In superhero media, it's a common trope for heroes who are working together for the first time to not get along. It happened with the Avengers, the Justice League, the Defenders, the Legends, and just about any other super-team or crossover that has been put on screen. However, by the end of the first battle or two, the characters finally realize how to work together and becomes a cohesive team in the process. Sadly, it doesn't work this way in real life all of the time. The profession of acting lends itself to creating drama due to large reputations, unbalanced paychecks, long work days, and so on - superhero media is no different.
In fact, in a lot of your favorite superhero movies and shows, the actors who are portraying best friends are just casual acquaintances or colleagues in the real world. Sometimes it goes a step further and actors who appear to be buddy-buddy on screen absolutely despise working with each other!
This discomfort working with costars will sometimes spill into other, non-superhero roles as well; whether it be because of jealousy, personality clashes, or just pure annoyance, we're bringing you some of the biggest superhero actor clashes around.
Here are 15 Superhero Actors Who Couldn’t Stand Working With Their Co-Stars.
Viola Davis vs Jared Leto (DCEU)
It's no secret that Suicide Squad's production was a mess. DC ordered several key scenes to be reshot, Jared Leto's Joker nearly got edited out of the movie, and the film's final tone was all over the place. Despite overwhelming financial success, Suicide Squad was seen as a critical flop by both fans and professional critics alike.
One of the more bizarre behind-the-scenes stories about the movie was Jared Leto's method acting.
To try and emulate the Joker, he sent disgusting gifts to his co-stars such as live rats, bullets, and several other unmentionable objects! Viola Davis was having none of it; though she didn't receive any gifts herself, she claimed that she always had her pepper spray at the ready when Leto was around.
Lynda Carter vs Debra Winger (Wonder Woman)
Wonder Girl is a character whose origins are confusing even to the biggest DC fan. Originally she was just a younger version of Wonder Woman. In later adaptations, she is shown as Diana's sister or her adopted daughter/sidekick. Other times she has zero relation to the Amazonian whatsoever! In the '70s Wonder Woman show the character was played by Debra Winger and was Diana's little sister.
However, the character completely disappeared after the first season despite having her own spin-off in development. Why? Allegedly, Winger couldn't get along with star Lynda Carter, who forbid Wonder Girl from having as elaborate of a costume or as nicely-done makeup as the lead.
Carter did not have nice things to say about the actress, either. Winger bought out her contract and never appeared on the show again.
Tommy Lee Jones vs Jim Carrey (Batman Forever)
Tommy Lee Jones is one of the greatest actors of our generation. Jim Carrey is one of the greatest comedians of our generation. When the two got together to portray the main villains of Batman Forever, it should have been a spectacle to behold. Instead, we got two ridiculously over the top performances and a movie that was pretty "meh."
Jones is generally typecast as playing the old and grumpy character. Jim Carrey has recounted that as being his experience in real life reflecting that. Carrey claimed that, when he tried to say hi to his co-star at a restaurant, Jones pulled him in close and told him he "hated him" and that he "could not sanction [his] buffoonery."
Jon Bernthal vs Keven Spacey
Before his fall from grace, Kevin Spacey was one of the most successful actors in Hollywood. Jon Bernthal, on the other hand, has only been recently making a name for himself with roles in shows like The Walking Dead and The Punisher.
Both have taken superhero roles before - Lex Luthor and Frank Castle - but they finally got a chance to work together in 2017's surprise hit Baby Driver as the characters of Doc and Griff. The experience, however, completely soured Bernthal's opinion of Spacey.
Bernthal called Spacey a "bully" and claimed that he was making comments towards certain crew members that made him uncomfortable.
Bernthal also says that he has "lost a ton of respect" for the actor since the experience, coupled with the allegations brought against Spacey in 2017.
Jeff Bridges vs Robert Downey Jr (Iron Man)
What can we possibly say about Iron Man? It was the film that launched the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, and it was also responsible for revitalizing Robert Downey Jr.'s career after a stint in rehab. The movie was allegedly a blast to make; with RDJ, Jeff Bridges, and Jon Favreau on set, how could it not be?
