Director James Gunn Reveals He Also Keeps a List of Actors He’ll Never Work With

James Gunn has revealed that he also has a list of actors that he will never work with.

The Guardians of the Galaxy and The Suicide Squad director opened up on Twitter, while replying to a fan, of the reasons he has certain people on the list.

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James was asked during his Q&A what he would do if “you as a director have an actor who isn’t working out for any number of reasons (their process, temperament, lack of chemistry, etc) do you talk to them and give them a chance or two or do you quick trigger it and recast?”

“If it’s their temperament & it’s serious, I’ll immediately recast,” he replied. “Life’s too short for assholes. Same if they’re repeatedly very late, which I hate, or unprepared. I have a long list of actors, A-list & otherwise, I’ll never work with for these reasons.”

James went on, “But if it’s performance related, & they’re putting their all into it, I’ll do everything on my end to make it work until it’s absolutely clear the quality of the project will be perceivably harmed if we don’t recast. This can happen with really talented actors who just don’t fit.”

Going off of his answer there, another fan then asked how he realizes which actors are “assholes” and whether he compares notes with other filmmakers.

“I always do due diligence on actors & production heads with directors, actors, producers & crew members I trust,” he replied. “If it checks out they’re jerks (not just cranky or curmudgeons but actual jerks) or irresponsible I don’t hire them. Some actors I already know never to even consider.”

James then clarified that actors will get paid in full if they are recast during production.

Some of the actors he does prefer are in his own casts – including the Guardians, and Peacemaker‘s John Cena

“I’m very attached to the Guardians cast,” he wrote. “Some of them are among my best friends in the world. But I’m even more attached to the Guardians characters, & that’s what gets me emotional while writing.”

He then added of John, saying he “is among the best people to work with – always prepared & on time & kind to everyone. He & many of my regulars are among the actors I die to work with. I want to shout out to them here but paucity of characters means I’d be leaving many out.”

This A-list actor also has a “s**t list” of people he won’t work with too.