You may remember the time Kevin Smith described Bruce Willis as “f—ing soul crushing” to work with. He said it during an interview about 2010’s Cop Out, a critical and box office bust with a 19 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which starred Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan. Smith went on to say that Bruce Willis was pretty much his hero … until he actually worked with the guy. To be fair, Kevin Smith and Bruce Willis seem to be complete opposites in Hollywood, with Smith famous for off-beat comedies like Dogma and Clerks, and Willis for gritty action films. So maybe it was just a one-off disagreement, but then again, maybe not.
Because Bruce Willis hasn’t always paddled a smooth stream in his journey to starhood. In 2003, Willis sued the producers of Tears of the Sun because he was hit in the head by a prop projectile that was meant to simulate bullets. Director Antoine Fuqua also called Bruce Willis a major “pain in the ass” to work with.
Sylvester Stallone similarly seemed to have issues with Bruce Willis during the Expendables series. He dropped Willis for Harrison Ford in Expendables 3, and immediately after announcing the switch, Stallone tweeted a vague, possible stab at Willis, seeming to say he was “greedy and lazy … a sure formula for career failure.”