Actors Who Got Replaced Because They Couldn't Get Along With The Crew

It takes hundreds or even thousands of individuals to make a film or television series possible. The actors may get the lion's share of the limelight, but these projects are collaborative efforts that rely on directors, writers, cinematographers, production designers, boom operators, stunt performers, and so many others. Each one helps make movies and shows come to life, and they each deserve the utmost respect from their contemporaries. Of course, it doesn't always work out like that.

Sometimes, actors don't get along with their co-stars in real life, which makes sense to a degree, since they're spending a lot of time together in front of the camera. But, occasionally, there's tension on a set because a star has an issue with one of the crew members. It's not uncommon for an actor to clash with a director or writer over the direction of a character, but the conflict can come from many sources.

When this happens, the actor's not always in the wrong, but even if the performer is completely justified in being upset over something, it can cost them their job if someone higher up on the food chain hears about their actions. If you've ever wondered why an actor left a popular TV show in the middle of its run or why someone was cast in a movie but let go before production began, here are some actors who got fired for not getting along with the crew.

2007's "Transformers" put Megan Fox on the map, making her a household name. She plays Mikaela Banes, the love interest of Shia LaBeouf's Sam Witwicky, and after that first film became a massive success, Fox was brought back for the sequel, "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen." However, Fox was conspicuously absent from "Dark of the Moon." This all comes down to Fox's inflammatory comments about "Transformers" director Michael Bay.

In a 2009 Wonderland interview, Fox had this to say about Bay: "He's like Napoleon and he wants to create this insane, infamous mad man reputation. He wants to be like Hitler on his sets, and he is. So he's a nightmare to work for." Comparing Bay to a fascist dictator who implemented a genocide didn't go over well with "Transformers" franchise producer Steven Spielberg. Bay recalled getting told to fire Fox by the big man himself during an interview with GQ, saying: "You know, the Hitler thing. Steven [Spielberg] said, 'Fire her right now.'"

Mikaela Banes was written out of the franchise, and she only appears briefly as a photo on Sam's dresser in "Dark of the Moon." She was replaced with Carly Spencer, played by Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. Later in the GQ piece, Bay offered this somewhat passive aggressive-sounding apology: "I'm sorry, Megan. I'm sorry I made you work twelve hours. I'm sorry that I'm making you show up on time. Movies are not always warm and fuzzy."

"Good Times" was an incredibly influential show throughout the 1970s. It centered on a Black family — a rarity at the time — living in a public housing project, and the series regularly dealt with heavy topics like poverty and chronic unemployment. At the heart of this family is James Evans, played by John Amos. But while the show was groundbreaking for having two Black parents in the picture, that soon wouldn't be the case. 

James was killed off in the Season 4 two-part premiere, and the reason for Amos' departure came down to conflict with the writers. In 2017, the actor appeared on Sway in the Morning to confirm what really went down. "The truth of it was when the show first started, we had no African-American writers on the show," he explained. "And some of the attitudes they had written, as per my character and, frankly, for some of the other characters as well, caused me to say, 'Uh uh, we can't do this, we can't do that.'"

Amos admits he maybe wasn't as diplomatic as he could've been, but he was labeled a "disruptive element." As a result, series creator Normal Lear called him and said he wouldn't be returning for the show for Season 4. He would continue having an incredible career in Hollywood, and Amos still managed to change "Good Times" forever with an emotional story arc that sees the Evans family come together to grieve their patriarch. 

"Can You Ever Forgive Me?" is a 2018 biographical film about how Lee Israel, played by Melissa McCarthy, re-energizes her writing career by forging letters from famous authors who are already dead. McCarthy nabbed an Academy Award nomination for best actress for her performance, but in another world, that nomination may have gone to Julianne Moore, who was originally cast in the part. 

Apparently, she had a different vision of the character from what screenwriter Nicole Holofcener wanted. When asked about it on a 2019 episode of "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen," Moore said, "I think [Holofcener] didn't like what I was doing. We just had been rehearsing and doing pre-production and stuff and her idea of where the character was was different than where my idea of where the character was, so she fired me." That all sounds a little cryptic, but Richard E. Grant, who plays Jack Hock in the film, revealed more to reporters at Advertising Week Europe (via AV Club), saying: "Julianne Moore wanted to wear a fat suit and a false nose to play Lee Israel and Nicole Holofcener said, 'You're not going to do that.'"

Of course, Moore's career has been just fine without "Can You Ever Forgive Me?" on her resume: She's a five-time Academy Award-nominated actor, winning in 2015 for her performance in "Still Alice," and she more recently scored rave reviews for her performance in 2023's "May December." 

