I was playing a background doctor on an ER-type drama a couple of years ago.

While rehearsing a scene, one of the actresses said to the performer next to me, “Tell him he can’t stand there.” She was referring to me.

I adjusted my position and asked, “Is here okay?”

She said, again to the actor next to me, “Tell him I don’t care, just stay out of my way.”

I asked, “Is there some reason you’re not addressing me directly?” and she turned around and walked away. A few minutes late the scene was shot without further incident.

I have no idea who this actress is. She wasn’t one of the stars.

Bam Margera used to frequent a mall where I was managing a store. He was always cool and never seemed pretentious. One afternoon he came in with some friends, and they were all obviously messed up on something. They were in my store, making a scene, being obnoxious, and started throwing around merchandise.

Before I could say anything to them, Bam turned around and yelled for them to stop acting like fucking children and to put everything back where they got it. Like good little peons, they did what they were told. He just looked at me and with a long, and tired, look on his face told me he was sorry about them.

So, yeah, Bam seems to be a good guy.

I was a Production Assistant (PA) back in the 2000s and I noticed mainly European actors were very humble and low maintenance and it was US talent that was the opposite (with exceptions of course).

On the films I worked on Scarlett Johansson was very high maintenance, it was her first tent pole film and I think it went to her head a little bit. She kept demanding extra things left and right and it was a miserable experience for most of the PAs on set.

Cool and low key actors on set: Ewan McGregor, Steve Buscemi, Sean Bean, Michael Clarke Duncan (RIP), Ice Cube, Samuel L. Jackson, William Dafoe, Danny DeVito, Tim Roth, Forest Whitaker, Kelsey Grammer.

For the most part, the actors were generally good. If you want to know the most entitled person I had to deal with it was hands down Michael Bay. He is a prima donna of the first order and anyone associated with him (his bodyguard/assistants), his two huge dogs, and some of his other staff are all straight entitled idiots.

Well, I was on set one day and the location was at an actual house. We were filming a scene inside the living room and it was extremely crowded because it was so hot outside so no one wanted to be stuck in the sun. So anyway, I had to poop. Badly. Unfortunately, there were no porta-potties so we had to use the owner's restroom. I did the deed and about a minute later the smell filled the whole house.

The lead actress was a child and was making a huge deal out of it... I was mortified and was about to apologize until the AD asked everyone to check their shoes for dog poop because there was a dog on set that day. They blamed it on him and moved on. I was saved. However, I looked around and one guy on set was glaring at me... He knew...

Worked on a couple of movies in the late 90s in Las Vegas that had Kurt Russell and Chevy Chase in them (in different movies). I never cared about either of them one way or the other before the movies, but both did things that I saw that impressed me.

Kurt Russell was in Breakdown, and he was the most down to earth person. The thing that I remember that really impressed me was that he would fly home every night to be with his family and that he helped with his kid's cub scout group.

Also around the same time, I worked on the set of Vegas Vacation. In one of the scenes, Chevy Chase demanded that one of the kids who was an extra be allowed to speak a line. Impressed me because there is a different wage scale for people who speak.

Never did like either of the movies, though.

Benicio Del Toro.

He was having lunch at the table next to me and my friends. He must have seen us talking about him because he stood up, came over to our table, sat down, and ordered a bunch of food. He ended up spending a half-hour talking with us, then he paid the bill, tipped well, took some pictures with us, and left.

He's the only celebrity I've ever met, so technically he qualifies at the rudest.

About ten years ago I worked for at the LA airport and some flights were canceled, due to weather. I got a call and this lady said, "I can't believe this is happening to me. I'm a celebrity. My name is Tovah Feldshuh. I'm a celebrity."

She literally said this 20 times. I got a manager on the line while she begrudgingly went on hold and relayed the info and that this was a celebrity. I stayed on the line while the manager had to explain that the flight's cancellation was for everyone's safety and nothing could be done about this.

She was so rude. After we got off the phone with her we looked her up and she was in a couple of episodes of Law and Order, I think. She was recently on Walking Dead and I freaked out when I recognized her name in the opening credits.

Anytime she appeared on screen I had to say, "She's a celebrity!!!! I can't believe the zombie apocalypse is happening to her!!!! She's a celebrity!!!!"