One of the biggest things about the production of Iron Man was the fact that Favreau was still writing the script as they were filming. This meant that, although they had the story beats and direction in place, most of the dialogue had to be improvised.
Jeff Bridges was uncomfortable with this, especially since his co-star RDJ was such a master at the craft of improv. Though he enjoyed the film, the nature of its production stressed The Dude out.
Wesley Snipes vs Blade: Trinity cast
Wesley Snipes is one of those actors who is notoriously difficult to work with, yet kept getting cast because he was such a breakout star of the '90s. There was no question about it: he was a diva. Part of the actor's major success came from the Blade films of the 2000s, where he portrayed the half-human, half-vampire antihero who hunted his kind at night. Blade: Trinity is the final film in the franchise.
Hearing the stories about Snipes' behavior on the set, it's easy to see why. Patton Oswald says that Snipes would sit in his trailer and smoke most of the time. Oswalt also says that Snipes only communicated with director David S. Goyer via written notes, and that "he tried to strangle" Goyer over a misunderstanding.
He was reportedly no better to his co-stars. A source told journalist Chris Parry that Snipes kept referring to Ryan Reynolds as "the cracker."
James Franco vs Anne Hathaway
The 2011 Academy Awards were a bizarre one. The 2011 ceremony was co-hosted by former Green Goblin James Franco and future Academy Award winning actress Anne Hathaway.
The show was seen by most as a total disaster, with Franco being awkward and Hathaway having to overcompensate for his lack of enthusiasm.
Apparently, the star of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy was not a fan of working with the future Catwoman. On The Howard Stern Show he later said that he understood why "Hathahaters" (a nickname for people who dislike the actress) felt the way they did about Anne. Though he claims the actress and himself have made up since the awkward awards show, he also said that "we haven't talked in awhile."
Christopher Reeve Was Let Down by Marlon Brando
Henry Cavill may be doing a good job as the Man of Steel, but to many, Christopher Reeve will always be the quintessential Superman. In the original series of films, Kal-El's father (Jor-El) was portrayed by Golden Age legend Marlon Brando.
Director Richard Donner felt that Brando would have the gravitas and experience to play such an important character in the DC canon. Reeve himself was excited to work with such an icon.
However, the excitement waned when Brando got to set. The actor was notorious for not memorizing his lines, having to read them off of cue cards attached to different actors while filming.
Seeing Brando in action disappointed the Man of Steel.
Reeve has gone on record saying that he felt like Marlon Brando was always phoning in his performance and that he "was just in it for the money."
Val Kilmer vs Batman Forever
When you stop and think of the actors who played Batman, who comes to mind? Michael Keaton? Adam West? Christian Bale? Heck, even George Clooney is remembered when it comes to the list of Batman leads! Val Kilmer is often left as the odd man out; Batman Forever wasn't good enough or quite bad enough to leave a huge impression on people. Why wasn't Kilmer the lead in Batman & Robin? He wasn't necessarily bad as the Dark Knight.
Chicago Tribune reports that he was a headache to work with throughout the entire production! Director Joel Schumacher referred to him as "childish and impossible," and also said:“[he] was being irrational and ballistic with the first assistant director, the cameraman, the costume people. He was rude and inappropriate."
Kilmer would often disobey direct orders from Joel Schumacher, even refusing to speak to him for weeks after the director flexed his authority.
Miles Teller Didn't Like Nicole Kidman
Speaking of Batman Forever, Nicole Kidman took a foray into the world of superhero flicks early in her career when she played the Dark Knight's love interest. She'll also take on the role of Queen Atlanna in Aquaman.
Though it was ridiculously short-lived (and probably best forgotten), Miles Teller looked like he was going to be the face of Mister Fantastic in the Fan4stic reboot before it bombed. The young actor got a chance to work with Kidman on his very first major acting gig, Rabbit Hole.
