Obviously this is a very broad question as the reason an actor might be behaving unprofessionally will vary on a case by case basis and therefore so will the remedy.

There is no doubt though that the entertainment industry doesn’t follow the same rules of engagement when it comes to what is and isn’t considered “professional” in most other industries. It’s why people outside the industry might read the recent reports of The Rock costing his latest production an extra 50 million dollars because he would be perpetually late to set and think how is it even possible for somebody to behave like that without getting fired-or at least called out by his co-workers. Conversely people working in the industry will simply shrug their shoulders and say“ that’s just actors for you”.

This post is not meant to just shit on actors. Most actors are delightful and there is lots of unprofessional behaviour that goes on in any role within the industry that cannot be easily replaced at short notice. In my experience though actors do get the most leeway in terms of how they can and can’t behave because they know once they have started shooting they are the least replaceable person on the set. Even directors and cinematographers can be quickly replaced if necessary. Unless a production has a budget for reshoots they are stuck with whatever “talent” they are dealing with until they wrap. This often leads to a scenario of having to tolerate terrible behaviour simply because confronting it will often make it worse for the production as a whole.

The reason for this post is that I am currently working on a production with a particularly “difficult” actor. I’m of course not at liberty to say who it is but their behaviour is both surprising given how positive their reputation outside the industry is and not surprising at all given how common place such behaviour is within it.

What are your horror stories of dealing with difficult talent? Doesn’t matter if it’s a student film or a Hollywood blockbuster in my experience there is always somebody that makes life needlessly difficult for the production. Do you have any advice as to how to best navigate the situation?