The actress recently revealed a behind-the-scenes interaction with a 'an absolute idiot of a co-star' who left her in tears and with a desire to stand up for herself. Photo: Reuters
Rebecca Ferguson knows how to advocate for herself on set – and now it seems she has extra support from Jungle Cruise duo Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt.
Johnson and Blunt, in separate statements, showed love to their former co-star Ferguson after she revealed a behind-the-scenes interaction with a "an absolute idiot of a co-star" left her in tears and with a desire to stand up for herself.
"This human being was being so insecure and angry because this person couldn't get scenes out," she recalled in a new episode of Josh Smith's Reign podcast, published Feb 27.
The Dune: Part Two and Mission Impossible star added: "I think because I was so vulnerable and uncomfortable that I got screamed at. Because this person was No.1 on a call sheet, there was no safety net for me. No one had my back and I would cry walking off set."
Ferguson told Smith she returned to the undisclosed project the following day and stood her ground against her co-star, ordering them to "get off my set."
"I remember being so scared," she said, recalling how she told the fellow actor to "F off."
Producers told Ferguson that the unidentified actor had to remain on the project, but allowed her to continue filming without looking at them face-to-face. Ferguson also recalled getting validation from the film's director, whom she also did not name.
"The director said, 'You're right, I'm not taking care of everyone else. I'm trying to fluff this person because it's so unstable,'" Ferguson said.
"It took so long for me to get to that, but from that moment, I have never let myself get to a point when I've got home and gone, 'Why did that happen?' "
In her interview, Ferguson took care not to hint at any particular actor.
However, she did confirm neither her Greatest Showman co-star Hugh Jackman, nor Mission: Impossible love interest Tom Cruise caused her grief.
Director Denis Villeneuve (left) with actor Rebecca Ferguson on the set of 'Dune: Part Two'. Photo: Handout
As the Reign episode went viral, social media users began speculating who exactly was at the centre of Ferguson's comments.
Among the curious Internet sleuths was Johnson, who tweeted his support for Ferguson. "Hate seeing this but love seeing her stand up to b—," he wrote on X (formerly Twitter). Ferguson and Johnson shared the screen in the 2014 action film Hercules.
"Rebecca was my guardian angel sent from heaven on our set," the Rock continued. "I love that woman. I'd like to find out who did this."
Hours after Johnson's tweet, a representative for Blunt responded to the speculation swirling around the Oppenheimer star, who shared the screen with Ferguson in 2016's The Girl On The Train.
In a statement to the Daily Mail, Blunt's representative said, "Rebecca and Emily are friends and there's nothing but love between them."
Still, Ferguson's online fans are on the hunt to find the unnamed actor. However, identifying the actor who indirectly helped Ferguson find her voice might take some time.
Since beginning her film career in the early 2000s, Ferguson has starred alongside handfuls of actors including Meryl Streep, Hugh Grant, Justin Theroux, Jake Gyllenhaal and Ewan McGregor.
Later in her Reign interview, Ferguson touted the safety she felt on the set of Dune: Part Two and the "kind and professional" cast and crew she worked with.
"From my perspective, I was sitting there just feeling like I'm holding everyone's hand," she said before fangirling about co-star Christopher Walken.
Dune: Part Two stars Ferguson as Lady Jessica, the mother of Timothee Chalamet's Paul Atreides, a royal heir-turned-desert-dwelling warrior. The Denis Villeneuve sci-fi epic out since Feb 29 also stars Zendaya, Austin Butler, Josh Brolin, Florence Pugh and Lea Seydoux. – Los Angeles Times/Tribune News Service
