Behind-the-scenes stories reveal that being an actor is not as safe as one might hope whenmovie stars often find themselves in dangerous situations while filming.Thebiggest disasters to ever happen on movie setsare the worst-case scenarios, but other shocking stories that thankfully ended with no permanent injuries recount actors encountering danger. This may be due to hazardous filming conditions, intense choreography, or misunderstandings with people outside the crew.
Actors famous for doing their own stuntsare at risk of injury, as well as those managing complex set pieces. Unfortunately, negligence on the part of the crew may lead to an actor being injured, if safety standards aren’t met and stunt doubles aren’t used when they are needed. Certain examples regarded asthe most hostile movie sets ever are far enough in the past that people would hope these conditions wouldn’t happenagain today. Yet actors may encounter anything as they navigate the creation of new stories.
The Call (2013)
Generally, things are prone to go wrong when filming action sequences, necessitating the use of stunt doubles with specialized training to protect the actors.At the time of filmingThe Call, Halle Berry was already a seasoned action star,having completed iconic action movies such asCatwomanandX-Men. Despite her experience, accidents may still happen; while filmingThe Call, Berry hit her head on the concrete floor and was knocked out (viaDen of Geek). She promptly received medical attention and made a full recovery.
The Call
Cast
The Call is a thriller directed by Brad Anderson, starring Halle Berry as a veteran 911 operator. When she receives a call from a kidnapped teenager, played by Abigail Breslin, she takes it upon herself to ensure the girl’s safe return. The suspenseful storyline highlights the intense responsibilities and quick decision-making required in emergency response situations.
This was hardly the first time Berry had been injured on set. While filming action staples such asDie Another Day, Catwoman, andCloud Atlas, she ended up with some other breaks and bruises, including a different head injury.Berry is also not the only action star to have been repeatedly injuredand needed to seek treatment while filming throughout her career.
9The Cast Of Dune Filmed In Awful Heat
Dune: Part Two (2024)
Austin Butler and the rest of theDune 2castand crew found themselves filming in 110-degree heat, causing heat stroke (viaVariety).The desert setting is, of course, a key part ofDune’s story,resulting in this arduous filming experience. Butler reported that several people passed out, but didn’t specify who.
Dune: Part Two
Dune: Part Two continues the epic saga of Paul Atreides as he allies with Chani and the Fremen. Pursuing retribution for his family’s devastation, Paul grapples with a significant decision impacting his personal desires and the universe’s future, attempting to avert a dire destiny that only he anticipates.
Heat waves are surprisingly dangerous but always miserable for the cast wearing potentially heavy costumes and the crew tasked with carrying around equipment. On a more positive note,Butler said:“It really bonds the entire crew […] There’s something so humbling about being in such an uncomfortable environment.”
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Meanwhile,director Denis Villeneuve said that he felt he had made the right choice to not film his twoDunemovies back-to-backafter realizing how"physically taxing"they would be to produce."[…] to have a break in between them was a blessing,“said Villeneuve, for the entire cast and crew. It may have resulted in a longer hiatus between movies, but this kind of moderation while filming is important for the health of everyone involved.
8Daniel Craig Knocked Out Two Teeth Filming A Bond Fight
Casino Royale (2006)
Craig dealt with a lot of criticism when his casting was announced, before heading into a demanding production.
Daniel Craig quickly learned that he was not in for an easy time playing James Bondwhen he knocked out two teeth during the filming ofCasino Royale(viaMovieWeb). Any actor stepping into the role of James Bond may expect to be met with some backlash when it is such a monumental and iconic part to play. However, Craig dealt with a lot of criticism when his casting was announced, before heading into a demanding production.
Casino Royale
Casino Royale introduces Daniel Craig as James Bond in his first mission as a 00 Agent. Tasked with preventing the terrorist financier Le Chiffre from winning a high-stakes poker game in Montenegro, Bond teams up with Vesper Lynd and Felix Leiter, kicking off a pivotal chapter in the espionage saga.
The opening fight scene was the first thing filmed forCasino Royale, possibly explaining why both Craig and the crew weren’t fully prepared.Craig was presumably accidentally hit too hard by one of the other actors, resulting in the producers needing to fly in his dentistand requiring him to wear a protective gumshield for the rest of the production. Craig and the crew adapted, and he made it through five Bond movies and became one of the most beloved actors to play 007.
