The Biggest Jerks In Film

While some actors are known for being wonderful, others are infamous for their less than pleasant behavior on and off set. Sometimes, actors that play the sweetest characters on-screen can turn out to be some of the worst people in real life — that's why they're actors, right? Plus, many don't shy away from showing their true colors as soon as they don't get their way. With fame and success often comes privilege, and many of the following stars don't seem to be afraid to flex the power that comes with massive celebrity. 

As Bill Murray once put it during a 2009 appearance on the "Joy Behar Show" (via Vulture) being difficult may just be a natural form for some celebrities to take on. "I think everyone becomes a jerk for about two years when they become famous," he said. "... You end up behaving poorly because there's just no training for it." Arguably, the majority of the following names may have enjoyed more than their two years' worth of such behavior by this point. 

Some of the names on this list might surprise you while others won't at all — some just can't hide their shady side. As a result, the biggest jerks in film may not be people you'd want to cross in real life. Let's dive right into the tea.

Tobey Maguire is an actor most known for his depiction of Peter Parker in Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" trilogy. However, it's been alleged that the web-slinging sweetheart he portrayed is nothing like who he is in real life. In the '90s, the actor was part of the infamous "P*ssy Posse," a group of young Hollywood bachelors which included Leonardo DiCaprio, Lukas Haas, and Kevin Connolly, that were notorious for their partying and romantic pursuits. According to Molly Bloom, a woman who'd come to organize weekly private poker parties attended by the posse, Maguire was purported to be a challenging presence. "Tobey was the worst tipper, the best player, and the absolute worst loser," she wrote in her memoir, "Molly's Game" (via Vanity Fair). "I had to worry about my job security if he lost."

A former cocktail waitress, Bloom allegedly took home as much as $50,000 a night in her new role as Hollywood's Poker Princess. When Maguire decided she was making too much money, he tried to humiliate her in front of everyone by ordering her to bark for a $1,000 chip (via Vanity Fair). There have been other suggestions that Maguire is kind of a jerk behind the scenes. In 2003, for instance, Variety reported that Jake Gyllenhaal was in talks to replace the actor in "Spider-Man 2" after Maguire had reportedly exhibited difficult conduct during pre-production.

In 2019, it seemed like Shia LaBeouf was making a new name for himself in Hollywood. After producing and starring in a few widely acclaimed indie films, the artist-slash-actor was cast in Olivia Wilde's "Don't Worry Darling." However, scheduling conflicts had reportedly caused him to leave the project, and it was later revealed that he was actually dropped, per Variety. While the outlet described allegations that the actor was difficult to work with, Wilde confirmed the news to People and suggested she kept a zero-tolerance approach to bad behavior on-set. "The no a**hole policy, it puts everybody on the same level," she explained. 

When singer FKA Twigs accused LaBeouf of sexual battery and assault, Wilde was one of the many women to publicly show her support. Twigs filed a bombshell lawsuit against the actor in 2020, citing verbal and physical abuse. 

LaBeouf's violence off-set seemed to follow him into the professional world too. The darker he became in private, the darker his characters appeared to become. Most notoriously, while working on the set of "Lawless," Mia Wasikowska was completely terrified by the actor's method-drinking process. Speaking to Page Six (via The Cut), the actor explained that he used moonshine to get into his role, claiming that he needed to look sufficiently bloated to portray the character. His antics nearly caused Wasikowska to leave the film. "She was calling her attorney, like, 'Get me the f**k out of here,'" LaBeouf said. " ... I was really pretty aggressive about it."

In 2013, actor Gwyneth Paltrow was named the most hated celebrity in the world by Star Magazine (via Daily Mail). Despite her successful career in film, the "Goop" founder has cultivated a bad reputation seemingly based on her eccentric choices and apparent ignorance of her own privilege. Paltrow has long riled people up by making insensitive comments, like the time she once told Conan O'Brien (via Daily News), "I would rather die than let my kid eat Cup-a-Soup." 

When she isn't taking swipes at affordable convenience foods, she's been known to make inappropriate and backhanded comments which don't paint her in the best light. In 2019, for instance, Vulture noted that the star had told the same anecdote to three different publications wherein she essentially credited herself for the popularity of yoga. Meanwhile, in 2006, she shared her shock that great actors like Reese Witherspoon were wasting their talents on mediocre projects. "You think, 'Why is she doing these stupid romantic comedies?' But of course, it's for money and status," she told The Guardian.

