Rebecca Ferguson Did Not Name the ‘Idiot’ Actor Who Screamed at Her and Made Her Cry on Set Because Telling That Story ‘Wasn’t About the Person. It Was About Me’

Rebecca Ferguson is not interested in naming names. The “Dune” and “Mission: Impossible” favorite went viral in 2024 when she called out a male co-star for screaming at her on set. But she never named the actor, which prompted widespread social media theories on who it could be (from Hugh Jackman to Tom Cruise). But Ferguson told Harper’s Bazaar in a new interview that anyone trying to figure out who the male actor was is missing the point of her reveal.

“It wasn’t about the person. It was about me,” Ferguson said. “It was so scary. I didn’t know then how to go, ‘Hey, can I talk to you privately?’ Now, I would want to believe that I could have taken this person aside.”

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Ferguson’s story was to demonstrate how movie sets have evolved over the years. She is far more comfortable standing up for herself as a woman on set these days, for instance. The actor finds the industry moving toward a positive direction when it comes to how people are treated during production.

“A lot of people say that we’ve become too woke, but I think, no, it’s great,” Ferguson said. “The pendulum needs to swing to the other side so that we can find a balance in between.”

 Ferguson revealed during her “Dune: Part Two” press tour in February 2024 on the “Reign With Josh Smith” podcast that she once had an “idiot” co-star who made her cry on set. She was screamed at by this co-star to such an unprofessional degree that she ultimately fired back and requested she only act opposite the back of the actor’s head. 

“I did a film with an absolute idiot of a co-star and this human being was being so insecure and angry because this person couldn’t get the scenes out,” she said at the time. “And I think I was so vulnerable and uncomfortable that I got screamed at and I would cry walking off set.”

“This person would literally look at me in front of the whole crew and say, ‘You call yourself an actor? This is what I have to work with?’ I stood there just breaking,” Ferguson continued. “Because this person was number one on the call sheet, there was no safety net for me. No one had my back.”

Ferguson said the experience was the first time she ever spoke up for herself as an actor on a set. She arrived on set the next day and told the co-star, “You get off my set. You can F off. I’m gonna work towards a tennis ball. I never want to see you again.”

“And then I remember the producers came up and said, ‘You can’t do this to number one. We have to let this person be on set,’” Ferguson remembered. “And I said, ‘The person can turn around and I can act to the back of the head.’ And I did. I was so scared. I feel it now when I’m saying it.”

As Ferguson’s reveal gained traction on social media, the actor got some support from Dwayne Johnson, with whom she co-starred in 2014’s “Hercules.”

“Hate seeing this but love seeing her stand up to bullshit,” Johnson posted on X. “Rebecca was my guardian angel sent from heaven on our set. I love that woman. I’d like to find out who did this.”

In a follow-up interview on SiriusXM’s “The Jess Cagle Show,” Ferguson revealed that former co-stars were reaching out to her in the wake of the revelation and all the guessing games on social media regarding who she might be talking about.

“I got phone calls from amazing co-stars who I’ve worked with going, ‘You understand what you’ve done, right?’” Ferguson said. “And I was like, ‘Oh my God. No, I didn’t think.’ I mean, it’s not my responsibility, to be honest. I don’t really care. You know, ‘You’re great, but my story is my story, and if you’re a good person, then don’t worry about it.’”

Head over to Harper’s Bazaar’s website to read more from Ferguson’s latest profile.