Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Vin Diesel, and Jason Statham are both contractually guaranteed to not lose any fights in their movies.

Johnson’s Luke Hobbs and Statham’s Deckard Shaw both initially appeared in the Fast & Furious franchise with Fast Five and Fast & Furious 6, respectively. Now, they’re off doing their own thing with Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, the series’ first spin-off, while Diesel continues to work on the next installment in the main saga.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the ‘alpha male’ ensemble is so tense on production that they plan fights to ensure that one actor ‘doesn’t land more blows than the other’ in order to protect their ‘tender egos.’

Diesel’s sister was reportedly on set, wondering whether her brother was “going to get his licks back in” during a fight scene during practice. After suffering a pounding in a sequence from 2017’s The Fate of the Furious, Johnson, who had a successful career as a WWE wrestler before moving into cinema, is said to have demanded that his character sit down rather than lie on his back.

Members of the cast and crew of the blockbuster franchise have also disclosed that Statham, 52, has a deal with the company that limits how hard he gets battered on set.

On the surface, what The Wall Street Journal has revealed about these contract wranglings and problems related to an actor’s public image might appear to be quite damning. Especially when there are other actors who are willing to take a beating for the camera.

The ramifications of the performers’ demands, according to those working on the series, are now easy to notice.

Tensions between Johnson and Diesel have been blamed for some of the requests. “It’s not always easy being an alpha. And it’s two alphas,” Johnson told USA Today.  Johnson co-stars with Statham and Idris Elba in the new film Hobbs & Shaw, but Diesel is absent.

“It’s like that old trope where an actor comes in and wants more closeups,” a franchise editor told the publication. “They want more muscles.”

In any event, this contract condition appears to be completely absurd. While the Fast & Furious movies are fictitious, they are based on reality. Because they aren’t fanciful in nature, it’s only natural that their protagonists are beaten up or even die. The fact that Dominic Toretto, Hobbs, and Shaw always triumph works against the storytelling success of these flicks. So, while not losing a battle or being banged up makes them appear like fantastic action stars, it makes their personalities less interesting in the end.