When we watch movies, we probably rarely think about the people behind the camera. If they're not directors, producers, or writers, their names often stay unknown to the general public. Still, on average, there are usually more than 500 crew members working on a Hollywood blockbuster. With the post-production VFX teams included, the number can easily reach into the thousands.
A lot of those people have worked with famous actors and might know the scorching hot tea that some would prefer to stay a secret. Bored Panda recently came across two threads online where people who have worked on movie sets were sharing just what celebrities are really like in the workplace.
"People that work on movie sets, what are the most entitled actors you have ever met?" a Redditor wrote. Yet, people shared wholesome stories as well: who knew Gordon Ramsay could be the opposite of his TV persona and Oprah was, as the netizen put it, "kind of a Karen"?
#1
Not on a movie set but was friends with someone who’s parents owned a large hotel in a small community, Gordon Ramsey was filming an episode of hotel hell at their place, came over with McDonald’s for me and my friend and Gordon walked into the dining area and said “what have you got there” to which I responded McDonald’s then he gave a stern look and said “ throw that garbage away and wait here” a little while later he returned with fresh made eggs Benedict and was very polite to us. He genuinely cared for the youth.
54points
#2
Matthew McCon—nah I’m playing, he’s the nicest celeb I’ve ever met. He even took time to talk to an entire room of recovering addicts who had filled into the theater from next door, totally unaware MMC would be in there.
36points
#3
Opposite story. I met Colin Hanks, the son of Tom Hanks, while filming *Orange County*. You would expect him to be pretty arrogant and entitled, considering he grew up in Hollywood and his dad was TOM FREAKING HANKS.
Me and my friends had gotten on set since we were in a film club and ran into him while there. He was sooooo nice. He joked around, answered a lot of questions, and was really genuine. He laughed when we asked him how it felt being Tom Hank's son and said it got old being asked that all the time, but he always took it in stride. He is definitely like his father and just an all around nice guy.
Me and my friends had gotten on set since we were in a film club and ran into him while there. He was sooooo nice. He joked around, answered a lot of questions, and was really genuine. He laughed when we asked him how it felt being Tom Hank's son and said it got old being asked that all the time, but he always took it in stride. He is definitely like his father and just an all around nice guy.
Report
34points
#4
Not a movie set but I worked Guest relations/manager at the resorts at Disney and Ariana Grande was just terrible. She completely trashed the Cinderella suite. Apparently also caused damage over at Universal as well. On the other hand. Met several others. The ones that stand out are John Stamos, Chris Evans, and Prince Harry.
John Stamos was there on his honeymoon and still made time for fans.
Chris Evans was very polite and when someone recognized him through his sunglasses and ball cap disguise he was very cordial (his hotel room was a revolving door of women, but when you look like he does why not)
Prince Harry first thing he'll tell you is, it's just Harry. Extremely down to earth. Met him when we hosted the Invictus games. He cares so much about those wounded warriors.
John Stamos was there on his honeymoon and still made time for fans.
Chris Evans was very polite and when someone recognized him through his sunglasses and ball cap disguise he was very cordial (his hotel room was a revolving door of women, but when you look like he does why not)
Prince Harry first thing he'll tell you is, it's just Harry. Extremely down to earth. Met him when we hosted the Invictus games. He cares so much about those wounded warriors.
Report
28points
#5
Also a TV set, James Corden is an absolute jerk, not the funny happy go lucky guy you see on TV.
Report
27points
#6
Here's some uplifting news for you in this thread: I've had the luck to speak with Tomas F Wilson (Biff Tannen, BTTF)
Contrary to his character in BTTF, he's a funny and really friendly man.
Contrary to his character in BTTF, he's a funny and really friendly man.
24points
#7
Read multiple reports from sailors on board that Tom Cruise was a royal pain in the bum to deal with when filming the new top gun movie.
Report
24points
#8
Not really an actor but I served Harvey Weinstein during filming for The Hateful Eight. He was way overly entitled, a jerk, and a miserable tipper. And because he was absolutely amazing I've got to mention that Kurt Russel is awesome!
Report
24points
#9
My brother in law worked white house security and apparently Oprah is kind of a Karen.
23points
#10
In case anyone was worried that Bill Murray is secretly awful, he's not. I was the stand in for the lead actress in one of Bill Murray's movies, and Bill was super nice. Always on time and chatted and joked with the crew. One time I was feeling unwell so Bill made me a cup of tea.