Things certainly aren't perfect in the entertainment industry today when it comes to the treatment of women, though they're marginally better than they were back in the early 1990s, when Gates McFadden was fired from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" due to sexism. McFadden, who played Dr. Beverly Crusher on the beloved sci-fi show, spoke with SBS about her departure, which was especially shocking considering how well received her character was during the first season.

"I had been in conflict with one of the male writer-producers about certain things I thought were sexist," she explained. "What I've heard is that he said 'Either she goes or I go.' I was shocked that they let me go, because I knew my character was really popular." Such reasoning would've no doubt led to greater backlash today, but, luckily, McFadden had the last laugh. She continued in the interview to say how that writer-producer was eventually fired and she was brought back for Season 3.

McFadden credits the fans as well as Patrick Stewart (who plays Jean-Luc Picard) for being in her corner and supporting her. And there's not a single person who would argue that bringing her back was the wrong move: Crusher has become one of the most iconic characters from the franchise, with her playing roles in films like "Star Trek: Generations" and "Star Trek: Nemesis" as well as having a recurring role on "Star Trek: Picard." McFadden may have lost that initial battle, but it's clear she ultimately won the war.

Gates McFadden at least had a chance to play Beverly Crusher before getting booted and then returning to the "Star Trek" franchise. The same can't be said of Geneviève Bujold, who was originally cast in "Star Trek: Voyager" — Bujold was to star as Captain Kathryn Janeway before being replaced by Kate Mulgrew. 

Garrett Wang, who plays Ensign Harry Kim on "Voyager," spoke on "The Delta Flyers" podcast about filming some scenes with Bujold and learning about her reservations about continuing in the role. Bujold reportedly said the following to Wang: "When I first agreed to take the role of Janeway, I told the producers that I want to have no nonsense with my hair. I want my hair down, I don't want it up. I don't want a lot of makeup... I want her to be Captain first and a woman second." Bujold was apparently dismayed when the producers went back on their word to allow her to interpret the character however she saw fit.

Another possible reason for Bujold clashing with producers is her alleged difficulty memorizing lines. Executive producer Rick Berman revealed as much in the book "The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years: From The Next Generation to J. J. Abrams: The Complete, Uncensored, and Unauthorized Oral History of Star Trek," saying, "She felt that she couldn't memorize seven pages a day." With all this difficulty so soon into production, Bujold was fired and Mulgrew was brought in. It's a move most fans would probably agree was for the best given Janeway's enduring popularity.

Thomas Gibson played FBI special agent Aaron Hotchner on "Criminal Minds" between 2005 and 2016, at which point the actor was fired following an on-set altercation. The incident involved Gibson allegedly kicking writer and executive producer Virgil Williams after a disagreement over a line that the actor felt was contradictory. However, in an interview with People, Gibson offered this alternative take of what transpired: "[Williams] came into that room and started coming towards me. As he brushed past me, my foot came up and tapped him on the leg."

This wasn't the first time that stories of Gibson reportedly behaving violently came to light. In 2010, he allegedly shoved an assistant director on "Criminal Minds" and was made to attend anger management classes as a result. Gibson also apparently didn't get along with his "Criminal Minds" co-star Shemar Moore. In papers relating to a 2014 lawsuit (seen by People), Gibson's ex-manager Craig Dorfman alleged that Moore "verbally attacked" Gibson and that he subsequently "talked Gibson out of physically attacking Moore."

For anyone who has been wondering what happened to Thomas Gibson after "Criminal Minds," the answer is mostly nothing on the entertainment side of things. He only has a couple of credits to his name since 2016. In 2024, Gibson appeared in an Off-Broadway production of "Ibsen's Ghost: An Irresponsible Biographical Fantasy," but it's been slow going since his "Criminal Minds" departure in terms of screen credits, with his most recent role being that of Colonel Branson in the little-seen 2019 action movie "Shadow Wolves.

It was a big deal for science fiction fans when "Doctor Who" returned in 2005 with Christopher Eccleston taking on the titular role. However, he'd only play the part for one season until David Tennant took over as the Tenth incarnation of the Doctor. As such, Eccleston is something of a footnote when discussing the show's legacy, and he's been pretty open about his issues with the show and the people behind it. 

When talking with Radio Times in 2018, Eccleston called out several crew members: "My relationship with my three immediate superiors — the showrunner, the producer and co-producer — broke down irreparably during the first block of filming and it never recovered." When asked about what it would take for him to return to the series at the For the Love of Sci-Fi convention, Eccleston named names and even added a fourth to the list: "Sack Russell T Davies, sack Jane Tranter, sack Phil Collinson, sack Julie Gardner, and I'll come back. Can you arrange that?"

