JLo’s ‘Diva-Like’ Reputation Made Director Michael Apted Wary About Working With Her

Michael Apted has worked on so much throughout his career, from British television to prestigious cable dramas and Oscar-winning films in Hollywood, that he is in a league of its own. But when filming Enough, the director admitted, in an episode of E!'s Behind the Scenes, that he was wary about working with Jennifer Lopez because he had heard of her alleged 'diva-like' behavior.

Apted said at the time, "You hear all the legends about how difficult she is and its going to be hard to get through it and all this kind of stuff, and then we met and we got on. But then there was a kind of gap between us agreeing to do it and starting to rehearse, and during that time I could never get a hold of her. She was always so busy. And I thought, oh my god, this is a big, tough job, and if she isn't going to be around, how are we going to get through it?"

But then the director explained how her dedication to her work completely changed his perspective. He added, " (JLo) is very focused on what's in front of her. If you're in her peripheral, forget it ,you won't get the time of day. Up until when we started rehearsing, I was very much in the peripheral of her life. But once we started, she was incredibly focused. What I love about her is that she's gifted, but she's also very hardworking."

Lopez confessed that she 'froze' during the production of Enough in 2001: "I was like - I don't want to move. I don't want to talk. I don't want to do anything. I had a nervous breakdown, There were no signs leading up to it. You really don't know what's happening at first. I was going, what's going on? It's funny what tricks your mind plays on you. I just didn't want people to think I was falling apart." In the film Enough, which was released the following year, Lopez portrayed an abused woman who escapes her violent husband (Billy Campbell).

JLo also admitted during the interview that she didn't feel any post-natal depression after giving birth to her twins, although she was 'prepping for it'. She said, "People kept prepping me for it, but it didn't happen. At the tenth day after giving birth all that chemical stuff did peak - that hormone thing - and I did cry a lot that day because I was having so much trouble moving (after her cesarean section)."

Once, the Maid In Manhattan actress also recalled in her newsletter that she was 'losing her mind' due to her busy schedule at the peak of her career in the 90s. She said, "There was a time in my life where I used to sleep 3 to 5 hours a night. I'd be on set all day and in the studio all night and doing junkets and filming videos on the weekends. I was in my late 20s and I thought I was invincible." She recalled, "[I] went from feeling totally normal to thinking about what I needed to do that day, and all of a sudden I felt as if I couldn't move. I was completely frozen. Now I know it was a classic panic attack brought on by exhaustion, but I had never even heard the term at the time." That's when Lopez decided to seek medical help and focus more on taking care of her health and exercising.