Report
23points
#11
Throwaway because reasons....
So to be fair to celebrities, if someone meets you or works with you only once and you happen to be having a bad day that person might think you’re a jerk all the time and rumors start to spread.
This, for the most part. is not that.
In no particular order:
-Steve Harvey - Complete self entitled jerk. Disrespectful of everyone on set and acted like a petulant child the entire time. He didn’t want to have his photo taken (at a photo shoot set up specifically for him) so what should have been 30 minutes turned into 2-3 hours.
-Bobby Brown - Kind of a jerk. Thinks he’s still as big of a deal as he was in the 80’s / 90’s. He was really pleasant to the producers but dismissive at best to the crew.
-Young Thug - All of the stories you’ve heard are true. He’s so strung out on lean most of the time that he can’t be bothered to actually leave his hotel room to show up at the shoot. When he does show up, it’ll be a miracle if you get him to look at the camera.
-Migos - I didn’t interact with them directly but they were 4 hours late for their own concert, which was being recorded for advertising purposes (but there was a venue full of audience members who had paid for tickets). I was supposed to be in bed by 11pm, but because of their mess up I didn’t get home until 5am.
-2 Chains - 2hrs late and then refused to walk on set until he could smoke leaf. Once he did finally walk on he all fun & games for 10 minutes until he saw something on a monitor he didn’t like and started acting all **hard** and screaming about it.
-Mike Will - Showed up 3hrs late for what was supposed to be a 60 minute photo shoot - didn’t acknowledge the photographer or the crew for the first 45 minutes and instead messed around on his phone and walked around the location. We finally managed to get usable stuff, but only after his full crew arrived and the owner of the location gave them a green light to hotbox the bathroom.
-T.I. - Professional as hell. On time. Focused. Ready to work. But also sort of gives off a gangster/Scarface vibe. Very respectful to everyone but also his vibe puts everyone on edge a bit.
-Killer Mike - 100% Real. Professional and has no time to waste. What you see with him on TV or whatever doing interviews is pretty much him all the time.
-Sarah Blakely - She's a literal nut case.
-Lil Yachty - Eh. He was alright. Did a couple of shoots with him early on. He rolled up 30 minutes late and his dad (his manager at the time) yelled at him, which was amusing.
-Shaq - worked with him half a dozen times. He’s basically a giant 15 year old. Mostly pleasant but has a really short attention span and insists on having a hookah ready for him at all times so he can suck on it while the scene is getting lit.
-The Rock - Incredibly aware that he’s a big deal. Very serious and professional but totally pleasant and respectful to everyone. (Also he’s not as big as I expected). In between scenes he can be spotted doing curls and inhaling chicken, broccoli & rice. (Seriously this dude doesn’t stop).
-Mike Epps - Consummate professional and hilarious. 10/10
-Sean Astin - Major nerd (in the best way possible). Incredibly friendly and personable to everyone on set. I wish I hadn’t been so busy because I really would have loved to chat with him.
-Zoe Saldana - Super friendly and fun to work with. Made a point to thank every person on the crew for their work before she left.
-Natalie Dormer - The only time I’ve been legitimately star struck. She’s effortlessly beautiful, charming and was lovely to everyone on the crew.
-T-Pain - Like pretty much every other rapper, he was a couple of hours late... but made up for it by being hilarious and pleasant to work with. We had a lot of ruined takes because he likes to ad lib and see if he can get the crew busting up. (He can. We did).
-50 Cent - Total jerk. Super entitled and disrespectful to the entire crew. Needed a stunt double to catch a football for him.
-Andy Serkis & Martin Freeman - worked with them at the same time. Complete gentlemen even at 3am they were beyond professional.
-Emily Blunt - She was delightful.
-Jason Bateman - Very approachable and pleasant. Very easy to work with.
-Barry Bostwick - Really approachable and easy to work with. Dude has been around forever and knows how to get it done.
-Dale Earnhardt * - Polite and professional. Not professional “talent” and seems like he doesn’t care to be on camera but knows he needs to in order to keep the machine running - so we just get him in & out as fast as we can. No complaints.
-Keith David - Very professional. Seemed like a nice guy but I never got a lot of time with him because he would he got pulled off set into something else the moment we had the minimum we needed.
-Rhetta - Genuinely hilarious and good to work with the couple of times I was on set with her.
