'Dune' star Rebecca Ferguson reveals she was verbally abused by ‘absolute idiot of a co-star’ on film set

LONDON, ENGLAND: Rebecca Ferguson, the Swedish actress who plays Lady Jessica in the upcoming sci-fi epic 'Dune: Part Two', has spoken out about a traumatic experience she had with a former co-star who shouted and swore at her on set.

She said he was an “absolute idiot of a co-star” and so insecure and angry that they made her feel vulnerable and cry in front of the crew.

Rebecca Ferguson stood ‘breaking’ as co-star insulted her acting skills

Ferguson, 40, shared the shocking story on the 'Reign with Josh Smith' podcast on Tuesday, February 27.

She did not reveal the name of the co-star, but said it was not Hugh Jackman or Tom Cruise, her co-stars in 'The Greatest Showman' and 'Mission Impossible.'

Ferguson said the co-star was “number one on the call sheet” and had a lot of power on the crew. But, "it doesn’t matter who it was. I’m going to try and not give this away," she recalled saying.

She said the co-star would scream at her and say things like “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 said, Independent noted.

Rebecca Ferguson told the co-star to ‘get off my set’

Ferguson said she had no support from the producers or the director, who were trying to appease the co-star.

She said she felt like there was no safety net for her. But the next day, she decided to stand up for herself and told the co-star to get off the set.

“I remember being so scared,” she said. “I looked at this person and I said, ‘You can f**k off.’”

Ferguson said she would rather work with a tennis ball than with them. She said she was scared to confront the co-star, but she had enough.

Ferguson said the producers could not ask the co-star to leave the set because they were “number one”. She said she insisted she would only act to the back of their head.

Rebecca Ferguson confronted the director over co-star’s behavior

Ferguson said she then went to the director and asked why they allowed the co-star’s behavior to continue.

"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," said Ferguson.

Ferguson said the situation improved after that, but it took her a long time to speak up for herself.

 

She said she had been acting since she was 16, but this was the first time she faced such a challenge. She said it was within her last 10 or 12 years of acting.

 

At the end of the podcast episode, Ferguson teased the listeners by pretending to reveal who the co-star was but then stopped and laughed it off. 'Dune: Part Two' is in theaters from March 1.