# Director/Actor Rivalries **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 24, 2021, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-actor-rivalries/953125 "2021-10-24T23:15:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2021, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-actor-rivalries/953125/1 "2021-10-24T23:15:28Z")
Popular, but real rivalries… First one that came to my mind was Bette David and John Crawford. “You should never say bad things about the dead, you should only say good… Joan Crawford is dead. Good!” - Bette Davis I’ll look for more. I’m more interested in directors criticizing others’ works. Spike Lee and Quentin Tarantino have said words about each other, mostly about vulgar language, but I rather find more things concrete about their movies, or career in general. Here’s a great site > **[TSPDT - Directors](https://www.theyshootpictures.com/directors.htm)** > > They Shoot Pictures, Don't They? is dedicated to the art of motion picture film-making and most specifically to that one particular individual calling the shots from behind the camera - the film director. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2021, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-actor-rivalries/953125/2 "2021-10-25T00:20:28Z")
My favorite insulting quote from an actor to another was on the set of _Hello Dolly_ when Walter Matthau told Barbra Streisand, “I have more talent in my smallest fart than you have in your entire body.” (I can hear Matthau’s voice whenever I read his words) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2021, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-actor-rivalries/953125/3 "2021-10-25T07:16:18Z")
When Dean Martin was asked about Jerry Lewis’s stated desire to put more “pathos” into their movies, he replied “I wouldn’t mind, if he knew how to do it.” ---
**Author:** ![TCMF-2L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tcmf-2l/32/16553_2.png) [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2021, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-actor-rivalries/953125/4 "2021-10-25T12:53:57Z")
There was a story **Diana Rigg** so disliked **George Lazenby** while they were making the **James Bond** film **On Her Majesty’s Secret Service** she ate garlic before they filmed their love scenes. Then it was suggested this story arose from a joke. While lunching before filming the scene Rigg shouted across the canteen to Lazenby she was deliberately eating garlic. She was only joking. The plot thickens. Apparently for years afterwards Lazenby would relate this anecdote, presumably intending it to be self deprecating, that Rigg disliked him enough to eat garlic but Rigg grew increasingly unhappy at the implied slur to her professionalism. So she did begin to genuinely dislike him. When Rigg died Lazenby’s reported comments insisted their time on set was harmonious and he learned so much about acting from her. So maybe a feud, maybe not. Maybe not the feud you thought. TCMF-2L ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2021, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-actor-rivalries/953125/5 "2021-10-25T13:02:22Z")
The thread title reference to Director/Actor rivalries made me instantly think of Werner Herzog [directing](https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/may/21/fiachragibbons) Klaus Kinski: > Werner Herzog, the German director of the Amazon film epic Fitzcarraldo, has admitted that he plotted to murder its star Klaus Kinski… > We had a great love, a great bond, but both of us planned to murder each other,’ he said after the premiere at the Cannes film festival. 'Klaus was one of the greatest actors of the century, but he was also a monster and a great pestilence. ---
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2021, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-actor-rivalries/953125/6 "2021-10-25T15:07:33Z")
Dean Martin said the two best days of his professional life was meeting Jerry Lewis, and leaving Jerry Lewis 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2021, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-actor-rivalries/953125/7 "2021-10-25T17:10:40Z")
> [@MortSahlFan](#): > > Popular, but real rivalries… First one that came to my mind was Bette David and John Crawford… He should have let his sister fight her own battles. ---
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2021, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-actor-rivalries/953125/8 "2021-10-25T17:40:27Z")
lol… can’t edit… A movie friend just told me that Arthur Miller wrote “The Crucible” after Elia Kazan became a rat. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2021, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-actor-rivalries/953125/9 "2021-10-25T18:03:14Z")
Rip Torn attacked Norman Mailer with a hammer when making a movie in 1969. [https://normanmailer.us/actor-rip-torn-talks-about-infamous-hammer-scene-in-norman-mailers-maidstone-949adaab536b](https://normanmailer.us/actor-rip-torn-talks-about-infamous-hammer-scene-in-norman-mailers-maidstone-949adaab536b) ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2021, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-actor-rivalries/953125/10 "2021-10-26T13:02:14Z")
> [@Stanislaus](#): > > The thread title reference to Director/Actor rivalries made me instantly think of Werner Herzog [directing](https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/may/21/fiachragibbons) Klaus Kinski: That was the one that I thought of. [There is an entire documentary about their relationship, “My Best Fiend.”](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0200849/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0) To be fair, both of them were insane. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2021, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-actor-rivalries/953125/11 "2021-10-26T15:59:35Z")