There are more but it’s late and my brain is done. Ha.
So to be fair to celebrities, if someone meets you or works with you only once and you happen to be having a bad day that person might think you’re a jerk all the time and rumors start to spread.
This, for the most part. is not that.
In no particular order:
-Steve Harvey - Complete self entitled jerk. Disrespectful of everyone on set and acted like a petulant child the entire time. He didn’t want to have his photo taken (at a photo shoot set up specifically for him) so what should have been 30 minutes turned into 2-3 hours.
-Bobby Brown - Kind of a jerk. Thinks he’s still as big of a deal as he was in the 80’s / 90’s. He was really pleasant to the producers but dismissive at best to the crew.
-Young Thug - All of the stories you’ve heard are true. He’s so strung out on lean most of the time that he can’t be bothered to actually leave his hotel room to show up at the shoot. When he does show up, it’ll be a miracle if you get him to look at the camera.
-Migos - I didn’t interact with them directly but they were 4 hours late for their own concert, which was being recorded for advertising purposes (but there was a venue full of audience members who had paid for tickets). I was supposed to be in bed by 11pm, but because of their mess up I didn’t get home until 5am.
-2 Chains - 2hrs late and then refused to walk on set until he could smoke leaf. Once he did finally walk on he all fun & games for 10 minutes until he saw something on a monitor he didn’t like and started acting all **hard** and screaming about it.
-Mike Will - Showed up 3hrs late for what was supposed to be a 60 minute photo shoot - didn’t acknowledge the photographer or the crew for the first 45 minutes and instead messed around on his phone and walked around the location. We finally managed to get usable stuff, but only after his full crew arrived and the owner of the location gave them a green light to hotbox the bathroom.
-T.I. - Professional as hell. On time. Focused. Ready to work. But also sort of gives off a gangster/Scarface vibe. Very respectful to everyone but also his vibe puts everyone on edge a bit.
-Killer Mike - 100% Real. Professional and has no time to waste. What you see with him on TV or whatever doing interviews is pretty much him all the time.
-Sarah Blakely - She's a literal nut case.
-Lil Yachty - Eh. He was alright. Did a couple of shoots with him early on. He rolled up 30 minutes late and his dad (his manager at the time) yelled at him, which was amusing.
-Shaq - worked with him half a dozen times. He’s basically a giant 15 year old. Mostly pleasant but has a really short attention span and insists on having a hookah ready for him at all times so he can suck on it while the scene is getting lit.
-The Rock - Incredibly aware that he’s a big deal. Very serious and professional but totally pleasant and respectful to everyone. (Also he’s not as big as I expected). In between scenes he can be spotted doing curls and inhaling chicken, broccoli & rice. (Seriously this dude doesn’t stop).
-Mike Epps - Consummate professional and hilarious. 10/10
-Sean Astin - Major nerd (in the best way possible). Incredibly friendly and personable to everyone on set. I wish I hadn’t been so busy because I really would have loved to chat with him.
-Zoe Saldana - Super friendly and fun to work with. Made a point to thank every person on the crew for their work before she left.
-Natalie Dormer - The only time I’ve been legitimately star struck. She’s effortlessly beautiful, charming and was lovely to everyone on the crew.
-T-Pain - Like pretty much every other rapper, he was a couple of hours late... but made up for it by being hilarious and pleasant to work with. We had a lot of ruined takes because he likes to ad lib and see if he can get the crew busting up. (He can. We did).
-50 Cent - Total jerk. Super entitled and disrespectful to the entire crew. Needed a stunt double to catch a football for him.
-Andy Serkis & Martin Freeman - worked with them at the same time. Complete gentlemen even at 3am they were beyond professional.
-Emily Blunt - She was delightful.
-Jason Bateman - Very approachable and pleasant. Very easy to work with.
-Barry Bostwick - Really approachable and easy to work with. Dude has been around forever and knows how to get it done.
-Dale Earnhardt * - Polite and professional. Not professional “talent” and seems like he doesn’t care to be on camera but knows he needs to in order to keep the machine running - so we just get him in & out as fast as we can. No complaints.
-Keith David - Very professional. Seemed like a nice guy but I never got a lot of time with him because he would he got pulled off set into something else the moment we had the minimum we needed.
-Rhetta - Genuinely hilarious and good to work with the couple of times I was on set with her.
