The 20 Most Outrageous Demands Actors Have Allegedly Put In Their Contracts

Keanu Reeves reaffirmed his opposition to deepfake technology by reportedly preventing filmmakers from digitally altering his performances.

Reeves revealed he had this strict clause written into all his film contracts during a 2023 interview with Wired. He also shared that the rule stemmed from an early experience where a tear was digitally added to his face without consent, which made him feel replaceable.

He said, “If you go into deepfake land, it has none of your points of view. That’s scary…It’s this sensorium. It’s spectacle. And it’s a system of control and manipulation.”

Popularly known for performing his own stunts, Tom Cruise reportedly exercised near-total creative control on 2017’s The Mummy. The Mission Impossible star insisted on personal screenwriters to tweak the script in his favor.

In 2017, a source revealed to Variety that Cruise wanted two additional writers to adjust dialogue and expand his role, ensuring the film centered around him. He also chose June as the release date.

Besides script control, Cruise’s penchant for performing physically demanding stunts over the years has resulted in him demanding custom-made G-strings for flexibility and comfort.

A source shared with Daily Star, “Hardly a film went by without Tom engaged in some gravity-defying tumble or audacious backflip. Over the years, it’s taken its toll, and he had his wardrobe department rustle up a comfy thong.”

Cruise reportedly kept at least 50 of these undergarments on hand at all times for every stunt-demanding movie to ensure nothing interfered with his action sequences.

Back in 2009, when Paris Hilton landed a big role in Will Ferrell’s The Other Guys, she reportedly handed over three pages of demands for one day on the set.

A source reported, “The producers were shocked when her team handed them a three-page list of demands. 

They included live lobsters to be prepared fresh when she’s ready to eat and a bottle of Grey Goose vodka - all for just one day on the set. 

All celebrities are typically offered riders, but it seemed excessive for just one day’s work playing herself."

Hilton’s representative later denied she demanded live lobsters, calling the claims “ridiculous and untrue.”

While filming The Canyons, Lindsay Lohan reportedly agreed to film a four-way scene and work for a $100 daily per diem on the low-budget thriller along with an equal share of profits.

According to The New York Times, Lohan’s explicit scenes were “non-negotiable” and she had no creative control over the project.

Director Paul Schrader later revealed that the Freaky Friday star struggled before filming the scene but ultimately went through with it after he shed off his clothes as well to make her feel more comfortable.

While filming 2013’s Gravity, George Clooney allegedly demanded a custom-built private beach hut with a basketball court at London’s Shepperton Studios.

Though Clooney’s character, Matt Kowalski, was terminated off early in the movie, the actor’s clause ensured he had a private luxury space to relax between scenes.

A source told Irish Central, “George has really brought a bit of California to London. His private area is amazing and better than most people's houses.”

The insider further claimed the court was also used for exercise, and Clooney allowed his co-star Sandra Bullock and her young son to enjoy the facilities.

According to The S*oking G*n, Will Ferrell inexplicably demanded a collection of absurd props for what initially appeared to be nothing but personal amusement for 2008's Semi-Pro. One notable item was a large rainbow mounted on wheels.

The clause further listed an electric mobility scooter, a Janet Jackson-style headset microphone, a six-foot-tall flight of stairs on wheels, and a fake tree measuring up to 20 feet, also on wheels.

However, It was later revealed that Ferrell used these items to get into character while playing Jackie Moon in the film.

After being fatally wounded in several movies like Set It Off, Sphere, and The Bone Collector, Queen Latifah decided she was done perishing on-screen and reportedly added a clause specifically to prevent it from happening again on all future movie contracts.

Addressing her unusual demand, she explained she was worried the scenes would limit her longevity and sequel potential.

“At the beginning of my career, my characters d*ed in the movies. I was like, ‘Wait a minute, if I keep d**ng in these movies, I can’t do a sequel!’ No more d**ng. No more getting s*ot up by 300 bullets… Here’s my b*tt, and it’s alive,” she said on The Late Show with James Corden in 2016.

Garry Marshall used his clout to guarantee that a friend would always work with him. After working with Hector Elizondo on Young Doctors in Love, Marshall reportedly added a clause in every directing contract that required Elizondo to be cast in his films, no matter the role.

The two met on a basketball court in 1979, and their bond has been strong ever since. From Pretty Woman to The Princess Diaries, Elizondo has appeared in all 18 films Marshall directed. Later, Elizondo admitted he wasn’t aware of the clause for years.

While filming Men in Black 3, Will Smith reportedly demanded two massive luxury trailers, each costing nearly $2 million.

One of the trailers, nicknamed The Heat, measured 1,150 square feet, featured two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a movie room, a fully equipped kitchen, and offices for Smith’s assistants and personal staff. Another 55-foot trailer was surprisingly dedicated solely to his workout gear.

The trailers were so large that they drew complaints from neighbours in Soho, prompting city officials to relocate them to a private lot.

Samuel L. Jackson is popularly known for his critically acclaimed roles in movies like Django Unchained, Pulp Fiction, Avengers, and more. But it is his demands that have made him the boss on a movie set.

The actor reportedly had two non-negotiables added into all of his film contracts- the right to skip unnecessary second takes and permission to play golf twice a week while filming.

He told The New York Times in a 2017 interview, “I can be a hard taskmaster for some directors.”

It was also revealed that the production covered his green fees and transportation to and from local courses. As per the contract, Jackson was said to play up to 36 holes on days he wasn’t scheduled to shoot.

