Madden director David O. Russell accused of using N-word on set as supporting actor QUITS 'messy' biopic

Daily Mail​

21-05-2025

Controversial filmmaker David O. Russell appears to be up to his problematic antics yet again as a supporting actor just quit his new film Madden last Friday.
The 66-year-old hot-tempered director allegedly said the N-word to the unnamed actor while discussing an impromptu monologue, which upset him and others so much he stormed off the Atlanta set - according to TMZ.
The mystery man seems to be portraying an NFL football player as he refused to go fully nude for a pre-planned locker room scene last Thursday despite cajoling and expertise blocking from an intimacy coordinator.
David reportedly expressed his anger in an 'unprofessional' fashion, but calmly told the actor he 'didn't have to be in the shot.'
The door is still open for the actor to return as 'conversations' are ongoing, but production on the Amazon MGM Studios flick - which shoots through July - has apparently been a 'mess' with conflicts.
Tensions are running high as both leads - Nicolas Cage and Christian Bale - are Method actors staying in character in between takes but, thus far, 'nothing improper involving either actor' has occurred.
The 61-year-old Oscar winner donned a prosthetic fat suit to better inhabit the late John Madden, who was an NFL offensive tackle turned Oakland Raiders coach turned Emmy-winning commentator.
The 51-year-old Oscar winner is equally unrecognizable as the late Al Davis, who was the Oakland Raiders manager for 39 years until his 2011 death at age 82.
John Mulaney, Kathryn Hahn, Sienna Miller, Shane Gillis, and Dan Matteucci are also featured in the Madden ensemble.
Despite his notorious reputation, Russell has successfully directed seven different actors in Oscar-nominated performances and three in Oscar-winning performances - Bale, Melissa Leo, and Jennifer Lawrence.
On Monday, Julia Stiles told The Times that she had 'a hard time' with the five-time Oscar nominee on the set of his 2012 movie Silver Linings Playbook.
'His style is very challenging, but I did learn a lot from him and he does make good movies,' the 44-year-old Emmy nominee noted.
Last August, George Clooney recalled grabbing David in the throat after he headbutted him on the set of his 1999 film Three Kings, which was 'the worst experience of my life.'
'And so it's not just like, "Oh, I'm going to go do a really good film, like Three Kings, and I'm going to have a miserable f*** like David O. Russell making my life hell,' the 64-year-old Oscar winner told GQ.
The mystery man seems to be portraying an NFL football player as he refused to go fully nude for a pre-planned locker room scene last Thursday despite cajoling and expertise blocking from an intimacy coordinator (set pictured May 9)
Tensions are running high as both leads - Christian Bale (L) and Nicolas Cage (R) - are Method actors staying in character in between takes but, thus far, 'nothing improper involving either actor' has occurred
The 61-year-old Oscar winner donned a prosthetic fat suit to better inhabit the late John Madden, who was an NFL offensive tackle turned Oakland Raiders coach turned Emmy-winning commentator
The 51-year-old Oscar winner is equally unrecognizable as the late Al Davis, who was the Oakland Raiders manager for 39 years until his 2011 death at age 82
'"Making every person in the crew's life hell." It's not worth it. Not at this point in my life. Just to have a good product.'
In 2011, Paul Reubens alleged that Russell screamed at him 'at the top of his lungs' on his first day working on his 2015 film Accidental Love.
The Amsterdam filmmaker not only made Amy Adams cry with his 'manic' style of directing on the set of his 2013 film American Hustle, he paid her and Lawrence less than their male co-stars.
'He did [make me cry]. He was hard on me, that's for sure. It was a lot,' the 50-year-old Oscar nominee confessed to British GQ in 2016.
'I was really just devastated on set. I mean, not every day, but most.'
And in 2007, footage leaked of David's notorious, expletive-laden tantrum at Lily Tomlin while shooting his 2004 film I Heart Huckabees.
'I used to compare David to Bob [Altman]. In a kind of opposite way, he was like Altman. They have a similarity — maybe it's just originality. Bob would never flip out,' the 85-year-old comedian recalled to THR Magazine in 2015.
Russell not only made Amy Adams (L) cry with his 'manic' style of directing on the set of his 2013 film American Hustle, he paid her and Lawrence less than their male co-stars: 'He was hard on me, that's for sure'
The 85-year-old comedian recalled to THR magazine in 2015: '[David and I] made up in just a few hours, and then we had a second fracas. By then, I was like stoic in my suffering. But we've overcome it. It dissipates and it's gone'
'[But David and I] made up in just a few hours, and then we had a second fracas. By then, I was like stoic in my suffering. But we've overcome it. It dissipates and it's gone.
In 2003, the New York Times reported that Russell put Christopher Nolan in a headlock at a Hollywood party over using the actor Jude Law in I Heart Huckabees.
And yet, A-list actors continue to line up like Robert De Niro and Jenna Ortega, who signed on to star in the four-time Independent Spirit Award winner's upcoming pool hustler film Shutout - according to Deadline.