In February, Swedish actress Rebecca Ferguson reflected on a transformative moment in her decades-long career, recalling a moment on set when an “idiot” A-list co-star made derogatory remarks to her, ultimately prompting him to tell them to “F off.”
Although she did not name the individual, her comments went viral, with internet sleuths quickly trying to determine the actor’s identity.
“I wasn’t expecting that, by the way,” the “Dune: Part 2” star recently said on SiriusXM’s “The Jess Cagle Show” about her comment that was gaining traction, admitting that a litany of former co-stars had since contacted her in a frenzy.
“Yeah, I kind of enjoyed that take,” Ferguson admitted of the attention. “But I realized, even at the age I am now…it doesn’t matter. When you sit down and do interviews…because that’s me, right? I definitely think I’m a lot more open. I also know where my limits are. But the purpose of the interview was not to find the person. Of course people will be interested.
Ferguson said releasing his story was not about naming the individual, but rather highlighting their strength.
“The point was: ‘Is there a time in your career where you were treated in a way where you changed your decision – that’s how I phrased it to myself – you want change or you will not accept it, etc.”
“And it was a very clear moment for me to work with this person,” she continued. “I’ve gotten phone calls from amazing co-stars I’ve worked with saying, ‘You understand what you did, right?’ And I was like, ‘Oh my God. No, I didn’t think about that.’
“I mean, to be honest, it’s not my responsibility, I don’t care, you know. You’re great. But my story is my story and if you are a good person, don’t worry.
The ‘Mission Impossible’ actress has worked alongside some of Hollywood’s biggest names, including Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant in ‘Florence Foster Jenkins’, Emily Blunt in ‘The Girl on the Train’, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson in “Hercules”. » and Zendaya, Timothée Chalamet and Florence Pugh in “Dune”.
Johnson and Blunt have denied any involvement, showing their support for Ferguson. Johnson wrote about, “I hate seeing this but I love seeing her stand up to the bull…. Rebecca was my guardian angel sent from heaven to our set. I love this woman. I would like to know who did this.
A rep for Blunt told DailyMail: “Rebecca and Emily are friends and there is nothing but love between them.”
Ferguson first told her story on Josh Smith’s podcast, “Reign,” noting at the time that neither the famous Tom Cruise nor Hugh Jackman, with whom she worked on several projects, were the people to she was referring.
“I made a movie with an absolutely idiotic co-star,” she began. “This human being was so insecure and angry because they couldn’t get the scenes out. And I think I was so vulnerable and uncomfortable that I was yelled at and crying when I walked off set.
“This person literally looked at me in front of the whole crew and said, ‘Do you consider yourself an actor?’ This is what I have to work with?… What is this? And I stood there, just stopping.
“And I remember the next day I went on and said, ‘Get off my set.’ It was the first time I spoke – I remember being so scared. And I looked at this person and I said, “You can go away. I’ll work for a tennis ball. I never want to see you again.
Ferguson said she felt no support from leadership. “And then I remember the producers came and said, ‘You can’t do that to No. 1. We have to let this person be on set,'” she explained. “And I said, ‘But the person can turn around and I can work in the back of their head.’ And I did.”
“It took me so long to get there. This goes back to my last 10 or 12 years. And I’ve been acting since I was 16. But from that point on, I never let myself get to the point where I went home and asked myself, “What happened, why did this happen?” »
New York Post
