Michael Greco denounces James Corden as “insensitive” for saying he is afraid of not working anymore
Michael Greco has labeled James Corden as “insensitive” for saying he is afraid of not working anymore despite being his huge fortune.
The EastEnders star, 52, who played Beppe DiMarco in the soap, said the acting profession was ‘on its knees at the moment’ and argued that the idea that the presenter, 44, was concerned was ‘ridiculous’.
James has decided to walk away from his job as host of The Late Late Show and move his family from Los Angeles back to his native UK.
But he has since confessed to feeling “huge amounts” of anxiety and fear as he prepares to finish his run at the end of April, leaving him on “unstable ground.”
Speaking at a PaleyFest event in Los Angeles on Sunday, James admitted, “I haven’t felt this scared since I decided to take the show, to move here. I haven’t felt so unstable… (But) I have to embrace that fear…
Angry: Michael Greco has labeled James Corden ‘insensitive’ for saying he is afraid of not working anymore despite being his huge fortune
Not impressed: The EastEnders star, 52, who played Beppe DiMarco in the soap, said the acting profession was ‘on its knees at the moment’ and argued that the idea that the presenter, 44, was worried ‘ridiculous ‘ used to be
Anxiety: James has confessed to feeling ‘huge amounts’ of fear and anxiety as he prepares to wrap up The Late Late Show at the end of April, leaving him on ‘unstable ground’
“I’m just aware that what I’m trying to do isn’t the road that’s often taken.
“To go from National Theatre, writing a TV show on the BBC, Broadway, hosting a late night talk show, filming stuff in the middle of that, stopping the late night talk show and then going, ‘Oh, I should now I’d like to do another play.”
“It’s just not the road that’s been traveled as far as I know, so that brings with it a huge amount of anxiety. It’s terrifying, it’s absolutely terrifying.”
Michael took to Twitter on Thursday to blast James for his comments, saying that “absolutely no one will have empathy for him.”
He wrote: ‘The ridiculous idea that James Corden is afraid of not working again when he returns to the UK makes me so angry.
“I’m sure you can handle your millions in the bank. 99% of actors have no pot to play in and live on the edge every day. Absolutely no one will empathize with you, mate.”
When a fan came to James’s defense to ask why Michael was unkind, he replied, “It’s not that I’m unkind, I’m just pointing out how insensitive it is for a man worth a fortune to worry about where his next job is coming from, when most actors or performers are worried about the wolves at the doors and whether they will “EVER” work again.’
He added, “My profession is now on its knees.”
It comes after a TV director slammed James Corden as the “toughest and most annoying presenter” he’s ever worked with, claiming that the English comic was berating and cursing staff for a popular British game show.
The comments come from Craig Duncan, who directed James on an episode of A League of Their Own – a program in which the host of The Late Late Show presented until 2019.
Craig – a seasoned director with more than 60 credits to his name – took to YouTube to recall his experience with the actor and described in detail how James insulted his lens work, even calling him “dumb” while filming for one scene.
The interaction came about during a pre-recorded Masterchef-style challenge, filmed in 2013 and later featured in the long-running show.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, the director resigned himself to the night show host, who was recently labeled one of the “biggest d**kheads” by Mel B and was involved in a much-publicized breakdown towards the staff of Manhattan’s famous Balthazar eatery.
Unempathetic: Michael took to Twitter on Thursday to blast James for his comments, saying that ‘absolutely no one will have empathy for him’
‘Difficult and unpleasant’: The actor has also come under fire from Craig Duncan, who worked with James on an episode of A League Of Their Own and criticized his behavior
“The most difficult and annoying presenter I ever worked with was James Corden,” Duncan began.
“I was asked by his production company [if] would I be willing to direct a challenge that would be part of their A League of Their Own show. It was season seven, episode three. And I will never forget it.
Before delving into how “exciting” it was to direct James and co-stars Freddie Flintoff, Jamie Redknapp and Jack Whitehall on the challenge, Craig recalled how he received an ominous warning when approached by the show’s producers.
“They said, ‘How are you dealing with difficult presenters?’ Craig recalled.
“I say, ‘Okay, okay. Well, I’ve filmed the Three Tenors before, and you can’t get more of a prima donna than an opera singer.”
Craig ignored the warning, saying showrunners then instructed him to attend a dry rehearsal — specifically so he could “see James at work” before agreeing.
While watching the rehearsal, Craig claimed that Corden’s first song came while reading a cue card containing a joke he labeled “s**t,” and demanded it be rewritten.
Craig recalled, “He had to read from a map. It was kind of a joke there, and he just looked at it like, ‘That’s not funny.'”
James reportedly added, “It’s s**t, we need to rewrite that.”
“I don’t know if maybe he was having a bad day or if the writing wasn’t good, but I really thought, man, someone wrote that, not nice to do that. But television is not for the faint hearted and sometimes you have to take those blows.’
However, Craig said he still decided to direct the challenge for the show, but claimed things got tense on set because James was only available for a limited amount of time to film.
Craig said Jack, Freddie and Jamie were all very friendly, but claimed he felt a “creeping sense of dread” on set as people “checked the clock.”
The director said filming went “really well” and everyone was very “responsive” until the last five minutes when they had to film the reveal of which star had won the cooking challenge.
Craig claimed that he and the crew were filming the last segment to “save time” when James “stood up” and “stepped on his toes.”
He said, “We were working it out, when old bastards showed up, ‘What the hell is going on here? It’s obvious what you’re doing – you put a camera there, you put a camera there (…) It’s so obvious how you shoot it, you are stupid”.’
Craig claimed he told the presenter he was ‘absolutely right’ to appease him and told the camera crew it was ‘the best thing to do’.
He said James ended up being back in the studio 45 minutes late after the ordeal, but he claimed he would have finished starring in just six minutes without the interruption.
Criticized: Craig said he was asked to direct a Masterchef-style pre-recorded challenge that would then appear on the show, but called James “difficult” to work with
Fuming: In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Craig (pictured) said, “The most difficult and annoying presenter I’ve ever worked with is James Corden”
“I hope I never work with it [James] again,” Craig added.
MailOnline has reached out to James’ representatives for comment.
The star was also labeled a “little idiot of a man” and banned last year by New York restaurant owner Balthazar, who claimed he is the “most abusive customer ever.”
Late last year, Keith McNally announced on Instagram that James had been banned from the restaurant twice as punishment for abusive and childish behavior.
On the first occasion, James was angry that a hair had been found in his food and demanded free drinks to make amends, according to McNally.
On the second time, his wife Julia ordered an egg yolk omelette and got a plate of egg whites on it. The final blow was when the remade omelette was sent with a side of house fries instead of salad.
James later apologized for his behavior and Keith lifted his ban.