Many may remember that, in the late 2000s and early 2010s, there was this surge in 3D movies. Suddenly it seemed like every other movie released was offered in 3D. Previously 3D had been mostly limited to kid's movies and horror for cheap thrills, but now nearly every genre was including it, with films like Avatar and Tron: Legacy using it to enhance overall visuals.

This was weird to a lot of people because, as plenty of you know, not everyone likes 3D. Many of us went through the entire period without ever jumping on the 3D bandwagon, even though Hollywood seemed to be touting it as the future of film.

Then, after several years, 3D seemed to die off suddenly. It's still around, but not nearly with the intensity of ~5 years ago. So why? Why a huge surge, even though a huge number of people dislike it, and then why the sudden disappearance?

Turns out 3D had nothing to do with selling tickets and everything to do with the film industry trying to force theaters to upgrade their movie projectors. See, traditional film comes on a reel, and reels are expensive ($1000+ each). The reels have to be provided by the film producer to theaters, meaning big blockbusters that are in 4000+ theaters on release day (like The Force Awakens was) are spending millions on reels, most of which will only be in use for a couple of weeks tops.

Modern digital projectors don't need these expensive reels, you just ship the theater a hard drive which can then be returned and overwritten for the next film. However, digital projectors themselves are expensive, around $50,000 for a basic model. As such, many theaters, especially older ones, had been slow to make the upgrade.

Enter 3D films. Modern 3D movies can't be shown on a traditional reel, they require a digital projector. By releasing a huge slew of 3D movies over a couple of years, film producers were effectively bullying movie theaters into upgrading their hardware so the producers could stop spending millions on movie reels. Nowadays these digital projectors are pretty much industry standard; a few years ago, the small "cultural landmark" theater from my hometown did a Kickstarter for a digital projector, basically saying, "If we don't get the money for this upgrade we have to close our doors."

I could spend all day telling them, but most boil down to how "ineffective as human beings" a good number of movie stars really are. The hissy fits, the absolute no clue about what things cost, and how much verbal abuse an assistant is willing to take on set. It's really sad.

But the worst I've ever witnessed was a movie star (who was in their 20s at the time) letting their parent (not manager) scream at a director about how "unflattering" the costumes made their 'child' look. The director broke down into tears, apologized and promised to have wardrobe immediately make changes. I'm not naming any names and being vague because everyone involved is still working in Hollywood and these stories can end careers.

It was really exciting at first getting to go to the studios, being on set, brief interactions with actors especially as a young twenty-something who wanted to be an actor. It was also incredibly easy to be a part of as well, just going to Central Casting and signing up for a call service that basically just sends you out to sets.

Well, I used to get called for Glee all the freaking time which was both a blessing and a curse. It was right during the height of its popularity so everything was taken really seriously (the regular extras thought they were the shit for some reason and extremely rude) and it definitely paid my rent but man if you got the call to be background for one of their musical numbers.

It was mind-numbing. Now looking back it was kind of a weird experience. It was kind of hard to feel bad for Cory Monteith when he would burp in your face and tell you it smelled like breakfast. Again innocent but I always thought he was kind of a dick. I also feel gross seeing Mark Salling interact with Lauren Potter, considering his child pornography charges. I know unrelated but for someone with that kind of browsing history, it just doesn't feel right that he got to spend so much time with her.

I also probably experienced what it was like to be a member of One Direction or The Beatles, at least the closest similar experience. I was dressed as a Dalton Academy Warbler (preppy, blazer wearing, private school extra) and was quickly ushered onto a bus off of set while a bunch of crazy Glee Fans came around the corner on location and took our pictures. Granted I wasn't hired to sing or dance, just as someone standing or walking in the background so it was hilarious to wave at them.

I did a stint in a smaller film studio and worked primarily in the office. I was taking care of some paperwork while they were doing a read-through for the next film being shot.

During a break, one of the actresses, a fairly well-known model, came into the office and asked where the restroom was. I told her, she smiled and thanked me, looking lost for a second. After a moment, she asked again and I gave the same reply. She paused to think for a moment and left the way she had come.

Shortly, she returned with her manager who asked again. I gave the directions to the manager because the model couldn't comprehend the complexity of "Go through that door (pointing at it) and it's on your left."

I grew up close enough to Burbank to sign up with Central Casting and do extra work when I was 19/20 years old in 2009 - 2010 to make a bit of extra cash. I did background on Desperate Housewives in a grocery store scene, Cold Case in a hospital scene and the setting for our story today... Mad Men.

