Freddie Prinze Jr. claims “I Know What You Did Last Summer” director Jim Gillespie made his life miserable on set.
The 47-year-old actor landed his big break and met his future wife Sarah Michelle Gellar when he signed up to star in the 1997 horror movie, but he claims Gillespie didn't approve of the casting because he wanted “Clueless” castmember Jeremy Sisto instead - and gave him "psychotic notes" on how to improve his performance.
Speaking to Toofab.com, Prinze Jr. explained: "There was no passive aggressiveness - which I hate - he was very direct in the fact that, 'I don't want you in this movie.
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“So when that's your first job and you hear those words, it just wrecks you, man. It just wrecks you ...
"I did have those moments where the director was giving me psychotic notes, like 'Don't leave your mouth open.
“You look stupid when you do that' - that was the exact note, word for word, I’ll never forget it - and I'm like, I'm either gonna break down or I have to beat this guy's a** ...
"It was a struggle to finish work every day, I was in pain every single day on that movie ... "
Prinze Jr. went on to reveal his co-star Ryan Phillippe helped him get through the miserable experience, saying: "Ryan came up to me and was like: 'Screw that guy, man. How many times did you audition for this movie?' and I go, 'Five times,' he goes, 'Yeah, you earned it.
“You didn't get offered the role, you earned it' ... "
The actor revealed he almost gave up and walked away from the film, but was eventually talked into staying by one of the producers.
However, he's now glad he decided to stick it out because the film launched his Hollywood career and introduced him to “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” star Sarah, who he married in 2002.
He added: "In hindsight, I'm not upset, because that movie launched my whole career. I wouldn't have any of the things I have without that movie, I wouldn't have my wife, I wouldn't have all the other movies I've done ...
“I'm here because of that struggle and because of that pain and it was those things."
Gillespie previously opened up about his work on the movie in a 2017 interview with Digital Spy in which he insisted he was the one who pushed for Prinze Jr. to land a role in the film.
He said: "Nobody wanted Freddie; they thought he was too soft, he wasn't muscular enough, so Freddie probably screen-tested four or five times.
“He got to the point where he was saying: 'I'm done', and I really had to plead with him to stick with it because I wanted him.
“I thought he was going to be great with it. He went to the gym and worked out, changed his diet and his hair cut. I stuck to my guns and eventually they went: 'Yes'."