When you reach a certain level of fame, it’s probably hard to imagine doors not opening for you anymore. It gets to the point where you start to take the opportunities you get for granted and perceive them as something that was supposed to happen. Hollywood wouldn’t be Hollywood if the business wasn’t entirely feeling that vibe and occasionally shutting down a star with dramatic effect.
Let’s take a look at some actors who thought the door was wide open, only to get it slammed in their faces. Metaphorically, of course.
David Caruso – NYPD Blue
Maybe not that exuberant a demand, but Caruso asked the producers on NYPD Blue to have more time off so he could film movies. Caruso felt like he was more than just a TV actor and tried to get out of his contract early into season 2, even getting some lawyers on the job. The creators then just let Caruso go entirely and went back to their first option for the role, Jimmy Smits.
Kim Cattrall – Sex and the City 3
If you’re one of the Sex and the City girls, you probably think you can manage to ask just about anything when the next project pops up, right? Kim Cattrall asked Warner Bros. to produce her other movie projects when the question came for the third movie, after which the movie tanked entirely because the studio wasn’t feeling it.
Bruce Willis – Expendables 3
Bruce Willis had been in the previous Expendables movies, so it only made sense that he’d come back for the third one, right? Well, he was set to make about $3 million for 4 days of filming, but answered that he wanted $4 million instead. It’s hard to imagine someone being able to replace Bruce Willis in a high-adrenaline action movie, but Stallone, being an action star himself wasn’t going to deal with this kind of behavior and replaced Willis with none other than Harrison Ford.
Uma Thurman – Eloise in Paris
After having done the Kill Bill series, nobody doubted Thurman’s ability to carry a movie, and when the time came for her to do Eloise in Paris, her demands very much reflected that. She asked for $4.5 million, three mobile phones, discounts on the wigs, and clothing, first-class travel,… You name it. The plug was pulled on the movie and after quite a lengthy lawsuit, they settled for $10 million.
Mark Wahlberg – Silver Linings Playbook
The Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence film was initially casted for Mark Wahlberg and Anne Hathaway. However, Marky Mark asked the studio for a compensation of $900,000 if Anne Hathaway were to leave the project, which they declined. Smart move, considering Hathaway later dropped the project entirely.
Lindsay Lohan – Russian Talk Show
Lohan was invited to a Russian talk show back in 2016, when controversy was still her middle name. Apart from asking for almost $1 million and a bunch of other stuff, the weirdest part was that she asked for an audience with none other than Vladimir Putin himself. While Lohan did appear on the talk show, there’s no real evidence that she actually got to meet Putin.