I am not a conventionally attractive female (I've been told I look like Rachel Dratch and Heather Matarazzo) so it was difficult getting cast. With Central Casting, you come in, get a photo taken, are given a phone number and call every day to get a description of what the casting directors are looking for.

Most calls go like this "Pool party during murder investigation on CSI Miami- hot, sexy ladies needed to wear bikinis. The skimpier the better" and so on, and so forth. If you match the description, you call and the person on the other line pulls up your file on the computer, looks at your headshot and tells you if you're a match or not. If selected, you're given details for the shoot. If not, you're very politely told: "Not at this time, but thank you for your call."

One day there's a call for Mad Men. Now Mad Men is a job you want, because it qualifies as a SAG (Screen Actors Guild) job, even for extras. I'm not completely sure how SAG works because I was only interested in making extra cash and eating delicious set food (Best food ever btw) but the more SAG jobs you do the easier it is to join SAG later as an up and coming actor. This call for Mad Men they need ANY women with natural hair- meaning, not dyed. I call in, and even though I have natural hair I am initially told they think they've already reached their quota but they'll keep me in mind in case anything changes.

Two days later, I get a call asking if I'm available. Desperation was on my side!

There were several cool things about doing Mad Men. Because it was SAG we got paid more, additionally we got to go to the costume warehouse to get fitted in ACTUAL 1950's clothes (The episode I was on was a flashback to 5 years prior) and we got paid for our time that day as well. Something that was mentioned in the call was there was a chance our hair may be cut if it was considered too long. The person who called me told me I likely wouldn't need my hair cut, but to be prepared just in case.

Sure enough, after I try on my costumes the ladies in charge of hair and makeup inform me they need to cut my hair. There's already another girl in the trailer, and she is sobbing. She has beautiful, long curly hair and she is begging to somehow keep her long hair. Now the advantage to not being conventionally attractive is you're used to looking ugly anyways, so when the stylist told me I'd get an extra $100 I decided to go for it. Unfortunately, my hair was cut lopsided so one side was longer than the other, but what are you gonna do?

I am given the address for the shoot, told what day and time to arrive and am given a heads up that this may turn into a multi-day shoot. I go to bed, excited for the next few days. Unfortunately, I wake up the next morning sick as a dog. Hit me out of nowhere. Had this been a small job like Cold Case or Desperate Housewives I would have called the Central Casting line to let them know I couldn't make it... but this was a SAG job, I got a BAD haircut for this. I thought about how desperate the casting directors were and decided to suck it up and go.

So I arrive, go to hair and makeup and am actually feeling better. Maybe it's the Dayquil or the adrenaline rush but I feel proud of myself for making it... Until the woman working on my hair asks if I'm okay. She sounds far away, and I realize I have tunnel vision. I reply "Yes I'm fine" and even I sound weird to myself. The stylist informs me I had fainted, and the on-set medical is called to the trailer.

Turns out all of the hairspray made me pass out. The makeup/hair trailer is literally a trailer with no windows and 5 or 6 girls all getting their hair and makeup done. Medical and a Director's Assistant come to talk to me, ask how I'm feeling and bring me water.

They were all so nice. I admit, I started crying and apologizing. I told them I did not feel good that morning but didn't want to let the crew down or get blacklisted by Central Casting for canceling. The Director's Assistant assured me I did not have to continue, I would not get in trouble with Central Casting and I would still get paid for the day. He asked if I wanted to call someone to pick me up, or if I wanted to rest for a bit. Medical cleared me to keep working if I wanted. I asked if I could soldier on.

I can't emphasize how nice everyone was to me - the hairstylist said I was being so brave, all the other pretty extra's said they would do the exact same thing and the Director's Assistant kept asking if I wanted water or bananas. I got dressed, got on-set and did my first scene.

Then I started feeling faint again. The bright lights and heavy 1950's era accurate coat I was wearing ultimately made it impossible for me to continue on. Saddened and disappointed, I was placed in a chair and called my sister to come to pick me up.

Then, over by the cameras and Directors and Producers, I see him. John Hamm. He looks at me, asks the crew why I'm sitting and they tell him I'm not feeling well. I will never forget what he said next.

"Keep her away from me, I can't get sick."

I am ushered to John Slattery's trailer, and I nap on his couch until my sister arrives to pick me up. I ended up getting a retail job a couple of weeks later, and thus ended my acting career. But I'll always have John Hamm telling me to stay far away from him.