7Margot Robbie Trained Relentlessly For I, Tonya
I, Tonya (2017)
Filming isn’t the only difficult part of being an actor; training can be just as demanding, starting early before a particularly physical role. While action stars, including Margot Robbie, train for fight scenes so they can have a safe filming experience,theBarbiestar doubled down on learning to ice skate forI, Tonya.Robbie emphasized (viaThe Hollywood Reporter) the difficulty of learning the sport as an adult when the movie correctly depicts Harding’s career beginning when she was a child:“When you’re a kid, you’re fearless, but starting at 26 years old, I had a lot of fear.”
I, Tonya
Based on the life of figure skater Tonya Harding, I, Tonya chronicles Harding’s personal life, rise to fame, and subsequent downfall after her involvement in the infamous attack on her rival Nancy Kerrigan in 1994. Framed in a mockumentary style that routinely breaks the fourth wall, I, Tonya is directed by Craig Gillespie and stars Margot Robbie and Harding, with Sebastian Stan and Allison Janney as Harding’s ex-husband and overbearing mother respectively.
Robbie reportedly got a herniated disc in her neck early on in training forI, Tonyabut didn’t realize that she had the injury until a week into filming. In particular,I, Tonyaillustrates the physical demands on the ice skaters that Robbie and the crew had to meet to tell the story. While other actors playing real-life athletes may find themselves in similar situations, theI, Tonyacrew resorted to special effects to capture Harding’s famous triple axel.
6Isla Fisher Almost Drowned Filming Henley’s First Scene
Now You See Me (2013)
Now You See Mestarts things off on a high note with the introduction to the four main characters being them conducting their own magic acts at different locations.In the case of Isla Fisher"s Henley, she terrifies her audience by making them believe she is stuck in a tank about to be swamped by piranhas,before miraculously escaping. It’s even darker when Fisher reported that she nearly drowned while filming this (viaeonline.com).
The mechanism for Fisher to release herself from the tank malfunctioned,and she was stuck underwater for a few minutes. She tried to get the attention of the crew, but as she was supposed to be panicking in the scene, they misinterpreted it as her acting. While shaken by the incident, Fisher eventually got out of the tank and was not seriously harmed; she has shared the story in interviews.
5Michelle Yeoh Tore Her ACL During Courtyard Scene
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
Yeoh has continued to film action movies, most recently Everything Everywhere All at Once, hopefully with ever-improving safety measures.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragonfeatures one of thebest fantasy movie performances everby martial arts icon Michelle Yeoh.Yeoh came intoCrouching Tiger, Hidden Dragonwith stunt experience, but faced a new challenge when director Ang Lee wanted to use a different combat stylethan what she was familiar with.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a martial arts film directed by Ang Lee. Released in 2000, the story revolves around warriors Li Mu Bai and Yu Shu Lien, played by Chow Yun-Fat and Michelle Yeoh, as they pursue a stolen sword and encounter a mysterious young aristocrat. The film is renowned for its lush visuals and choreographed fight scenes, blending romance and adventure against a historical Chinese backdrop.
Yeoh tore her ACL during the courtyard fight scene; she completed filming by sitting in a wheelbarrow and mimicking runningbefore getting surgery and spending weeks recovering (viaIndieWire). While some actors recount powering through an injury, Lee took this safer approach for the scene’s final shot.
10 Actors Who Got Injured Doing Their Own Stunts
An actor’s commitment to their role sometimes leads them to perform their own stunts. However, this dedication can raise the risk of on-set injuries.
However, other close calls have prompted Yeoh to ask questions such as:“Why am I doing this? Is it worth it? If I really got hurt, then what?“Yeoh has continued to film action movies, most recentlyEverything Everywhere All at Once, hopefully with ever-improving safety measures.
4Peter Mayhew Needed A Security Detail As Chewbacca
Star Wars: Return Of The Jedi (1983)
Stories claim that Peter Mayhew was told to not wander around the set in costume while filmingStar Wars: Return of the Jedi(viaVanity Fair). George Lucas notably depended on location filming for the original trilogy, seeking out spectacular deserts and forests to serve as various galactic settings.For the green planet of Endor, the originalStar Warscast traveled to the California redwoodsto film their (assumed) final battle with the Empire.
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi
Return of the Jedi concludes George Lucas’s original Star Wars trilogy with Luke Skywalker and his allies seeking to rescue Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt and facing a renewed threat as the Emperor attempts to obliterate the Rebellion through a second Death Star, broadening the epic battle between good and evil.
