Actor James Spader became a household name with a string of hit TV shows under his belt. On the other hand, Spader’s film credits include some truly underrated gems and some outright awful movies. However, the acclaimed actor found one movie’s script extremely awful, so much so that he refused to shoot it.
In a conversation about the now cult classic sci-fi film Stargate, its producer and writer, Dean Devlin, opened up about collaborating with Spader. Devlin revealed that Spader was extremely unhappy with the movie’s script and refused to shoot some scenes until one of his co-actors stepped in with a great logic. Here is what happened when Spader worked in 1994’s Stargate.
James Spader admitted the script for Stargate was awful
Actor James Spader is best known for playing the role of Raymond “Red” Reddington in the crime-drama series The Blacklist. He also appeared in the role of Dr. Daniel Jackson in the 1994 sci-fi film Stargate, which marked the dawn of a new franchise.
The film was co-produced and co-written by Dean Devlin, who discussed its creation during an interview with Variety. In the chat, Devlin admitted that Spader wasn’t happy with the film’s script. The multiple Emmy-winning actor admitted as much in a separate interview (via Inverse).
The script was just awful, and that sort of intrigued me.
Spader made the above statement, adding that he only signed on for the film so that he would get to film in Arizona.
Devlin explained that when the film was in production, Spader voiced his displeasure with the script. The producer revealed that Spader was unhappy with a lot of the dialog and refused to step out of his trailer until it was rewritten, causing a delay in filming.
Kurt Russell had the perfect reaction to James Spader refusing to shoot Stargate
Devlin revealed that Spader’s co-star in the movie, Kurt Russell, who played Colonel Jonathan “Jack” O’Neil, was also initially disappointed with the script. However, the actor had conveyed that he would be ready to join the project as long as the producers hit the right salary mark.
The writer-producer added that Russell had read an earlier draft of the script. Upon reading the final shooting script, he admitted that it was awful. As a result, when Spader refused to film his scenes without a rewrite, Russell was upset with him and stepped in to handle the situation.
‘Of course, it’s horrible. That’s why they pay you a million dollars. If it was brilliant, you’d do it for free.’
Devlin made the above comment, recalling the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 actor’s advice to his co-star.
Devlin recalled that as filming progressed, Spader and Russell developed an understanding of the film’s tone and approach, with the actors being happy with the end result. The film grossed $196.6 million (via The Numbers), launching a long-running franchise, so it is hard to see the actors being upset about the script anymore.
Stargate is streaming on Tubi.
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