10 Actors Who Liked Working With Stanley Kubrick

Stanley Kubrick is remembered as one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, and, allegedly, as a nightmare perfectionist, who frustrated his actors by making them do hundreds of takes. Unsurprisingly, he rarely had frequent collaborators the way directors like Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino do. Once an actor was done with Kubrick, they were unlikely to return.

One of the most terrifying stories about Kubrick came from the set of the Stephen King adaptation, The Shining, where the filmmaker made Shelley Duvall perform the bat scene a whopping 127 times. However, not every actor cast in the director’s movies felt he was difficult to work with.

Stanley Kubrick has his supporters, and many of them have gladly talked about their experiences with him. Their recollections paint a picture of a man who wasn’t necessarily mean. He simply had higher expectations for himself, and for those he worked with. After all, he wasn’t just an expert at filming, but at research, writing, editing, and color. Kubrick knew exactly what was required, and was intentional in ensuring things got done the right way. Consequently, many of his movies broke new cinematic ground and are considered landmarks in their respective genres.

Here’s a collection of actors who all had good things to say about working with the famous perfectionist.

10 Nicole Kidman

‘Eyes Wide Shut’ (1999)

Nicole Kidman starred in Kubrick’s underrated erotic Christmas thriller, Eyes Wide Shut, as Alice, a housewife married to a wealthy doctor. Even though she seemingly has everything, Alice is unhappy and keeps fantasizing about a naval officer she met while on vacation. Understandably, this causes friction between her and her husband.

Kubrick “Stoked a Fire”

Kidman and her then-husband Tom Cruise were reportedly cast in the film when they made an impromptu visit to Kubrick’s estate. At the time, Kidman was in England filming The Portrait of a Lady. Entertainment Weekly reveals that Kubrick made Kidman not commit to other projects until Eyes Wide Shut was completed, something that turned out disadvantageous as the erotic thriller took longer than expected to film, earning a place in the Guinness Book of Records for the longest continuous shoot (15 months).

Still, Kidman believes her experience working under Kubrick made her a better actor. Opening up during an interview with the Wall Street Journal, she acknowledged the filmmaker’s work and appreciated “his ability to not give you answers, yet stoke a fire.”

9 Sterling Hayden

‘The Killing’ (1956) and ‘Dr. Strangelove’ (1964)

Sterling Hayden is one of the few actors who signed up to work with Stanley Kubrick twice. Known for his work in film noirs and Westerns, Hayden first offered his services to Kubrick in The Killing, where he played a recently released convict planning a heist. He would then play the deranged General Ripper in Dr. Strangelove, one of the films credited with popularizing the dark comedy genre.

Hayden’s Second Stint was Tougher

Hayden was advised to avoid Kubrick, but he followed his gut and ended up appearing in two of the greatest movies of all time. An interview from the vaults of Huntley Film Archives reveals that Hayden’s agent was against him working with the director, labeling him a “weirdo.” The actor did it anyway. He admitted that things were tougher on the set of Dr. Strangelove, as he wasn’t getting anything right even after 48 takes, but Kubrick was understanding, even offering to give him a pep talk.

“Sterling, I know you can’t help what’s going on, and you know I can’t help you, but the terror on your eyes and in your face might just be the quality we want in this jackass General Jack Ripper; if it is not, come back in a couple of months and we’ll do it all over again.”

That was all the encouragement Hayden needed. He went out, had a few drinks at a bar in a nearby town, returned, and did his job as required.

8 Danny Lloyd

‘The Shining’ (1980)

Danny Lloyd might be a Biology professor now, but he will forever be remembered as that kind on a bicycle from The Shining. In the film, Lloyd keeps his name, playing Danny, the son of the murderer, Jack Torrance, who plays a big role in defeating him.

Kubrick was Like a Cool Dad on Set

Lloyd is nostalgic about the good treatment he received on the set of The Shining. According to the former actor, the filmmaker was very caring and did everything to ensure he wasn’t scared. He even lied to him that he was shooting a drama, not a horror, and even gave him lots of sandwiches, which he ate with Lisa and Louise Burns (who portrayed the creepy Grady twins in the film). Speaking to The Guardian, he recalled:

“Stanley was great. I remember him playing ball with me, playing catch, stuff like that. He was a big guy with a beard, but I don’t remember ever being scared of him or intimidated or anything.”

However, Lloyd and his family had to dance to Kubrick’s tune. He recalled that he, his parents, and older brother Mike flew to the UK (where Kubrick lived and shot most of his films) for what they were told would be a 17-week shoot. Inevitably, the process stretched to almost a year due to the director’s perfectionism. Still, Lloyd insists he would do it all over again.

7 Matthew Modine

‘Full Metal Jacket’ (1987)

Matthew Modine is best known for playing the protagonist, Private (later Sergeant) J. T. “Joker” Davis, in Full Metal Jacket. After a terrifying boot camp experience under the tutelage of the overbearing Sgt. Hartman (Lee R. Emery), Joker, and his team head to Vietnam, where they are met with even bigger horrors.

Temporary Volatility

Modine famously fought with Kubrick about the director’s refusal to allow him to leave the set to be with his pregnant wife in the delivery room. However, he grew to appreciate the director and his vision.

In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he said:

“Not many people know that Kubrick had a fantastic sense of irony and humor. If he were here, he’d be brilliant at creating a comedy about the grotesque absurdity of leaders like Putin and Donald Trump.”

