22 Times Actors Nearly Died Upon Filming
1. Tom Hanks declined to bathe while filming Cast Away, which almost caused him fatality after he contracted a staph infection from a leg wound.
Source: Getty / 20th Century Fox
Source: 20th Century Fox / Everett
2. To make the fighting scenes in Rocky IV look as real as possible, Sylvester Stallone told Dolph Lundgren to "just go out there and try to clock me," ignoring the choreography.
Source: Getty Images / MGM / Everett
Source: MGM / Everett
3. In 2019, while shooting a scene for his show Killing Zac Efron in Papua New Guinea, Zac Efron caught a bacterial infection that was later identified as typhoid fever. He was eventually transported to Brisbane, Australia, where he got the treatment.
Source: Getty Images / Netflix
Very thankful to everyone who has reached out.I did get sick in Papua New Guinea but I bounced back quick and finished an amazing 3 weeks in P.N.G.I’m home for the holidays with my friends and family. Thanks for all the love and concern, see you in 2020! pic.twitter.com/SEcopCmqAB
— Zac Efron (@ZacEfron) December 29, 2019
4. Halle Berry broke 2 ribs when shooting Bruised after being kicked by her costar Valentina Shevchenko, a genuine MMA fighter.
Source: Getty / Netflix / Everett
Source: Netflix / Everett
5. While shooting an underwater magic trick for Now You See Me, Isla Fisher almost drowned in front of the entire cast and crew. "They thought I was being Meryl Streep in the tank, actually, I was drowning," she added, explaining that the crew didn't notice right away since they all thought she was acting.
Source: Getty Images / K/O Paper Products
Source: On Demand Entertainment / youtube.com
6. While preparing to portray Steve Jobs in Jobs, Ashton Kutcher developed pancreatitis and was hospitalized twice (!!!!).
Source: Getty / Open Roads Film / Everett
Source: Open Road Films / Everett / Via youtube.com
7. Natalie Portman dislocated one of her ribs while shooting a scene in Black Swan, but there was no medic on set to aid her.
Source: Getty / Fox Searchlight / Everett
Source: Fox Searchlight
8. Tom Cruise injured his ankle while leaping from one building to the next, and he kept running on it only to accomplish the action, during the making of Mission: Impossible 6.
Source: Getty / Paramount
Source: Paramount
9. While on set of Maze Runner: The Death Cure, Dylan O'Brien fell off a driving truck and was hit by another car following behind. After the collision, he suffered a concussion, a facial fracture and lacerations, as well as mental damage.
Source: Getty / 20th Century Fox
Source: 20th Century Fox / Everett Collection
10. Priyanka Chopra slipped and struck her head when shooting a stunt scene for Quantico, sending her to the hospital. She clarified, "I was supposed to be saving someone, as usual. And I was wearing rubber boots, it was raining and there was plastic on the floor, and I slipped on that. Can you imagine, after all the action I do, that's how I get a concussion?"
Source: Getty / ABC / Everett Collection
Source: ABC / Everett
11. Colin Firth developed headaches, a pinched nerve in his arm, and a stutter of his own after portraying George VI in The King's Speech.
Source: Paramount / Everett
Source: Paramount / Everett
12. To play Tonya Harding in I, Tonya, Margot Robbie trained in ice skating five hours a day, five days a week, for five months – she worked herself so hard that she developed a herniated disk in her neck.
Source: Getty / 30 West
Source: 30 West
13. Margaret Hamilton, who portrayed the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz, received second-degree burns on her face and third-degree burns on her hand following a stunt going wrong during filming.
Source: Getty Images / MGM
She was meant to make a blazing exit from Munchkinland in the scene, but when the trapdoor didn't open, she was consumed in flames and had to recover for six weeks. She returned to production later and remarked, "I know how this business works, and I would never work again. I will return to work on one condition — no more fireworks!"Source: MGM
14. Daniel Day-Lewis sat hunched over the whole filming of My Left Foot, refusing to move out of his character's wheelchair. He broke two ribs as a result of sitting in that posture for so long.
Source: Getty / Miramax / Everett
Source: Miramax / Everett Collection
15. After running across a rooftop for a scene in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Michelle Yeoh’s ACL got torn and she had to undergo surgery. Later, the actress called the experience “one of the most painful moviemaking experiences” she’s ever had.
Source: Getty / Columbia / Everett
Source: Columbia / Everett
16. In addition, Daniel Day-Lewis contracted pneumonia when shooting Gangs of New York because he rejected a warmer coat in between scenes because such coats did not exist in the 1860s.
Source: Getty / Miramax / Everett
Source: Miramax/Everett Collection
17. On the third day of filming Tag, Jeremy Renner fell 20 feet and fractured both of his arms. He emailed Leslie Bibb from the hospital, and she thought he was joking, but he informed her he was serious "This isn't a bit. I broke my elbow, and I broke my wrist."
Source: New Line Cinema / youtube.com
His coworkers expected production to be halted, but Jeremy returned to set that afternoon with removable casts, allowing them to keep on schedule and complete the film. They even employed CGI to remove the casts on his arms in several scenes.Source: New Line Cinema
18. After smoking $20,000 worth of Winston Churchill's favorite cigars during Darkest Hour, Gary Oldman developed nicotine poisoning.
Source: Getty / Focus Features / Everett
Source: Focus Features / Everett
19. Zazie Beetz fainted when filming Deadpool 2 and was burned by a stray round case during an intense scene with a truck convoy, leaving a scar on her chest.
Source: Getty / 20th Century Fox / Everett
Source: 20th Century Fox
20. On the set of The Rhythm Section, Blake Lively broke her hand while filming a fight scene with Jude Law. Filming was put on hold for six months while she recovered from her accident.
Source: Getty Images / Paramount / Everett
Source: Paramount
21. Jackie Chan has fractured about every body part imaginable during his career as an action hero, including a hole in his brain. He clarified, "Not every bone, but I can say every inch from my hat to my toes...scratched, bruised, yes. Bones? A little bit. I have a hole in my head."
Source: Getty Images / New Line / Everett
Source: Dimension Films / Everett Collection
22. Finally, when filming Back to the Future Part III, Michael J. Fox was almost hanged. Fox failed to get his hand in the appropriate spot in time for the stunt, and the rope became so tight that it cut off his airways.
Source: Getty Images / Universal / Everett
Source: Universal