Director Alek Keshishian recalls that Brittany Murphy was ‘troubled’ on set because ‘she had a lot of demons’

Alek Keshishian, the director of the 2006 film Love and Other Disasters, claims he "considered stopping" filming when he saw Brittany Murphy was having trouble.

Keshishian recalled working with the late actress on the film on Wednesday and admitted to The Independent that it was his worst experience in the industry.

Brittany "was an incredible light, but she had a lot of demons," Keshishian said.

It was troublesome because I had a disturbed woman in the lead, but I was making [Love and Other Disasters] in the city I loved, with an incredible crew and an amazing producer," he continued.

In the interview, Keshishian, who most recently directed the documentary My Mind & Me on Selena Gomez's mental health, claimed he could tell Murphy was having difficulties when the movie was being filmed.

"I defended her from harm. I thought about stopping the film, but it would have meant 70 crew workers would have lost their jobs, "says he. We continued, and I believe that affected me.

Murphy died unexpectedly in December 2009 at the age of 32. Asst. Chief Ed Winter, an L.A. County coroner came to the conclusion that the actress from the movie Clueless died as a result of untreated pneumonia, anemia, and drug intoxication from prescription and over-the-counter drugs, including opioids and cold remedies, in February 2010. She had no illegal substances in her system when she passed away.

Production on Keshishian's latest documentary began in 2016 but was put on hold until 2019 after the director became aware of Gomez's mental health issues.

The wheels were about to come off, Keshishian said, according to The Independent. "I observed this girl experiencing severe discomfort. For me to have cameras [there] while she is in the thick of it feels predatory."

When asked if his choice to cease filming Gomez in 2016 "had anything to do" with his experiences working with Murphy, Keshishian concurred during the interview.

I believe so," he replied " You begin to understand that movies are simply a part of who you are and not the ultimate goal. I didn't want to film this in 2016, so I said, "This isn't right." Selena needs to experience that in order to possibly recover and resolve the situation."

He said, "If I was still 24, I definitely wouldn't have stopped." "'Oh, this interests me, let's just keep rolling,' is how I would have responded. But I do believe that experience has made me wiser. I'd like to think I've developed greater empathy."

Apple TV+ is now offering Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me for streaming.

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