Quentin Tarantino and 4 Other Directors Who Made Their Actors' Work Unbearable

Some filmmakers overstep all boundaries in their quest for perfection, and the actors are subjected to real torture. Such directors were, for example, Stanley Kubrick and Alfred Hitchcock.

In modern cinema, extreme methods of actor transformation are not particularly common, but even now there are exceptions.

1. Chinatown (1974) – Roman Polanski

Roman Polanski is probably one of the most scandalous directors in the world. The creative techniques used by Polanski in working with actors call into question his moral values.

For example, during the filming of Chinatown, lead actress Faye Dunaway was constantly harassed by him. According to the script, her character, Evelyn, was in a deep state of anxiety; to make the actress' experiences more effective, Polanski frightened Dunaway by catching the actress between takes.

And although she eventually received an Oscar nomination, Dunaway's impressions of working with Polanski remained extremely unpleasant.

2. The Exorcist (1973) – William Friedkin

Actress Ellen Burstyn has never been one to shy away from difficult roles. But on the set of William Friedkin's cult horror film The Exorcist, she had to sacrifice her health for the sake of art. Due to the director's desire for realism, Ellen and Linda Blair had to constantly participate in risky stunts.

During one scene, for example, Friedkin had the stunt coordinator put safety belts on the actresses and then hang them in the air. For Burstyn, the shoot ended with a back injury. The actress never openly criticized Friedkin's techniques, but once said that he was willing to do anything to achieve his goal.

3. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) – Quentin Tarantino

The friendship between Quentin Tarantino and his muse, Uma Thurman, seemed unbreakable until the actress opened up about an unpleasant incident on the set of Kill Bill. It turned out that while filming the famous scene in a convertible, Thurman got into a serious accident – the actress lost control and crashed into a tree.

Thurman was hospitalized with serious bruises, a concussion and injuries to her neck and legs. Initially, the actress did not want to act in the scene and insisted on using a stuntman. However, Tarantino, along with the film's producer Harvey Weinstein, insisted that Thurman be in the frame.

4. The Revenant (2015) – Alejandro Iñárritu

Leonardo DiCaprio's first Oscar cost him dearly. The lengthy shoot for Alejandro Iñárritu's The Revenant took place in the Canadian woods, where the director tested the actors' strength. In an effort to make a movie about nature and man as realistic as possible, the director had Leo swim in icy water, eat raw bison meat, and sleep inside a dead horse.

Iñárritu disregarded safety – one of the actors was once dragged naked across the ice – and constantly argued with the producers. The region's endless winds and snow falls hampered work, and the production process had to be repeatedly postponed.

5. Titanic (1997) – James Cameron

James Cameron is widely known for his dedication to his work and his domineering character, which not only the film crew but also the producers have to adapt to. And although the director has become noticeably softer in recent years, his character was on full display in the 90s. This led to many conflicts on the Titanic set.

The most unpleasant story happened with Kate Winslet. Cameron himself repeatedly admitted that the young actress probably left the set injured. The problem is that the director neglected Winslet's health, forcing her to sit in tanks of cold water for a long time. On top of that, Winslet nearly drowned when her coat got stuck during an underwater scene.