The Big Picture

Some of Hollywood’s top actors are rumored to have a “no eye contact” rule, adding to their mysterious and untouchable reputation.
From Sandra Bullock to Sylvester Stallone, rumors about celebrities demanding no eye contact have persisted over the years.
Despite dismissals by stars like Ellen DeGeneres and Sylvester Stallone, the allure of believing in these rumors remains strong.

The long-lasting archetype of the Hollywood actor who’s above it all, unable to be disturbed or suffer those lesser, has become so pervasive that rumors surrounding specific figures in the industry have come to be accepted as fact. The most cartoonish, in a villainous sort of way, of these rumors is that of the “no eye contact” rule. The rule entails exactly what its name implies — that some of Hollywood’s elite demand that thou shall not look them in the eye.

From AV Club reporter Steve Heisler claiming that, while working as an extra in The Lake House, everyone was informed that eye contact uninitiated by Sandra Bullock was strictly forbidden, to Tom Cruise laughing off claims that people couldn’t look him in the eye as the weirdest story he’s ever heard about himself, the rumors are vast and treacherous. Are any of them true, though? If not, why is it so easy to believe them?

Image via Lionsgate

Reaching as far back as 1993, talk of one actor’s “no eye contact” rule has managed to muster some steam even 30-plus years later. Rider Strong, former sitcom-heartthrob of Boy Meets World, claimed on the podcast Pod Meets World that, while filming alongside Donald Sutherland in Benefit of the Doubt, Sutherland had a “no eye contact” rule. “Nobody can make eye contact with him,” Strong alleged. “If you’re in the scene with him, you could make eye contact with him, but his whole thing was that every crew member has to look away.” Will Friedle, Strong’s Boy Meets World co-star and podcast co-host, responded, “That’s ridiculous. A stupid, egotistical power trip.” While the validity of Strong’s claim has never been proven, it certainly adds fuel to the rumor’s flames.

Jumping a few years into the latter end of the ’90s, Jessica Alba revealed her own experience with this sort of behavior. In 1998, Alba had a guest star role on Beverly Hills, 90210, and she doesn’t seem to recall the time too fondly. Speaking with Sean Evans on the spicy-chicken-wing-fueled interview show Hot Ones in 2020, Alba admitted, “On the set of 90210, I couldn’t even make eye contact with any of the cast members, which was really strange when you’re trying to do this scene with them.” She then doubled down, indicating that this was essentially a direct order, rather than simply a vibe she inferred. Alba says she was told specifically “you’re not allowed to make eye contact with any one of the cast members, or you’ll be thrown off the set.”

This makes for one of the more interesting cases of a “no eye contact” rule being alleged, as it’s arrived not through word-of-mouth or an extended game of telephone, but from the words of a highly notable figure. That’s not to say that an allegation should only be believed if it comes from a celebrity; it’s simply a reality that most hearsay like this does not have a specific accuser’s name attached to it. Granted, Alba did not specify to which 90210 co-stars this rule applied (unlike Strong’s direct call-out of Sutherland), nor do we know whether such a rule was suggested by the actors or unknowingly implemented on their behalf, but it still gives a form of credence to the possibility of a “no eye contact” rule existing.

Claims Against Ellen DeGeneres and Sylvester Stallone Went Dismissed

Real world circumstances often come into play, likely making it easier to believe rumors of this sort. Take Ellen DeGeneres, for example. The comedian and entertainment personality was probably best known for her long-running daytime talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, known as Ellen, but the rather scandalous manner in which the show ended has left a different taste in most people’s mouths than they may have had throughout DeGeneres’ lengthy career.

Does any of this make the rumor true, though? It doesn’t, but so many accusations were dropped at once, spanning from claims of racism to workplace intimidation, so it’s understandably difficult to sift through what’s believable and what’s not. Moreover, DeGeneres, as reported by Page Six, supposedly dismissed claims of a “no eye contact” rule wholeheartedly, deeming the rumors “insane” and insisting, “I don’t know where it started. Please talk to me. Look me in the eye.”

DeGeneres isn’t the only public persona to directly dismiss such a claim. In the late ’90s, Sylvester Stallone was sued by a group of his former employees over claims that they were unjustly fired for breaking frivolous rules, such as simply speaking to family members within the home they worked. Stallone’s lawyer outright dismissed the claims, calling them “purely fictional.”

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In 2019, The Hollywood Reporter claimed an on-set source revealed to them that, during the filming of Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, crew members were “instructed to avoid making eye contact” with leading-man Leonardo DiCaprio. Now, if you heard this bit by itself, you’d likely lump it together with the many other rumors of its kind — the sort that convey an air of stuck-up, holier-than-thou behavior. However, the full write-up is largely complimentary, and this single tidbit’s inclusion seems to be intended to support the notion that DiCaprio simply likes to maintain a rather detached atmosphere when he’s working on a character like Once Upon a Time’s Rick Dalton. “Off-camera, DiCaprio has maintained a carefully crafted air of mystery,” as the Reporter put it.

Recording artist and performer Katy Perry had confidential riders, attachments within a contract stipulating specific job requirements, for one of her world tours supposedly leaked over a decade ago. One such rider, which The Smoking Gun released, provided a list of dos-and-don’ts for the chauffeurs contracted to drive Perry during stints of the tour. Among the rules was the explicit order demanding that drivers should not look at Perry through the vehicle’s rearview mirror. Scintillating information, no? Maybe not — maybe, when coupled with the rest of the rules, which include parking as close to a venue as possible and not engaging in conversation with the hordes of (likely young) Katy Perry fans, it’s a rather harmless addendum.

So, why is the leap toward believing a rumor like this so easy to take? Is it simply fun to believe them? Think about characters that we love to hate. Meryl Streep’s performance as Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada, for example, gave us a figure so cruel and loathsome that anyone in the audience would have every right to despise her. Thanks to Streep’s immense depth and specificity, though, Priestly is arguably one of film’s most beloved characters, quoted and adored to no end. Wouldn’t it be even better if members of society’s top echelon acted similarly? Every story needs its villain, after all.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood A faded television actor and his stunt double strive to achieve fame and success in the final years of Hollywood’s Golden Age in 1969 Los Angeles.Release Date July 24, 2019 Runtime 165

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is available to stream on Hulu in the U.S.

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