Dune star Rebecca Ferguson on why she refuses to work with famous actor

Rebecca Ferguson has recalled the time she refused to work with a famous actor who screamed and swore at her during shooting for a film.

The Dune: Part Two star didn't reveal the actor's name but called them an “absolute idiot of a co-star” who was “number one on the call sheet".

She said the actor shouted at her: “You call yourself an actor? What the f*** is this?”

“I did a film with an absolute idiot of a co-star and it doesn’t matter who it was. I’m going to try and not give this away," Ferguson told the Reign with Josh Smith podcast on Tuesday (February 27).

“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,” she said. “And I think I was so vulnerable and uncomfortable that I got screamed at.”

“But because this person was number one on a call sheet, there was no safety net for me. So no one had my back. And I would cry walking off set.”

Ferguson 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?’, and ‘What the f*** is this?,’ in front of the whole crew. “I stood there just breaking,” she added.

She explained how she had “no one" to support her in this situation.

The following day on set, Ferguson chose to speak up for herself and told the actor in question: "You get off my set. I’m gonna work [with] a tennis ball I never wanna see you again."

Tennis balls on sticks can be used in place of actors who are not present and can be added to the scene later thanks to CGI and editing.

“I remember being so scared," she said. "I looked at this person and I said, ‘You can F off.’"

However, Ferguson was informed by producers that the actor couldn't leave the set as he was the "number one".

In response, she said she would act to the back of her co-star’s head.

Ferguson later questioned the director on why the actor's behaviour wasn't challenged. "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."

She noted: "It was great from that moment, but it took so long for me to get to that. It’s within my last 10 or 12 years and I’ve acted since I was 16."

Near the end of the podcast, Ferguson teased a name reveal. “And the person is…” she said, before stopping and laughing.

During the episode she said wasn't referring to her The Greatest Showman or Mission Impossible co-stars Hugh Jackman or Tom Cruise.

Ferguson reprised her role as Lady Jessica, in Dune: Part Two, which is now out in cinemas on Friday (1 March).

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