11 Times Actors Saw Their Costars Getting Bullied Or Mistreated, So They Stepped In To Help

    Christian Bale played "mediator" between Amy Adams and director David O. Russell, who made her cry on set.

    Kristen Harris
    by Kristen Harris

    BuzzFeed Staff

    There are plenty of costars who don't get along, but a lot of costars really care about each other.

    Here are 11 times actors stood up for their costars on set:

    1. In a 2024 Instagram post, Skyler Samuels praised her Scream Queens costar Keke Palmer for speaking out about her experience with an unnamed costar who allegedly made a racist remark when Keke stepped in to diffuse a disagreement. Skyler wrote, "That's what Keke does, she speaks up and stands up, for herself and others. Scream Queens was a very challenging show to make. Keke was one of the only people who stood up for me."

    Keke and Skyler stand behind decorated pumpkins. One pumpkin says "YES, I CAN," the second has a carved face. They are casual and stylishly dressed
    Hilary Gayle/©Fox / courtesy Everett Collection

    She continued, "She was brave enough to have my back even though she knew that it might make her a target of bullies on set. I have unending gratitude for the professionalism and kindness Keke showed me. She is a leading lady in this in this industry who is well aware of her influence, and she uses it for the better."

    2. In 2020, Game of Thrones actor Nathalie Emmanuel told British Vogue, "In my first season, my costume was pretty revealing, and there was an incident with an extra who made a comment about it on set — I mean, typical — and Emilia [Clarke] straightaway had my back. It got handled."

    Nathalie with curly hair and Emilia with braided hair, wearing detailed medieval-style clothing, standing outside
    HBO / Via Max

    She also said, "She and I always looked out for each other. If you’re the only girls on a male-dominated set, it bonds you in a certain way."

    3. In 2024, Sally Field told Vulture that, while filming Steel Magnolias, director Herbert Ross was "very, very, very hard on Julia [Roberts]." However, the other women looked out for her. Sally said, "We would all rally around Julia, because she was the baby. She was sort of the newcomer. And she was wonderful, and he just picked on her. It was awful."

    hirley MacLaine, Olympia Dukakis, Sally Field, Julia Roberts, Daryl Hannah, and Dolly Parton in various styles of casual and semi-formal clothing, smiling and standing together, linked arm in arm
    ©TriStar Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

    She said, "Some people just need to have somebody they pick on. But we all came to her aid, and I remember Dolly [Parton] once just turned on him — always with humor, but usually the most vulgar humor you ever heard so that it was like, you just literally don’t have a leg to stand on."

    4. On a 2023 episode of her podcast Drama Queen, Hilarie Burton Morgan [who's one of 18 women who've accused One Tree Hill showrunner Mark Mark Schwahn of sexual assault and harassment, per Variety] said that Chad Michael Murray stopped their "boss" [whom she didn't name] from allegedly grabbing her at a bar. She said, "Chad walked up and goes, ‘What are you doing?’ He said that to our boss in the bar."

    Chad and Hilarie stand by lockers, conversing and smiling. He wears a jacket and backpack, she wears a long-sleeved top. School posters are visible around them
    The WB/Fred Norris, © Warner Bros. / Courtesy: Everett Collection

    She continued, "He watched our boss grab me in front of a lot of people, and you know, Chad didn't have anything to lose because he knew our boss hated him anyway.

    A lot of people had a lot to lose, so you don't speak up when you have a lot to lose. But [our boss] felt so comfortable that that was not something that he had a problem with. [He thought], ‘I can do whatever I want to her in public with her boyfriend standing there.’”

    Hilarie's cohost and fellow costar Sophia Bush, who was previously married to Chad, said, "Thank God, Hilarie, that you had that moment with Chad, who was already so at odds with our boss. He was protected as the No. 1 on the call sheet. He had the most power, so he could come up and shove our boss off you and get in a fight. And I’m glad that he did. I want everybody to follow that lead."

    5. In a letter to the judge for her Desperate Housewives costar Felicity Huffman's college admissions scandal trial, Eva Longoria reportedly wrote, "I know I would not have survived those 10 years it wasn't for the friendship of Felicity. There was a time I was being bullied at work by a co-worker. I dreaded the days I had to work with that person because it was pure torture. Until one day, Felicity told the bully 'Enough,' and it all stopped."