Known for her action-packed performance in Quentin Tarantino’s films like K*ll Bill: Volume 1, K*ll Bill: Volume 2, and Pulp Fiction, Uma Thurman once demanded an extensive list of diva-like demands. 

In the never-made 2010 film Eloise in Paris, the actress reportedly insisted that no other cast members receive more favourable dressing accommodations than her.

She further asked that she be provided a minimum three-bedroom hotel suite and three mobile phones throughout filming.

The contract also allowed her to purchase costumes and wigs at a 50% discount and restricted the use of her name or likeness in merchandising tied to specific items, including tobacco, weapons, and intimate apparel.

Ultimately, the film was scrapped over a payment dispute.

Barbara Streisand’s on-set demands were as legendary as her reputation.

Throughout her career the “Queen of the Divas” has reportedly requested peach-colored toilet paper to match her complexion, rose petals in her toilet bowl, 120 designer bathroom towels in peach, and ten highly specified designer floor lamps.

Streisand dismissed the stories, calling them nothing but rumors during an interview with Stephen Colbert in 2023.

“The guy who came into cleanup probably put in petals on the toilet. The guy did, folks. Not me,” she added, blaming the hotel cleaning staff.

She further clarified that her focus was always on maintaining beautiful dressing rooms with fresh flowers, suggesting the claims may have been exaggerated over time.

When Jack Nicholson signed on to play the Joker in Tim Burton’s Batman, he negotiated the deal that limited his on-set time and gave him extra days off to attend Los Angeles Lakers home games.

The Shining star further pushed the filmmakers for his scenes to be filmed within a tight window so that he could keep his courtside routine intact. Due to this, the production stretched even longer than planned.

In 2020, Michael Keaton, who played Batman in the 1998 film, revealed to The Hollywood Reporter, “I’d be standing there in a rubber suit watching Lakers games in his dressing room.”

While signing for Dhoom 3 in 2013, Aamir Khan allegedly pushed Yash Raj Films to add an exclusive clause in his contract that prevented the studio from producing any further sequels after the third instalment.

Though no official announcement was made regarding such a clause, Indian newspaper Mid-Day suggested that YRF had informally agreed to the terms of a Bollywood A-list actor to secure his involvement.

Khan played a circus gymnast performing daring mid-air stunts in the film alongside Abhishek Bachchan, Uday Chopra, Katrina Kaif, and Jackie Shroff.

During the Fast & Furious films, Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, and Jason Statham reportedly negotiated their contract clauses that limited how badly their characters could be beaten in fight scenes.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Diesel introduced this clause that assigned numerical values to p**ches, k**ks, and headbu*ts to ensure no star appeared weaker than the others.

But when his system became too complicated, the fights were choreographed in advance so they wouldn’t look one-sided.

Statham’s contract also barred him from being “beaten up too badly”, while The Rock’s agreement had a scene in 2017’s The Fate of the Furious rewritten to make his character sit on the floor instead of lying down after a fight.

For Silver Linings Playbook, Mark Wahlberg had a specific clause written into his contract that entitled him to $900,000 if his originally attached co-star, Anne Hathaway, dropped out of the project.

While his demand raised eyebrows, Hathaway eventually exited from the project due to creative differences with director David O. Russell. Her departure triggered Wahlberg’s clause, leading to him exiting the movie as well.

The roles were subsequently recast with Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence.

Rue McClanahan was widely recognized for the portrayal of Blanche Devereaux on The Golden Girls. Before she signed up for the sitcom, the actress had a clause in her contract that allowed her to keep every costume she wore while playing her character.

On the show, her wardrobe was filled with custom-made gowns, blazers, pant suits, and glamorous nightwear designed specifically for her Southern belle character.

According to reports, McClanahan ended up with so many outfits from the show that they filled as many as 13 closets.

Steve McQueen was famously competitive before signing up for 1974’s The Towering Inferno, and his streak made its way into a demanding contract. 

According to the NY Post, the late actor reportedly insisted that he and Paul Newman, who starred opposite him in the film, had the same number of lines in the screenplay, along with equal billing.  

The demand further extended to the film’s poster, where McQueen’s name appeared first, and Newman was placed slightly higher. An associate later addressed his requests, adding, “Steve was competitive with absolutely everybody.”

The actor also pushed the filmmakers to get his character the final line in the film.

Roger Moore demanded a clause in his James Bond contracts that guaranteed him an unlimited supply of his favorite ci*ars while filming. The actor portrayed 007 from Live and Let Die to A View to a K*ll.

Moore was known to favor Montecristo ci*ars, one of the most expensive brands in the world. According to reports, the production bill for Moore’s ci*ar demand on just one Bond film ran to roughly $7,432 USD.

His clause further ensured a ci*ar was always available on set. 

In his Taxi contract, Andy Kaufman allegedly wrote a clause that required producers to feature his foul-mouthed alter ego, Tony Clifton, in at least one episode.

His demand meant that Kaufman would only continue playing Latka Gravas if the show agreed to give airtime to the disruptive lounge-singer persona, which was sometimes played by Kaufman and by his friend Bob Zmuda.

The cast members recalled the day when Clifton came on set, sharing, “On Monday morning, this guy with very orange makeup, a wig and fake moustache shows up chain-s*oking in a blue ruffled tuxedo shirt. [...] We thought, 'Okay, that's kind of funny.' Then he began to act. We thought this guy's going to take down 'Taxi.'"

Ultimately, Kaufman’s Clifton was thrown out from the set by co-star Judd Hirsch as he clashed with cast members and claimed to have rewritten the script.