Actors Who Sued Movie Studios

Hollywood contracts can be just as dramatic as Hollywood scripts.

Behind the red carpets and box office headlines, actors sometimes fight studios over money, credit, contracts, image rights, creative promises, or the way profits are reported. Some lawsuits changed entertainment law. Others exposed studio accounting practices. A few became personal turning points in an actor’s career.

This article focuses on public legal disputes involving actors and studios, producers, production companies, or major entertainment companies. Lawsuits can be complex, and filing a claim does not automatically mean every allegation was proven in court.

Here are actors who took Hollywood power players to court.

Scarlett Johansson

Scarlett Johansson’s lawsuit against Disney became one of the biggest Hollywood legal stories of the streaming era.

In 2021, Johansson sued Disney over the release strategy for Black Widow. Her complaint argued that the film’s simultaneous theatrical and Disney+ Premier Access release breached her contract because her pay was tied partly to box office performance.

Olivia de Havilland

Olivia de Havilland’s lawsuit against Warner Bros. helped change Hollywood labor history.

In 1943, de Havilland sued Warner Bros. after years of frustration with the studio’s long-term contract system. The studio system often extended contracts by adding suspension periods, keeping actors tied to companies longer than the calendar term suggested. De Havilland challenged that practice, and the California Court of Appeal ruled in her favor in 1944.

Shirley MacLaine

Shirley MacLaine’s case against 20th Century-Fox became a classic contract-law example.

MacLaine had agreed to star in the musical film Bloomer Girl for a guaranteed salary. When Fox canceled the film, the studio offered her a role in a Western called Big Country, Big Man instead. MacLaine declined and sued for the money she was promised under the original deal.

Raquel Welch

Raquel Welch sued MGM after being fired from Cannery Row.

Welch was originally cast in the film but was replaced by Debra Winger. She sued for breach of contract and related claims, arguing that the studio damaged her professionally. A jury awarded her $10.8 million, including punitive damages, and the judgment became one of the most discussed actor-versus-studio wins of the 1980s.

Crispin Glover

Crispin Glover’s dispute with Universal over Back to the Future Part II became a landmark likeness-rights case.

Glover did not return as George McFly for the sequel. The film used another actor, Jeffrey Weissman, with makeup and prosthetics that made him resemble Glover. Glover sued, arguing that the studio had used his likeness without permission.

Sylvester Stallone

Sylvester Stallone sued Warner Bros. over profits from Demolition Man.

In 2017, Stallone filed a lawsuit alleging that Warner Bros. had concealed profits from the 1993 sci-fi action film. The case centered on profit participation, a recurring Hollywood issue where stars may be promised a share of profits but later told the movie has not technically generated the kind of profit defined in the contract.

Wesley Snipes

Wesley Snipes sued New Line Cinema over Blade: Trinity.

In 2005, Snipes filed a federal lawsuit against New Line, writer-director David Goyer, and executive producer Toby Emmerich. The lawsuit reportedly sought more than $5 million and included claims related to pay, script approval, screen time, and creative decisions around the third Blade movie.

Richard Dreyfuss

Richard Dreyfuss sued Disney years after What About Bob? became a comedy favorite.

In 2015, Dreyfuss filed suit against Disney over accounting and audit rights tied to What About Bob?. The lawsuit argued that he and another plaintiff were being blocked from using a specialized firm to audit profit participation records.

David Duchovny

David Duchovny sued 20th Century Fox over The X-Files.

In 1999, Duchovny filed a lawsuit claiming Fox had engaged in self-dealing by selling rights to affiliated companies at below-market rates, which he argued reduced his profit participation. The suit also claimed that series creator Chris Carter had been involved in concealing the arrangement, though Carter was not named as a defendant.

Alan Alda

Alan Alda also fought 20th Century Fox over profit participation.

Alda had a financial interest in MASH*, one of the most successful television series in American history. His lawsuit accused Fox of practices that allegedly reduced the amount owed to profit participants.

James Garner

James Garner became one of Hollywood’s most famous studio fighters.

Garner sued Universal over The Rockford Files, alleging breach of contract, fraud, and unfair accounting tied to his share of the show’s profits. The Los Angeles Times reported that Garner claimed Universal had left him with only $249,000 from $119 million in gross revenues.

Don Johnson

Don Johnson sued Rysher Entertainment over Nash Bridges profits.

Johnson’s production company argued that his deal gave him a major ownership interest after CBS purchased enough episodes of the series. A jury awarded him $23.2 million, and later proceedings reduced and reshaped parts of the judgment. The dispute eventually settled for a reported $19 million.

Kevin Costner

Kevin Costner sued Morgan Creek over Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves profits.

Costner claimed he was owed a share of adjusted gross sales from the 1991 blockbuster. Reports on the dispute said he accused Morgan Creek of diverting money through foreign distribution arrangements and not properly paying his share.

Sharon Stone

Sharon Stone sued over the stalled original version of Basic Instinct 2.

Stone claimed producers had made a pay-or-play agreement for her to reprise Catherine Tramell, including a large fee and a share of gross receipts. When the sequel was delayed and plans collapsed at that stage, Stone sued the producers, saying she had turned down other roles based on their commitment.

Jodie Foster

Jodie Foster sued PolyGram and Propaganda over The Game.

Foster said she had an oral agreement to star in the David Fincher thriller and had taken herself off the market for other roles. When the production moved on without her, she sued, alleging the companies broke the agreement and blamed production issues on her.

Bruce Willis

Bruce Willis sued producers after his planned directorial debut collapsed.

The project, Three Stories About Joan, was supposed to star Willis with Owen Wilson and Kieran Culkin. Willis filed suit claiming that the producers failed to secure promised financing and did not pay his acting fee. The producers filed a countersuit, claiming Willis had breached his contract by leaving the project.

Terrence Howard

Terrence Howard sued 20th Century Fox over Empire.

Howard alleged that the studio used his image from Hustle & Flow in the Empire logo and related branding without proper compensation. The case involved likeness, trademark, and compensation claims tied to one of his most recognizable screen identities.

Bette Davis

Bette Davis’ battle with Warner Bros. is one of the earliest examples of a major star challenging studio control, though the legal posture was different from many modern cases.

Davis went to England in 1936 after clashing with Warner Bros. over the quality of roles she was being assigned. Warner Bros. sued her under her married name, and the English court sided with the studio, forcing her back under the contract system.

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