    Danny Feld / ©ABC / Courtesy: Everett Collection

    "Felicity could feel that I was riddled with anxiety even though I never complained or mentioned the abuse to anyone," she said.

    6. In 2022, Melanie Lynskey told Rolling Stone that, on the Yellowjackets set, a production member allegedly criticized her body. She said, "They were asking me, 'What do you plan to do? I'm sure the producers will get you a trainer. They'd love to help you with this.'" However, Christina Ricci, Juliette Lewis, and Tawny Cypress supported her. Juliette even wrote the producers a letter concerning the situation.

    Kailey Schwerman / ©Showtime / Courtesy Everett Collection, Kimberley French / ©Showtime / Courtesy Everett Collection

    Melanie said, "It was really important to me for [my character Shauna] to not ever comment on my body, to not have me putting a dress on and being like, 'I wish I looked a bit better.'

    I did find it important that this character is just comfortable and sexual and not thinking or talking about it, because I want women to be able to to watch it and be like, 'Wow, she looks like me, and nobody's saying she's the fat one.' That representation is important."

    7. In 2021, Queen Latifah told Entertainment Tonight, "I can remember specifically doing Living Single and the word came down that we needed to lose weight. Here we are, four different women, four different body types and we needed to lose weight. If anything it angered me and disheartened me, but it really angered me. I said, 'We are what women look like, we're not going to lose weight for whoever's idea of what we're supposed to look like.'"

    Erika Alexander, Queen Latifah, Kim Fields, and Kim Coles in a bathroom, wearing pajamas and robes, sing using various objects as microphones in a comedic scene
    (c) Warner Brothers / courtesy Everett Collection

    Her mom taught her that she didn't need to change herself to conform to other people's ideals.

    She said, "Luckily, I had a mom who would tell me, 'Love yourself regardless, love comes from the inside.'"

    8. During a 2017 appearance on the Swedish show Skavlan, Emma Thompson said, "There was a wonderful actress in a film I did called Brideshead Revisited. The producer said to her, 'Will you lose some weight?' And she was absolutely exquisite! I said to them, 'If you speak to her about this again, on any level, I will leave this picture. You are never to do that."

    Hayley Atwell, Emma Thompson, Matthew Goode, and other actors in period dress walking in front of an estate
    ©Miramax / courtesy Everett Collection

    She continued, "It's evil what's happening and what's going on there, and it's getting worse...Sometimes, there are just some subjects that you absolutely have to make noise about because it's so tedious, and it's gone on and on."

    9. In 2016, Ian McKellen told the Guardian, "On my first day before the camera [for Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny], [Alan Rickman] didn't like the patronizing, bullying tone of a note which the director gave me. Alan, seeing I was a little crestfallen, delivered a quiet, concise resumé of my career and loudly demanded that the director up his game."

    Alan and Ian standing together at an event., both wearing suits
    Dave M. Benett / Getty Images

    Alan looked out not only for his costars, but also for the crew.

    Ian said, "Alan, the concerned leading man. On that film, he discovered that the local Russian crew was getting an even worse lunch than the rest of us. So he successfully protested."

    10. In 2022, Christian Bale confirmed to GQ, that he played "mediator" between Amy Adams and director David O. Russell (who made her cry on set).

    Amy in a dress with retro styling, and Christian in a plaid suit with glasses, holding a drink. The setting is office-like
    Francois Duhamel/©Columbia Pictures / courtesy Everett Collection

    He said, "I did what I felt was appropriate, in very Irv [my character] style."

    11. And finally, in 2023, Bradley Pierce, who was 13 when he filmed Jumanji, told CBCListen, "Children can only be on set for a number of hours. The producers had approached our parents and said, 'Is there any way we can do a bit of overtime to get it done?'" However, when Robin Williams "caught wind of these conversations," he "pulled the director [Joe Johnston] and producers aside" and told them, "No, we are not doing any extra time. You're going to let everybody out now, and we're going to come back next week."

    Robin kneels while gesturing in front of Bradley and Kirsten Dunst
    ©Columbia TriStar / courtesy Everett Collection

    "For all the dollars that would have cost, nobody would have stood up the way he did. In addition to being warm, generous, and kind, he was also very protective," Bradley said.

    Which costar friendship is your favorite? Let us know in the comments!