Or at least a bit tetched in the head. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2021, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-actor-rivalries/953125/12 "2021-10-29T23:15:16Z")
The first example that came to mind was how much John Frankenheimer despised Val Kilmer. The director apparently had so little use for him that he said he wouldn’t hire him even if he were directing _The Val Kilmer Story_. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2021, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-actor-rivalries/953125/13 "2021-10-30T06:09:26Z")
IIRC there were repeated confrontations between Bill Murray and Chevy Chase back in their _SNL_ days. ETA: The latter could be a handful, but with BM it was raised a notch. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2021, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-actor-rivalries/953125/14 "2021-10-30T19:43:09Z")
In Marlon Brando’s last movie _The Score_ he had no respect for its director Frank Oz and kept referring to him as “Miss Piggy” —who Oz portrayed working as puppeteer for Jim Henson. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2021, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-actor-rivalries/953125/15 "2021-10-30T22:33:13Z")
Ford often ridiculed Wayne, once referring to him as **a “big idiot**.” He’d also never forgiven the flag-waving actor for ducking military service in World War Two. Still, over the years, the director had come to respect Wayne’s talent and appreciate his unwavering loyalty.Mar 14, 2017 [ ### John Ford — The Bright and Dark Sides to the Finest Director in History ]([https://www.bestmoviesbyfarr.com/articles/john-ford-bio/2017/03](https://www.bestmoviesbyfarr.com/articles/john-ford-bio/2017/03)) Stanley Kubrick was NOT a favorite of many actors. Browbeating/starvation/100’s of takes will do that. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2021, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-actor-rivalries/953125/16 "2021-10-30T23:30:17Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > IIRC there were repeated confrontations between Bill Murray and Chevy Chase back in their _SNL_ days. > ETA: The latter could be a handful, but with BM it was raised a notch. They were not on SNL together. Chase left after the first season and Murray replaced him. They had a physical fight on the set when Chase came back to host. Two years later they were in Caddyshack together. They seem to at least on friendly terms now. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2021, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-actor-rivalries/953125/17 "2021-10-30T23:40:49Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > They were not on SNL together. Chase left after the first season and Murray replaced him. They had a physical fight on the set when Chase came back to host. Two years later they were in Caddyshack together. They seem to at least on friendly terms now. Murray is reportedly a rather temperamental guy (and Chase is no box of chocolates, either). Murray is said to have refused to speak to once-close friend Harold Ramis for more than twenty years after they made “Groundhog Day” together. They reconciled only when Ramis was near death. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2021, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-actor-rivalries/953125/18 "2021-10-30T23:46:42Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > > [@Loach](#): > > > > They were not on SNL together. Chase left after the first season and Murray replaced him. They had a physical fight on the set when Chase came back to host. Two years later they were in Caddyshack together. They seem to at least on friendly terms now. > > Murray is reportedly a rather temperamental guy (and Chase is no box of chocolates, either). Murray is said to have refused to speak to once-close friend Harold Ramis for more than twenty years after they made “Groundhog Day” together. They reconciled only when Ramis was near death. Plenty of stories about Chase and various people. He didn’t endear himself to the cast and crew of _Community._ It’s a shame he was perfect in the role. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2021, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-actor-rivalries/953125/19 "2021-10-30T23:48:46Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > … It’s a shame he was perfect in the role. Yeah, sometimes the best person to play a prickly cantankerous contrarian is a prickly cantankerous contrarian. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2021, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-actor-rivalries/953125/20 "2021-10-31T01:13:55Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > They were not on SNL together. Chase left after the first season and Murray replaced him. They had a physical fight on the set when Chase came back to host. Two years later they were in Caddyshack together. They seem to at least on friendly terms now. > [@Sherrerd](#): > > Murray is reportedly a rather temperamental guy (and Chase is no box of chocolates, either). Murray is said to have refused to speak to once-close friend Harold Ramis for more than twenty years after they made “Groundhog Day” together. They reconciled only when Ramis was near death. Ah, thanks for correcting my memory. Amazing (and indeed, embarrassing) how, over the years, factoids and various bits of info can get mixed up (or lost) in one’s vaults like that. 🤦‍♂️ 🤦‍♂️ 🤦‍♂️ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-actor-rivalries/953125.md?page=2)