Eccleston has elaborated elsewhere how he didn't like how some crew members were treated during filming and how he couldn't quite get his head around Doctor Who as a character. It just seems to be nothing but bad blood between Eccleston and those pulling the strings on "Doctor Who," so, as opposed to Tennant being fine with returning to the show long after he left, don't expect a reunion special with Eccleston anytime soon. 

Long before the notion of a multiverse was all the rage in Hollywood, "Sliders" played with the concept in the mid-1990s. The show follows a group of people who "slide" between realities until they can make their way home. John Rhys-Davies plays Professor Maximilian Arturo, who's one of the travelers during the show's escapades until Season 3 when he sacrifices himself to protect Quinn Mallory (Jerry O'Connell). But Professor Arturo's death wasn't just there to add dramatic weight; Rhys-Davies hadn't gotten along with the show's writers for some time.

Rhys-Davies told Digital Spy, "I would go to [the writers] and complain. But they would say, 'John, why don't you just say the words as written?' and I'd say, 'I'll tell you what, I will actually say the words as written when you can actually write intelligent sentences!" Despite loving the concept of "Sliders," Rhys-Davies believed the writers just weren't up to the task of creating a quality science fiction series. Following his departure, Captain Maggie Beckett (Kari Wuhrer) took on a more prominent role.

The actor also said that he felt as though the writers were shamelessly ripping off famous films. He told Télérama (translated from the original French), "Not only did they not know anything about science fiction, but they were stealing ideas from other works! We made an episode like 'Tremors,' one like 'Twister,' one like 'Night of the Living Dead' and even one like 'The Island of Doctor Moreau,' using the original masks from the film!" It all seemingly came across as lazy to the veteran performer, who went on to continue having an incredible career, most notably playing Gimli in Peter Jackson's game-changing "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

Released in 2008, "The Incredible Hulk" marked the second film entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, following the hugely successful "Iron Man." However, it received a much more muted reception, and while one might assume Edward Norton being swapped out with Mark Ruffalo to play the Hulk in the remainder of the MCU comes down to the film's performance, there were other factors at play. Rumors suggest Norton was difficult to work with on "The Incredible Hulk" and that he was constantly rewriting the story to fit his vision.

Terry Notary, a stuntman who worked on the film, has claimed that the star put little effort into the motion capture required to bring the Hulk to life. "[Norton] wasn't really engaged, as far as the Hulk stuff goes, unless he was transforming from himself into the Hulk," Notary told Joanna Robinson for her book "MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios" (via Superhero Hype), adding, "He was not very present through the whole thing." This was more or less confirmed when Marvel head Kevin Feige put out a statement (via AV Club) announcing that Norton wouldn't be back for 2012's "The Avengers," saying: "Our decision is definitely not one based on monetary factors, but instead rooted in the need for an actor who embodies the creativity and collaborative spirit of our other talented cast members."

Norton later spoke with The Independent about getting the boot, and, even though he didn't seem too beat up about it, he did call Marvel's behavior "low, unprofessional and very dishonest." It's unlikely that either party lost much sleep thinking about what could've been. Marvel's still a juggernaut (albeit one that's slowing down) while Norton has been nominated for two Academy Awards since "The Incredible Hulk" for his work in "Birdman" and "A Complete Unknown." Sometimes, an actor just isn't a good fit and cutting ties is best for everyone involved.

The late, great Chadwick Boseman is just one of many A-list actors who got their start on soap operas, as he had a short-lived gig on "All My Children." However, he only had the role for one week before getting fired after voicing his concerns about the character embodying racial stereotypes. 

Boseman played Reggie Montgomery during his brief tenure on the soap. From the start, the actor had concerns about playing the character a certain way, as he told The Wrap, "I remember going home and thinking, 'Do I say something to them about this? Do I just do it?' And I couldn't just do it. I had to voice my opinions and put my stamp on it. And the good thing about it was, it changed it a little bit for him." The "him" Boseman is referring to in the interview is none other than his future "Black Panther" co-star Michael B. Jordan, who took over the role of Reggie from Boseman after he was fired. 

Jordan was present during that same interview, and he reflected on how the role did change somewhat after Boseman voiced his concerns. Jordan expressed his appreciation for Boseman making a positive impact even if it hurt himself at the time. It's an amazing case study of how sticking up for one's beliefs and fighting for better representation in media can benefit others in the long run, as Jordan concluded by talking about their more recent work within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. "The work that we're doing on 'Black Panther' is hopefully doing the same thing for the next group of actors that are coming up, just like our predecessors opened up doors and made things easier for us."