files" costars Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny did not get along. She told the Guardian in 2015, "I mean, yes, there were definitely periods when we hated each other... Hate is too strong a word. We didn't talk for long periods of time." She revealed that it was really intense and that they were both "pain in each other's arse" from time to time. "I'm not going to get into it. I'm not even going to begin to get into that. But we are closer today than we ever have been."

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