Olivia Munn calls out male co-star who refused to film scene where he was saved by woman

An 'obnoxious' actor who starred alongside Olivia Munn refused to film a scene where her character rescued him...because she was a woman.

The mystery screen star apparently kicked up quite a fuss on set because he was so determined to avoid looking like some kind of damsel in distress.

According to Munn, the bloke brought production to a standstill for 45 minutes while he had a row with the director over it. A proper macho man, eh?

Although the Oklahoma-born actress didn't reveal the identity of her pig-headed co-star or the name of the film that she was working on, she did offer a few hints.

While appearing on The Drew Barrymore Show on Wednesday (8 April), the 45-year-old recalled the bizarre experience she had on set.

The actress has appeared in a string of huge movies throughout her career, including the likes of The Predator, Buddy Games, Violet, Magic Mike and X-Men: Apocalypse.

Munn, seen in X-Men: Apocalypse, can hold her own in fight scenes - but one of her male co-star's didn't want to be rescued by her (Marvel)

She told Barrymore that she suspects her chauvinistic colleague 'didn't read the script' beforehand, as when it came to shooting the scene, he couldn't believe the direction it was going in.

Munn explained that they were filming a gunfight which was set in an underground bunker at the time.

"If you read the script, it was that he was guarding his side, I was guarding my side, then we switch sides and then there’s a guy that was coming for him - who was going to shoot him in the back - so I shoot him," she explained.

"And then we’re about to shoot and, somehow, I guess he didn’t read the script, and in that moment, he realised, ‘Wait, wait, wait. Hold on. She can’t save me. No, no. She can’t save me'."

She claimed that her co-star seriously threw his toys out the pram and refused to proceed with the scene, leading to a 'combative' conversation between him and the film's director.

Munn said that the actor didn't seem to care that he was 'being obnoxious' and that 'everyone could hear', as he continued to fume: "She can’t save me! We’re not doing this."

The actress, 45, said the mystery actor was 'obnoxious' (Roy Rochlin/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images)

This drama went on for almost an hour, until The Newsroom actress decided to intervene and offer up something of a solution.

Munn went on: "Finally, after like 45 minutes of just stopping down, I said, ‘Okay, how about instead of my character saving you, it’s just that we switch because it’s time for us to switch and so this is my guy to get'.

"And he was like, 'Okay'. Now here's the interesting thing...Nothing changed. It’s just what he thought. I was doing the exact same thing."

Munn said that she tries to 'stand up for what she thinks is right' in life and explained she has always been a 'strong' force in this world due to having a 'really hard childhood'.

Discussing how her tough start in life impacted her, she told Barrymore: "I just felt, 'Wow, look how powerful I am when I use my voice and when I scream'. And so what happened was, I carried that through my life."

Munn said she finally 'dropped this armour' when she was diagnosed with bilateral breast cancer in 2023.

"When I was diagnosed in that doctor's office and she's going through everything... it was so daunting that I knew it instinctively, without actually knowing, that I had to drop my armour," Munn admitted.

"But it was because of that, I realised - oh my gosh, without that armour, I'm actually stronger. I'm stronger [because] I'm more vulnerable.

"I'm so happy that I'm in my mid-40s and there's still a lot of life ahead of me. I can now go forward with that knowledge."

Munn underwent several surgeries in wake of her diagnosis but has since said she is now 'doing great'.