Speaking of money, Paltrow often insists that her fortune was self-made, despite the fact that her father was a television producer and her mother was an actor. However, Paltrow has maintained that she didn't take a dime off her parents. "[My father] said, 'You are completely on your own. So he never gave me anything ... he never helped me with my rent, I never had a trust fund," she told the Independent.

Tom Cruise is famous for his roles in "Top Gun", "Jerry Maguire," and "Eyes Wide Shut". But throughout his time in Hollywood, he has built a reputation for being difficult to work with. Two decades after starring alongside him in the 2000 action flick "Mission Impossible II," Thandie Newton told Vulture that the Hollywood legend was a lot to deal with during filming. "I was so scared of Tom. He was a very dominant individual," she said. "He tries super hard to be a nice person. But the pressure. He takes on a lot. And I think he has this sense that only he can do everything as best as it can be done."

Former Scientologist Leah Remini praised Newton for her comments. She even accused the Church of Scientology of controlling Cruise's public image, telling The Daily Beast that their PR machine had perfected his good guy image. "But if you actually look at his actions, they're not consistent," she said. Quite. That same year, Cruise attracted controversy when audio footage from the set of "Mission: Impossible 7" appeared to capture him explicitly scalding crew members for breaking Covid-19 protocols, per The Sun. 

Though his outburst went viral, he assured Empire (via Los Angeles Times) that he held no regrets for it given how heavily the pandemic had postponed production. "I was thinking about the people I work with, and my industry," he said. "... It was very emotional, I gotta tell you."

Patrick Dempsey played medical heartthrob McDreamy on "Grey's Anatomy" for 10 ten years before his character was killed off, leaving fans devastated by his absence. However, according to Lynette Rice's "How to Save a Life: The Inside Story of Grey's Anatomy" (via The Hollywood Reporter), his departure might've been for the best. Despite playing lovers on screen, Dempsey allegedly did not get along with his costar Ellen Pompeo. Producer Jeannine Renshaw told Rice, "She just didn't like that Patrick would complain that 'I'm here too late' or 'I've been here too long' when she had twice as many scenes in the episode as he did."

The book also detailed how executive producer James D. Parriot was brought on set to oversee Dempsey's final days. He alleged that along with showrunner Shonda Rhimes being unhappy with the star's behavior, many cast members had trouble working with him too. "He sort of was terrorizing the set," Parriot is quoted as saying in the book. " ... He had this hold on the set where he knew he could stop production and scare people." 

In 2015, Radar reported that he was fired due to his bad behavior and dwindling work ethic. Tellingly, his exit received very little fanfare on set. Dempsey told Entertainment Weekly that his final day was like any other. "It was very quiet ... I got in my car, got in rush-hour traffic, and two hours later I was home," he explained.

Jennifer Lawrence rose to fame in the 2010s for her quirky personality and her roles in box office hits like "The Hunger Games" and "Silver Linings Playbook." With her notable proclivity for red carpet pratfalls, the star seemed relatable and down to earth. However, her star power has noticeably dwindled ever since. The downfall may have begun in 2016 when Lawrence made some insensitive comments during an appearance on "The Graham Norton Show." 

Sharing an anecdote about filming "The Hunger Games" in Hawaii, the star was all chuckles as she described being wilfully disrespectful to some sacred rocks on the island. "You're not supposed to sit on them, because you're not supposed to expose your genitalia to them," she explained, laughing. "I, however, was in a wetsuit for this whole shoot — oh my god, they were so good for butt itching!" Per Daily Mail, the backlash was swift and ferocious, forcing Lawrence to issue an apology via Facebook. She stated that she intended the story to be self-deprecating rather than offensive.

Along with being a public nuisance, Lawrence can apparently be conspicuously unpleasant to fans, too. While in conversation with Adam Sandler for Variety, the actor confessed, "Once I enter a public place I become incredibly rude, I turn into a huge a**hole." The reason, she stated, was a defense mechanism to help maintain privacy. So, if you're fan hoping for a selfie with the star in the near future, you're probably out of luck.