There are more but it’s late and my brain is done. Ha.
Report
21points
#12
Way back in the day, my husband worked as a manger for a movie theater. He ran projection. The theater was a pretty nice theater in a big city.
He met Matt Damon and George Lucas.
Both came to see their movies (in secret, like outside of the big to do premieres)
Luca for Star Wars and Damon for Bourne.
Said both were nice. Matt Damon more so. Was really appreciative.
It's funny because some people saw Bourne Identity with Matt Damon and didnt even know it.
He met Matt Damon and George Lucas.
Both came to see their movies (in secret, like outside of the big to do premieres)
Luca for Star Wars and Damon for Bourne.
Said both were nice. Matt Damon more so. Was really appreciative.
It's funny because some people saw Bourne Identity with Matt Damon and didnt even know it.
21points
#13
2nd hand, but I used to bartend in Rockefeller Center in the late 90s. NBC shot a lot of shows in the building so a lot of my lunch crews were the people who worked on sets and production.
The hardest drinking, most miserable patrons were the ones from the Rosie O'Donnell Show. She tortured those poor bastards. Constant fits of rage, constant shouting, insults and throwing things. I would hear about it daily.
The hardest drinking, most miserable patrons were the ones from the Rosie O'Donnell Show. She tortured those poor bastards. Constant fits of rage, constant shouting, insults and throwing things. I would hear about it daily.
Report
20points
#14
Cesar Romero used to make my dad and some other stagehands throw orange wedges at his bare bum on the set of 'Batman' in 1966.
Report
18points
#15
Dunno if he qualifies as an A lister, but Rhys Darby (Jumanji, Yes Man) and I got to know each other when he was doing stand up in New Zealand. He is a seriously funny guy, and so giving and humble with his time. Had a few post gig beers with him one night, him, me and two other NZ comedians in a booth at the Classic Comedy and Bar in Auckland. Still one of the best nights I ever had. Great guy!
18points
#16
I knew a lady who's sister was Ben Stiller's assistant. She recorded how he would verbally berate her and call her stupid. I got to listen to the recording and it was absolutely 100% Ben Stiller's voice.
So apparently that guy is a real jerk.
So apparently that guy is a real jerk.
Report
18points
#17
I'm so glad you said Martin Freeman was nice, I love everything he is in and all the interviews he does I would be heartbroken if he had turned out to be a jerk.
Report
18points
#18
It’s an open secret as detailed through coded language (due to having signed NDAs) by comedy writers that Ellen is a terrible person to work for. Her handling of payment to her crew when covid hit came as no surprise to anyone who has heard these stories over the years.
17points
#19
Jim Carrey's trailer had an astroturf roll up lawn. On this lawn was a picnic table. On this table was a vase. On this vase was a flower. I'm not sure if he makes the teamsters bring it everywhere they filmed but I imagine so.
I never met the guy himself but that honestly I respected him for it. If you're living out of a trailer for days or weeks at a time and working the kind of hours we do making it as livable as possible is a good idea. Its honestly such a minor amount of work to set up compared to all the gear that gets hauled around regularly I doubt it was a huge deal.
Beyond that I've never really run into talent being primadonnas. Which makes sense. In this industry you're only as good as your last gig and your next one. People who are straight up naturally nasty don't last long.
If you see footage of someone melting down on set you should keep in mind we're all working like 12+ hour days 5 days a week and tensions are high. Even nice, good people can often crack in these circumstances. Hence why I don't fault anyone who wants a bit of extra comfort.
I never met the guy himself but that honestly I respected him for it. If you're living out of a trailer for days or weeks at a time and working the kind of hours we do making it as livable as possible is a good idea. Its honestly such a minor amount of work to set up compared to all the gear that gets hauled around regularly I doubt it was a huge deal.
Beyond that I've never really run into talent being primadonnas. Which makes sense. In this industry you're only as good as your last gig and your next one. People who are straight up naturally nasty don't last long.
If you see footage of someone melting down on set you should keep in mind we're all working like 12+ hour days 5 days a week and tensions are high. Even nice, good people can often crack in these circumstances. Hence why I don't fault anyone who wants a bit of extra comfort.
17points
#20
I was a driver on a movie starring Joey from friends in the 90s. He was a Very nice guy, and when I was slumped over at the wrap party because I was a drunk 19 year old he checked to make sure I was okay.
Report
17points