Kubrick and humor? That’s new. We’ll take it though.

6 Marie Windsor

‘The Killing’ (1956)

Marie Windsor had a supporting role in The Killing as Sherry, the devious wife of a member of a heist crew. Upon learning what her husband is up to, Sherry tells all the details to Val, a man she is having an affair with. Predictably, things get complicated and Reservoir Dogs kind of division happens.

Zero Incidents

Windsor is one of the few actors who spoke about Kubrick to The New York Times, and she had nothing but good things to say. To her, the set of The Killing had one of the best working environments.

“I never heard him yell at the crew or anybody. When he had some idea for me to do or change, he would wiggle his finger and we would go away from the action and he would tell me what he wanted or didn’t want.”

Like Nicole Kidman, Windsor also credits Kubrick for helping her improve some of her acting skills. Thanks to the director, she learned the importance of constantly moving her eyes during close-up scenes.

5 Tom Cruise

‘Eyes Wide Shut’ (1997)

Cruise starred alongside his then-wife, Nicole Kidman, in Eyes Wide Shut. In the film, he portrays a wealthy doctor in an unhappy marriage. After his wife confesses her desire for another man, he becomes heartbroken and sets himself on a vengeance path that leads him to the doors of a sex cult.

Cruise and Kubrick Had Much in Common

Some rumors suggested that filming Eyes Wide Shut put a strain on Cruise and Kidman’s marriage, resulting in its termination, but both parties denied it. They even gave eulogies at the filmmaker’s funeral.

Speaking to Roger Ebert, Cruise confessed that he shares one major trait with the filmmaker. He said:

“I’m used to working. I’ll work 15 hours a day, and I’ll work very hard to try to make something work. But if he felt that I was tired or the scene wasn’t working, he never panicked. He knew he had the time. No matter what, he could always go back and take time to fix it. He never locked himself in.”

The actor is a well-known workaholic and perfectionist, hence the reason he has starred in a whopping 44 movies in the same number of years. To him, nothing comes before work, and we commend him for that.

4 Shelley Winters

‘Lolita’ (1962)

Both Lolita and the book it is based on haven’t aged, considering that they focus on hebephilia. Nonetheless, the film is noted for the great performances from the cast members, particularly, Shelly Winters, who plays Charlotte, a sexually frustrated widow who pursues her tenant.

Focused on the Job

Winters’ work in the movie triggered plenty of praise and earned her a Golden Globe nomination. It also opened more doors for her in her career, something she is completely grateful for. She was one of the actors interviewed by The New York Times shortly after Kubrick’s death, noting how he “would discuss the scene with you, and you never thought you were being directed until you saw the rushes the next day.” From a bizarre confession, Winters also acknowledged Kubrick’s professionalism, recalling that she “decided to flirt with him while I was dancing in a sexy way, and he said, ”That’s it!”

3 Paul Mazursky

‘Fear and Desire’ (1952)

Stanley Kubrick’s directorial debut, Fear and Desire, is about a group of soldiers who become stranded when their plane crashes behind enemy lines. Paul Mazursky played Pvt. Sidney, a soldier left to guard a local peasant girl that the team captures, only for him to get hostile towards her when his feelings aren’t reciprocated.

Kubrick’s Worst Movie?

Kubrick allegedly hated Fear and Desire so much that he tried to have all the negatives burned. He considered it amateurish, compared to his other work, but most of the actors enjoyed the experience of making it, including Paul Mazursky (also interviewed by NYT), who marveled at the director’s determination and desire, confessing that he “had never seen anything like it.”

2 Kei Dullea

‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ (1968)

2001: A Space Odyssey presented a Man vs AI clash way before AI even became popular. In the film, HAL, a spacecraft’s AI system, becomes antagonistic when the crew members ignore its directives. Kei Dullea portrays Dr. Bowman, as one of the scientists on board.

Kind… On and Off the Set

Like many other Kubrick films, 2001 has many crazy behind-the-scenes stories, notably the fact that the filmmaker destroyed all props so that ‘lazy’ and ‘less talented’ directors wouldn’t use them in their films. However, Dullea had a blast. Speaking to NYT, he recalled how Kubrick “would invite Gary Lockwood and myself to have dinner at his beautiful home,” adding that he “would invite a lot of other people from all walks of life and different disciplines.” That’s one way to keep the actors motivated.

1 Sydney Pollack

‘Eyes Wide Shut’ (1999)

Everyone who starred in Eyes Wide Shut seemingly enjoyed the experience, despite the movie getting worse reviews than Kubrick’s other works. Sydney Pollack had a villainous role in the film, playing one of Dr. Bill Harford’s patients, Victor Ziegler. It soon emerges that Ziegler is a high-ranking member of a sex cult. Predictably, he ropes Bill into the secret society’s activities and tries to control him.

Made in England

Pollack was the last among the group of actors interviewed by The New York Times, and even he had nothing but great things to say. Deviating from film, he rubbished some assumptions that people had about the filmmaker, especially his choice to live at Childwickbury Manor in England.

“People say he had these phobias, he wouldn’t go here and wouldn’t go there. The truth is he lived in a paradise — there wasn’t any reason for him to go anywhere. It was a kind of a heaven.”

It almost feels like Ian Fleming and Jamaica. Sometimes, talented minds need unique environments.