Believe it or not, but Burt Reynolds absolutely HATED the movie that saved his career. (Mark Wahlberg eventually called the movie a “poor career choice”)
Burt Reynolds was absolutely belligerent on set because he hated Paul Thomas Anderson (the director) and did not enjoy working on the film. He only took on the role because he was in financial problems thanks to a mix of a costly divorce and terrible business investments.
Nobody on set liked Burt Reynolds. He almost assaulted Paul Thomas Anderson because he felt he “was disrespecting him.” According to Assistant Director, John Wildermuth, Burt did not like the way that Paul was talking to him (simply giving Burt directions) and “started yelling at [Paul] like a father and told him “You fucking punk kid, you don’t tell me what to do!” After that, Burt started to throw punches at Paul Thomas Anderson. Burt Reynolds did not get along with Thomas Jane and also got into altercations with him. Mark Wahlberg believed that Reynolds was on drugs during filming.
As a result, Burt Reynolds did not like the film. When he saw the rough cut of it, he fired his agent for even recommending he work on it and refused to ever work with Paul Thomas Anderson again. (Not that he ever wanted to work with Burt again)