Recently, a rich, powerful, celebrity white woman used a press tour for an upcoming mega-budget movie to whine about past mistreatment from a star who used to be bigger than her when she started out in her career. I actually don’t think this is important–at all–and also think beautiful white women might be fascinated to know that most people aren’t protected by the world as though it’s required and that many extras are treated like this everyday they step foot on a film or TV set to make $150 for a full day’s work.
However, I think I’ve figured out who Ferguson was talking about, so I might as well share the meaningless answer to a mystery she teased (thus completing the ouroboros-circle of “I’m actively standing up for myself and what a badass I am!…By refusing to name the vague person I’m referring to”). Even if I don’t know exactly who it is, I can safely say it must be one of these six people since Ferguson has repeatedly gushed about working with Hugh Jackson, Meryl Streep, and Tom Cruise…
6. Dwayne Johnson on “Hercules” set…This was Ferguson’s very first big movie, and Johnson was definitely “number one on the call sheet.” He would’ve been a fairly-big star even at the time, but relatively new to acting, so his frustration and projection of insecurities might make sense. Johnson has already “celebrated” Ferguson for “calling out the BS,” but that could easily be a smokescreen because he already knows it’s him she’s talking about. Still, I think this is so early in her film career, it might be a stretch she even could demand to work with a tennis ball instead of Johnson.
5. Justin Theroux on “The Girl on the Train” set…Theroux isn’t exactly an “A-list” star, but he might’ve looked that way in a very young actress’s career. This is one of only a handful of major American films where what she’s describing could’ve taken place, so he’s at least mentioned as a possibility.
4. Emily Blunt on “The Girl on the Train” set…But the actual “number one” on the call sheet for that turgid potboiler would’ve been Blunt, and Ferguson doesn’t gender the actor she’s talking about, referring only to them as “this person.” The refusal to say “he” could be a dead giveaway that it’s Blunt, one of only two A-list actresses who were number one on a call sheet during Ferguson’s early career. [And it’s impossible to imagine Ferguson would call the legendary Meryl Streep an “idiot” since she’s spoken nothing but glowing praise of her since they worked together.]
3. Michael Fassbender on “The Snowman” set…Fassie is well-known to have a temper, and this turd would’ve been the type of lifeless, yelling-heavy role that frustrates him (he went on record as saying one of his Magneto performances involved “too much yelling,” and it frustrated him how bad he was in it). The movie also filmed in January 2016, which is before any of Ferguson’s big roles outside of “Rogue Nation” had come out.
2. Jake Gyllenhaal on “Life” set…The most popular candidate online is Gyllenhaal, and although it’s entirely possible, I just think she might’ve been too far along in her career by this point (“Rogue Nation,” and “Florence Foster Jenkins” had already opened, and “The Girl on the Train,” and “The Snowman” had already wrapped filming). Plus, she’s more of a co-lead here than she would’ve been on “The Girl on the Train” or “Florence Foster Jenkins,” which are smaller roles earlier in her career, where she might’ve been more legitimately scared of an intimidating co-star. For me, there’s one candidate that makes more sense…
And the most probable candidate is…
1. Hugh Grant in “Florence Foster Jenkins”…Grant is infamous for these types of temper tantrums (he threw one on the “Dungeons & Dragons” set recently, and admitted his behavior as a guest on “The Daily Show” proved Jon Stewart was right to say he was the show’s worst guest), and Ferguson’s scenes in “Jenkins” were mostly with him, as she played his mistress–so it makes sense he’d be number one on the call sheet on the days they filmed. This is a smaller role than any of the others mentioned, and the movie filmed before “Rogue Nation” came out, meaning Ferguson’s biggest American work hadn’t been released yet.
Also, she’s gone out of her way to talk about her love of Meryl Streep in that movie, but hasn’t said much about working with Grant, who she shared most of her actual scenes with. [A decidedly mixed review has her calling him “grumpy” most days, mixed with charm.] And I couldn’t find many interviews she did with him during the “Florence” press junket, whereas there are several with Fassbender and Gyllenhaal for their respective movies.
Swedish soap opera star should be grateful for what she has.