Hollywood is known for its glitz, glam, and bigger-than-life approach. While this may be true in some cases, life on sets is a wee bit different, fraught with production issues, delays, and accidents. Countless actors and their body doubles have tried to push the envelope, participating in dangerous stunts. While most of these have been pulled off successfully, others have led to grave injuries while filming scenes—some that even made the final cut.
1. Margot Robbie in I, Tonya
Margot Robbie’s screen presence has been proven time and time again with films like The Wolf of Wall Street and Suicide Squad. Itching to go above and beyond and showcase her range, she took on the role of Tonya Harding, one of the most notorious personalities in the world of figure skating. To perfect her performance as Tonya, Margot worked relentlessly and spent four hours a day, five days a week, learning to ice skate for the role. In the process, she managed to hurt herself several times, with bumps and bruises becoming a common occurrence. The worst, though, was having to deal with a herniated disc on her neck, which happened during the early days of her training and caused her arm to go numb.
2. Isla Fisher in Now You See Me
The directors of Now You See Me took a page out of Houdini’s books and had Isla perform a stunt in a cube filled with water. During the shot, her chains got tangled, which meant she couldn’t press the panic button or reach out to the nearby diver. Caught in a frenzy, she struggled to signal to the cast and crew about what was happening while everyone thought she was acting. But the truth? She nearly drowned on set!
3. Sylvester Stallone in Rocky IV
One rarely sees actors skipping their practiced choreography, especially during an action sequence. Committed to his character as Rocky Balboa, Stallone asked his co-star, Dolph Lundgren, to ditch the choreography for a more realistic shot. In this process, he ended up receiving an uppercut, which hit his heart against the ribcage and resulted in a nine-day stay in the ICU for a swollen heart.
4. Natalie Portman in Black Swan
Natalie Portman, in an awe-inspiring feat, ended up filming a whole ballet scene with a dislocated rib for the movie Black Swan, all because there was no medic available at that time on set. When help came, her interactions with the medic were filmed as well, making it to the movie in a different scene.
5. Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible 6
Tom Cruise’s history when it comes to performing his stunts is no secret. But this has not come easy to the actor. When shooting for Mission Impossible 6, he broke his ankle during a stunt jump, and the shot made it to the film, too. What’s more, he did not let the injury affect the rest of the movie—a testament to his daredevil attitude!
6. Daniel Day-Lewis in My Left Foot
Daniel Day-Lewis took the method approach too far for the movie My Left Foot. While filming for his role as a man with a disability, he managed to break two ribs from the heavily hunched position he assumed all the time in the wheelchair. No stunts here, but plenty of pain!
7. Michelle Yeoh in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
In what she describes as one of her “most painful movie-making experiences,” Michelle Yeoh tore her ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) as she filmed a scene for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The actress had to wear a big brace that slowed down her pace significantly.
8. Dylan O’Brien in Maze Runner: The Death Cure
Dylan O’Brien probably had the worst luck of them all while filming Maze Runner: The Death Cure. While shooting one of the action sequences, he fell out of a moving vehicle. As if that weren’t dangerous enough, he was then run over by another car, leaving him with a concussion, lacerations to his face, and a lot of physical trauma.
9. Margaret Hamilton in The Wizard of Oz
A failed stunt on the sets of The Wizard of Oz left Margaret Hamilton with second- and third-degree burns. She was supposed to exit from a concealed trap door in the back as the fireworks set off in front of the camera. While shooting, though, the door did not open, leaving Hamilton with burns that she took weeks to recover from.
10. Zazie Beetz in Deadpool 2
Zazie’s role in Deadpool 2 left her with a scar on her chest from a stray shootout shell casing that she caught during the scene. As if that weren’t enough, she also ended up fainting on set because of her restrictive suit!
11. Jeremy Renner in Tag
Jeremy Renner, another popular face in the action scene, managed to break his elbow and wrist just three days into shooting for Tag. Not enough can be said about the actor’s dedication, though, as he went back to filming right away with a cast on, which was later edited using CGI.
12. Daniel Craig in Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace
The actor has suffered two significant injuries on set. He lost two front teeth while shooting for Casino Royale and a fingertip on the sets of Quantum of Solace.
