- Rebecca Ferguson said she told a former costar to "F off" after they reduced her to tears on set.
- She did not identify the individual but confirmed it was neither Hugh Jackman nor Tom Cruise.
Rebecca Ferguson said she once asked for an "absolute idiot" costar to be replaced with a tennis ball after they screamed abuse at her, reducing her to tears on set.
The "Dune: Part Two" star recounted how she confronted the actor in an interview on the "Reign with Josh Smith" podcast when asked about a time when she felt proud of speaking up against something she didn't agree with.
"I did a film with an absolute idiot of a costar," she said. "I remember there was a moment and this human being was being so insecure and angry because this person couldn't get the scenes out."
The Swedish star said that because she was "so vulnerable and comfortable" in the actor's presence, she landed on the receiving end of their ire and would get "screamed at."
"But because this person was No. 1 on a call sheet, there was no safety net for me," she said. "So no one had my back. And I would cry walking off set."
Ferguson, 40, continued: "This person would literally look at me in front of the whole crew and say 'You call yourself an actor? This is what I have to work with? What is this?' And I stood there just breaking."
The next day on set, Ferguson decided to challenge her costar and put an end to his unacceptable behavior.
"I remember being so scared," she added, holding out her hand to recreate how it had tremored at the time. "I looked at this person, and I said, 'You can F off. I'm going to work toward a tennis ball. I never want to see you again.'"
Using a tennis ball attached to a stick as a focal point for the actors to look at is common in movies when CGI is involved.
Ferguson did not reveal the identity of the actor. She did confirm, however, that it was neither Hugh Jackman nor Tom Cruise, who she starred alongside in "The Greatest Showman" and "Mission Impossible" respectively.
"It's not Hugh. Not Tom Cruise," she said. "I've done many movies back in the day."
Ferguson's "Hercules" costar, Dwayne Johnson, also effectively ruled himself out. In response to a viral clip of the interview shared on X by the podcast host, he wrote that Ferguson was his "guardian angel" on the set of the fantasy flick and that he would "like to find out who did this."
Hate seeing this but love seeing her stand up to bullshit. Rebecca was my guardian angel sent from heaven on our set. I love that woman. I’d like to find out who did this.
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) February 28, 2024
As for how the rest of the shoot went, according to Ferguson, she did the remainder of her scenes acting to the back of her the costar's head because producers wouldn't allow her to send their "No. 1" away from the set.
"I thought it shouldn't have to be that way. And I remember going to the director afterward and saying, 'What is happening?'"
"The director said, 'You're right. I am not taking care of everyone else. I'm trying to fluff this person because it's so unstable.' And it was great from that moment, but it took so long for me to get to that."