Working with Nicole Kidman was a nightmare for Teller, but not for the reasons you'd suspect. The actress wanted herself and Teller to have an authentic relationship on screen, so she reportedly refused to talk to him throughout most of the filming and only broke character around him briefly between scenes. Though the experience was "horrible" for the young actor, there is no ill-will between the two.
Vin Diesel vs the Rock
Vin Diesel is one of Hollywood's biggest nerds. Though he is always portraying a rough and tough muscle-head on screen, the actor is a huge fan of comic books and all things geek-related. This love for comics led to him landing a role as Groot in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is almost just as nerdy. The former WWE star is apparently a huge fan of the DC character Black Adam and is slated to star as the villain sometime in the future.
Although The Rock is said to be one of the nicest guys around, he is not quick to forgive if you cross him.
Apparently Vin Diesel did this on the set of The Fate of the Furious, leading to Johnson sending out an ominous insult on Twitter. Later, it was confirmed that Diesel and Johnson's scenes in the movie were shot in a way so that neither of them had to be on set at the same time.
James Franco vs Henry Cavill
Oh yes, these two starred in a movie together! Tristan & Isolde is one of the more forgettable films in these actors' repitoire; it was fairly poorly received and was a financial flop. At the time, Franco was fresh off of the Spider-Man movies while the future Man of Steel was still a budding actor.
Even years later, there seems to be bad blood between the two.
James Franco claims that Cavill "didn't like [him]" during the filming of the movie, but completely understands why. However, the actor's feelings must have come off really strong, because Franco reportedly went to the premiere of Batman v Superman dressed incognito to avoid causing tension. If that wasn't enough, Franco wrote a scathing review of Man of Steel for Vice.
Terrance Howard vs Robert Downey Jr (Iron Man)
As we said before, the first Iron Man was a breakout hit for the MCU and paved the way for all that was to come. One of the few hiccups fans saw with the overall MCU was the replacement of Terrence Howard with Don Cheadle as James Rhodes (aka War Machine). Though most agree it was for the better, it would be unheard of today for the MCU to recast a major character like this. What happened?
Apparently Terrence Howard was unhappy that Robert Downey Jr. was getting paid more than him. Tensions flared when it was time to start the second movie and Marvel wanted to lower his paycheck; RDJ allegedly refused to back his co-star up, leading to Howard's departure and years of issues between the two - though they have reportedly made up since.
Edward Norton vs Marvel
It's no secret that Edward Norton is a perfectionist. Every time the actor is involved with a movie, he has to either trust the director a whole lot or he has to have some say in script or direction of the film. When he was cast as Bruce Banner in The Incredible Hulk (the MCU's second film), fans were ecstatic. Norton was an amazing actor and portrayed Banner in a new way. However, the character was recast with Mark Ruffalo for The Avengers.
This was because Marvel and Norton clashed repeatedly over The Incredible Hulk. Norton reportedly wanted the movie to be longer and more character-driven, while the producers wished it to be more streamlined and more focused on the action and world-building. Despite the actor's difficulty, he was poised to reprise his role before Marvel sent out a public statement claiming they needed someone more "collaborative" for the role in the future.
David Yost vs Power Rangers
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers was one of the biggest phenomenons to come out of the 1990s. A whopping 25 years later, and the franchise is still going strong with two feature films and countless series under its belt. Billy, the Blue Ranger, was a fan-favorite character from the early days of the show; people related to the nerdy yet pure heart character, and loved his awesome costume!
However, Power Rangers was hell for David Yost, the actor who portrayed Billy Cranston. Yost is an actor who wasn't afraid to let the world know he was gay, even back in the days before it was acceptable. This led to reported harassment on the set of the show from the crew, the producers, and even some of his co-stars. Yost refused to give names, but he claims that he has forgiven his bullies and is even friends with them today.
---
Did we leave off any of the big superhero actor feuds? Let us know in the comments!