Garbo kept herself aloof from fans, never signing autographs or answering fan letters. She also kept herself apart even from those on a movie set with her. She never allowed visitors on set, a wish MGM respected. She believed if visitors watched her act, the illusion of the film would be destroyed. She also felt she could act better alone than with others, insisting that black screens be put around her for any close-up shots, blocking her from other actors, putting her alone with the camera (via The New York Times).
She even sometimes preferred to be separated from her director. In intimate scenes, she essentially directed herself, according to Reuben Mamoulian, the director of Garbo's movie "Queen Christina." She asked him to leave the set during the filming of one of these scenes, saying she normally allowed only the cameraman and lighting director to stay. Mamoulian refused to go, so they came to a reluctant truce (via The New York Times).
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