Mayhew, always in his full Chewbacca costume, is said to have been escorted around the set by a security detailto protect him from hunters who might have mistaken him for Bigfoot or another animal. Mayhew was also seven feet tall, an aspect that helped him land the role of Chewbacca but made him more visible under these circumstances. Filming passed without any reported incidents —Harrison Ford has been injured many more times while filming.
3Harrison Ford’s Leg Was Damaged By The Millennium Falcon’s Door
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)
Ford’s return to theStar Warsset was met with an injury that could have been much worse. Reportedly,Ford’s leg was broken by the hydraulic door of the Millennium Falcon,which he didn’t realize was active. Director J.J. Abrams later revealed that he also injured his back trying to lift the door off Ford, and hid his back brace from everyone for the rest of filming (viaThe Hollywood Reporter).
Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens
Star Wars: The Force Awakens takes place 30 years after the fall of the Galactic Empire. It follows Han Solo and new allies, including Finn and Rey, as they confront the rising threat of Kylo Ren and his army of Stormtroopers while seeking the elusive Luke Skywalker.
While Ford recovered and returned to filming,Foodles Production company, owned by Disney, was held responsible for the lack of communication regarding the new Millennium Falcon door"capable of killing one or possibly two people"and was fined $2 million (viaThe Guardian). Ford commented on how the set had changed since the time the Falcon’s doors were operated manually, saying:“Now we had lots of money and technology and so they built a f*****g great hydraulic door which closed at light speed.“Overall, the event demonstrates the need for strict safety protocols around complex sets.
Nightcrawler (2014)
Jake Gyllenhaal gave an underrated, Joker-like performance in the thrillerNightcrawler, and his commitment to Lou Bloom’s characterization resulted in injury.During an intense scene where Lou is looking at himself in a mirror, Gyllenhaal possibly improvised punching the mirror,smashing it to pieces, and resulting in his getting 42 stitches. Other scenes in the movie show Gyllenhaal with his hands behind his back, to hide the cast he was wearing at the time (viaFar Out).
Nightcrawler
Written and directed by Dan Gilroy, Nightcrawler follows petty thief Lou Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal) after he learns of a potentially lucrative job opportunity selling footage of violent events to local media outlets. Lou becomes a “stringer” - a freelance journalist who captures and records footage for news stations - and finds that the profession sucks him into the most dangerous parts of Los Angeles. Drawn deeper into his dark obsession, Lou becomes increasingly fixated with violence and crime.
It seems likely that if director Dan Gilroy had planned on Lou breaking the mirror in the scene, precautions would have been taken to prevent Gyllenhaal’s injury. The action is in character for Lou, a maniacal con man destroying lives on his way to becoming a successful journalist.Gyllenhaal’s performance is doubtlessly the driving force behindNightcrawler,cultivating his disturbing interactions with the other characters.
1Almost The Entire Fellowship Of The Ring Got Hurt
The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
TheLord of the Ringscast endured an intense production when the epic battle sequences resulted in various mishaps.Viggo Mortensen famously broke his toes when he kicked an Orc’s helmet(an unscripted moment) after a discovery that leads the group to assume Pippin and Merry are dead, and his angry scream is at least partially real.
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is a Fantasy film by director Peter Jackson and is based on The Two Towers book by author J. R. R. Tolkien. A sequel to The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, this installment continues Frodo’s journey to take the One Ring to Mount Doom to destroy it.
Mortensen also reportedly broke a tooth while filming Helm’s Deep; according to Peter Jackson, this barely slowed him down, and he insisted they keep going (viaSlashFilm). Meanwhile,Orlando Bloom broke a rib falling off a horse, Sean Astin sliced his foot, and John Rhys-Davies' stand-in Brett Beattie dislocated his ankle, all reportedly only while filming the second movie.
Lord Of The Rings' Most Ambitious Trick That Led To $2.9 Billion Success Will Likely Never Be Repeated
Peter Jackson’s adaptations of The Lord of the Rings trilogy are impressive for countless reasons, including this behind-the-scenes trick he used.
Lord of the Ringsfavored more open sets, but real and prop weapons as well as moments improvised without forethought still caused some minor injuries.Most of the time, the cast of big action movies get by without any lasting injuries,but their stories still demonstrate some danger in their work.
