Rebecca Ferguson went viral during her “Dune: Part Two” press tour in late February after she revealed on the “Reign With Josh Smith” podcast that she once had an “idiot” co-star who made her cry on set. The story led to a guessing game across social media platforms where people tried to figure out who exactly Ferguson was talking about, although the actor recently said on SiriusXM’s “The Jess Cagle Show” that she was “not expecting” that to be the takeaway from her comments.
“Number one, yes, I kind of enjoyed the grab,” Ferguson admitted. “But what I realized even at the age that I am now is it doesn’t matter. I am me. I definitely think I’m much more open. I also know where my boundaries are. But the point of the interview wasn’t about finding the person — of course, people will be interested. But I was excited about the question, which was a very good question by [Josh Smith]. Because the point was: Is there a point in your career where you were treated in a way where you changed your decision on — this is how I formulated it in myself — where you want change, or you will not accept it? And it was such a clear moment for me working with this person.”
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“But I got phone calls from amazing co-stars who I’ve worked with going, ‘You understand what you’ve done, right?’” Ferguson continued. “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.’”
In her original interview on the “Reign With Josh Smith” podcast, Ferguson revealed she was once screamed at by a co-star on set 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 actor, “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.”
Ferguson ultimately addressed the situation to her director, who told her: “You’re right. I am not taking care of everyone else. I’m trying to fluff this person because it’s so unstable”
As Ferguson’s original comments gained traction on social media, the actor got some support from Dwayne Johnson, with whom she co-starred with all the way back on 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.”
Watch Ferguson’s latest interview on SiriusXM’s “The Jess Cagle Show” in the video below.
