Iron Man marked the beginning of a new era for Marvel. The Robert Downey Jr. starrer’s outstanding performance meant that the Marvel Cinematic Universe was off with a bang. The Incredible Hulk hit theatres a month after and the people in charge of the MCU came to terms with the harsh reality – it wouldn’t be a walk in the park.
The Incredible Hulk was a shadow of Iron Man, both critically and commercially. And this is no small part down to the tussles on set. Edward Norton’s differences with Marvel are no secret. But for director Louis Leterrier, his rows with William Hurt will be a hard one to forget.
Louis Letterier on the experience of directing The Incredible Hulk
Louis Letterier had the honor of being the first guest on the new Happy Sad Confused spinoff podcast Watch-A-Long. In the episode, the Fast X director got candid about his experience of working on the sets of The Incredible Hulk.
Hulk is nothing without his anger. That’s what makes him tick. It is indeed poetic that the actors involved in the making of the 2008 flick were not short of stubbornness. William Hurt led this line while portraying General Thaddeus Everett “Thunderbolt” Ross, with The Doctor star always on the lookout for a fight.
Louis Letterier and William Hurt were often at loggerheads
Late actor William Hurt is a veteran of the industry. And a veteran needs to get certain things right. Hefty discussions with Leterrier were the routine. Louis Letterier said,
“William Hurt didn’t want the mustache to act him out. The size of the mustache was a discussion.” (Watch-A-Long)
No wonder the two shared some heated conversations. He continued,
“But sometimes he and I clashed. You have two types of actors. You got your partners, your best friends that you have to cajole all day, and then the people who like to have these arguments. They feed off that. That’s how he worked.”
To Letterier’s credit, he was not one to back off.
Who’s the boss!
Louis Letterier revealed that William Hurt had no qualms about going to the Now You See Me director, even in public. He said,
“One day he was screaming at me, ‘You don’t know anything about actors!’”
That was enough for Letterier. It was about time he showed who’s the boss. He continued,
“Too bad for him he was in the giant helicopter at the end and I was at the control. He was like, ‘You have to find the button to the nuclear plant…’ I took the joystick and shook him and he fell and looked at me and was like, ‘I like you!’ That was it.”
The 50-year-old would not return to the MCU, but he had shown who’s the boss.
Watch the video below:
