Report: Actor Quits Nicolas Cage’s John Madden Biopic over Nude Scene, Alleged Racial Slur from Director

An unnamed supporting actor in the upcoming film Madden reportedly quit two weeks into production — allegedly due to its white director using a racial slur and requiring full-frontal nudity. Sources at Amazon Studios, however, beg to differ.

Cast and crew members of the film told TMZ that Madden director David O. Russell was working with the actor on an impromptu monologue when the director said the N-word, upsetting the actor — along with others — who then allegedly walked off set.

Sources close to Amazon Studios, however, told the outlet that it was actually the actor’s idea to include the pejorative in the scene following a private conversation with the director, but that the N-word ended up being omitted when the scene was shot.

While the studio sources firmly asserted that Russell did not say the N-word while shooting the scene, they declined to theorize what may have upset the actor and the others present at that particular moment.

Moreover, one day earlier, the same actor allegedly upset about or using the N-word had also made it clear that he did not want to be nude in a scene, Madden cast and crew sources told TMZ.

The scene in question allegedly involved a locker room setting where something apparently happened that made the director angry, prompting him to react in an “unprofessional” manner, those sources added.

But the Amazon Studios sources told the outlet that an intimacy coordinator tried making the actor feel comfortable with the scene — and suggested different approaches — but the actor still had a problem with it, at which point Russell calmly informed him that he did not have to be in the shot.

Studio sources also reportedly emphasized that nude scenes in Madden were not a surprise to anyone, claiming that all involved have been aware of the details regarding which parts are expected to be on display — well in advance.

Amazon Studios is open to having the unnamed actor return to set, and “conversations” about him potentially rejoining production are ongoing, the sources added.

One Madden cast or crew member told TMZ production for the film has been a “mess” with conflicts.

In addition to the alleged incident surrounding the N-word, and the apparent discomfort regarding nudity, tensions on set have been intensified by the film’s stars, Nicolas Cage and Christian Bale, the source explained, citing both men being “true Method actors.”

But studio sources stressed to the outlet that nothing improper involving Cage or Bale has transpired on set or between takes.

The upcoming film follows former NFL head coach John Madden, who “teams up with a mild-mannered Harvard programmer to rewrite his fading legacy by building the world’s first football video game” after he was forced into retirement by the Oakland Raiders, according to Madden‘s IMDb page.

Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.