50 Interesting Facts About Hollywood Actors – Part 5

Tom Hanks intentionally gained 50 pounds to film the first half of Cast Away. He then took a year off to lose the weight and grow out his hair prior to filming the second half. During the break, the director and most of the crew went off to film 'What Lies Beneath.'

Liam Neeson was once a school teacher, but he got fired after a student pulled a knife on him, and he punched him.

George Clooney once gave 14 of his closest friends each $1 million in cash, and even paid the taxes on it for them, with one condition: they all had to take it or none of them got it.

Brad Pitt agreed to do a brief cameo in Deadpool 2 for just the daily minimum rate (less than $1000 per day) plus a cup of coffee hand-delivered by Ryan Reynolds.

Famous paparazzo Ron Galella was once punched in the face so hard by Marlon Brando that his jaw broke and he lost five teeth. The next time he took Brando’s picture, he wore a football helmet.

Hunter S. Thompson once pranked Jack Nicholson on his birthday by shining a spotlight on his house, blasting a recording of a pig being eaten alive by bears, firing his pistol, and leaving an elk’s heart at the front door, while Nicholson and his two daughters hid in the basement.

Al Pacino boycotted the 1973 Academy Awards because he was insulted at being nominated for Best Supporting Actor in The Godfather, noting that he had more screen time than his co-star and Best Actor winner Brando.

Tom Cruise himself actually created the character (and the dance) for Les Grossman, suggesting “What about some greedy pig studio executive who really represents the gross part of Hollywood?” because of how much he enjoyed the script of Tropic Thunder and wanted to be in the movie.

Keanu Reeves was once sued by a woman who suggested that he used hypnosis and impersonated her ex-husband to impregnate her. She sought $3 million in spousal support from the actor, and $150,000/month, retroactively, in child support. A DNA test proved he was not the father and the suit was thrown out.

Disney executives were initially confused by Johnny Depp’s performance as Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean, questioning whether he was drunk or gay. The CEO of Disney proclaimed that Depp was ruining the film. Depp’s response to Disney executives was they could trust him with his choices or let him go.