22 Actors Who Got Seriously Injured Or Almost Died While On Set

The Entertainment business goes out of its way to make heart-pounding action sequences and physical comedy moments seem as well as possible on camera, from stunt coordinators to riggings to safety standards. Actors may appear to have the ideal career, but it is not without risks. Even the finest preparation cannot always prevent on-set mishaps.
Maintaining safety on the set of films and television shows may be the major worry when the cameras start rolling, but with so many factors to regulate, there are instances when control is lost, leaving performers with near calls or life-threatening injuries.
While it's unsurprising that action movies can sometimes have a real accident, errors may occur in any type of production. As we'll see, even simple things like crossing a bridge, banging your hand on a table, or slashing your foot can cause major medical issues. Let's take a look at some of the famous actors who have been injured or almost died on the job.

#1 Did you know that Natalie Portman dislocated one of her ribs on the set of Black Swan? What's more shocking is that no medic was there to provide assistance.

Source: Getty / Fox Searchlight / Everett

#2 In an effort to create the most realistic fighting scene possible, Sylvester Stallone asked Dolph Lundgren to "just go out there and try to clock me" on the set of Rocky IV.

Source: Getty Images / MGM / Everett

#3 Zac Efron got a bacterial infection, suspected to be typhoid fever while filming his program Killing Zac Efron in Papua New Guinea in 2019. He was eventually transported to Brisbane, Australia, where he could be treated.

Source: Getty Images / Netflix

#4 Halle Berry "broke some bones" after being kicked by her costar Valentina Shevchenko, a real MMA fighter, while filming Bruised, breaking two of her ribs.

Source: Getty / Netflix / Everett

#5 While filming an underwater magic act for Now You See Me, Isla Fisher nearly drowned in front of the whole cast and crew. "They thought I was being Meryl Streep in the tank, actually, I was drowning," She stated, explaining that the crew didn't notice straight away since everyone assumed she was playing out her part.

Source: Getty Images / K/O Paper Products

#6 While preparing to play Steve Jobs in Jobs, Ashton Kutcher had pancreatitis and was hospitalized twice (!!!!). However, it did not stop him from completing the role.

Source: Getty / Open Roads Film / Everett

#7 Tom Hanks refused to bathe during the filming of Cast Away, which nearly killed him after he contracted a staph infection from a gash on his thigh.

Source: Getty / 20th Century Fox

#8 Tom Cruise injured his ankle when filming Mission Impossible 6 by leaping from one building to another, and he proceeded to run on it only to finish the sequence. He's also one of the few actors that do their own stunts.

Source: Getty / Paramount

#9 While filming Maze Runner: The Death Cure, Dylan O'Brien jumped off a moving truck and was hit by another vehicle following behind. After the collision, he suffered a concussion, a facial fracture, and lacerations, as well as emotional damage.

Source: Getty / 20th Century Fox

#10 Priyanka Chopra tripped and banged her head while doing a stunt sequence for Quantico, sending her to the hospital. She clarified, "As usual, I was meant to save someone. And I stumbled because I was wearing rubber boots, it was pouring, and there was plastic on the floor. Can you picture getting a concussion after all the action I do?"

Source: Getty / ABC / Everett Collection

#11 After playing George VI in The King's Speech, Colin Firth had migraines, a pinched nerve in his arm, and got stuttering, for real.

Source: Paramount / Everett

#12 To play Tonya Harding in I, Tonya, Margot Robbie trained in ice skating for five hours a day, five days a week, for five months straight! She worked herself so hard that she had a herniated disk in her neck.

Source: Getty / 30 West

#13 Margaret Hamilton, the Wicked Witch of the West, received second-degree burns on her face and third-degree burns on her hand while working on The Wizard of Oz.

Source: Getty Images / MGM

#14 Daniel Day-Lewis sat slumped over the whole filming of My Left Foot, refusing to move out of his character's wheelchair. Because he sat in that posture for so long and didn't move, he broke two ribs.

Source: Getty / Miramax / Everett

#15 After racing over a rooftop for a scene in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Michelle Yeoh tore her ACL. She was immediately sent to the hospital and got surgery. She described the incident as "one of the most painful moviemaking experiences" she's ever had.

Source: Getty / Columbia / Everett

#16 Daniel Day-Lewis had pneumonia during filming Gangs of New York because he refused to wear a warmer coat in between shots. In addition, such coats did not exist in the 1860s.

Source: Getty / Miramax / Everett

#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 assumed he was joking, but he informed her he was serious "This isn't a bit. My elbow and wrist were both broken."

Source: New Line Cinema / youtube.com

#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

#19 While filming Deadpool 2, Zazie Beetz suddenly passed out during a dramatic sequence with a truck convoy and was also burnt by a stray bullet case during a gunfight, leaving her with a scar on her chest.

Source: Getty / 20th Century Fox / Everett

#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 as she recovered from her accident.

Source: Getty Images / Paramount / Everett

#21 Jackie Chan has damaged about every body part conceivable throughout his career as an action hero, and he even has a hole in his brain. He clarified, "Not every bone, but every inch from my cap to my toes has been scraped and bruised. And bones? Quite a bit. I've got a gaping hole in my skull."

Source: Getty Images / New Line / Everett

#22 When filming Back to the Future Part III, Michael J. Fox came dangerously close to being hung. Michael couldn't get his hand in the appropriate spot in time for the trick, and the rope became so tight that it cut off his airways.

Source: Getty Images / Universal / Everett