Create a free account to access exclusive content, play games, solve puzzles, test your pop-culture knowledge and receive special offers.Already have an account? Login
Making a movie is a dangerous business — just ask these actors!
A handful of A-list stars almost died or were seriously injured while on a film set, whether from drowning, on-set accidents or just an overzealous co-star.
Check out the gallery below for celebs who had some close-calls!
1 of 12
Jennifer Lawrence
The Oscar-winning actress almost suffocated on the set of The Hunger Games when a fog machine malfunctioned, and the actress was trapped inside a tunnel for a few minutes before she was rescued.
2 of 12
Dylan O'Brien
The third Maze Runner movie was shut down indefinitely after the lead actor suffered serious injuries on set and needed extensive facial reconstruction surgery.
3 of 12
Halle Berry
The veteran actress has been injured on a few movie sets, but her most serious injury was on the set of The Call, when her co-star accidentally slammed her head into the floor.
"The bad guy in the movie accidentally slammed my head into the concrete," she said. "He misjudged how far the ground was and he slammed my head into it so I got knocked out.”
4 of 12
Gerard Butler
While filming the surfing movie Chasing Mavericks, the Hollywood actor nearly drowned after getting trapped under two large waves.
“All I could think was, ‘there’s a whole film crew up there,'" he joked after the scary incident on The Graham Norton Show.
5 of 12
Charlize Theron
On the set of her action flick Aeon Flux, Charlize attempted to do a back flip, but landed on her neck. The blonde beauty nearly damaged her spinal cord, and needed six weeks of physical therapy.
6 of 12
Jackie Chan
The Chinese actor is known for his stunts, but he almost died on the set of his film Armour of God II when a head injury required him to have brain surgery.
"I still have a metal plate in my head and can feel the indentation from the impact," he told Parade.
7 of 12
Isla Fisher
On the set of Now You See Me, Isla nearly drowned while filming a magic trick in a tank of water. She was unable to reach a safety button after getting tangled underwater, and the crew thought she was still in character.
Luckily she got herself to safety.
8 of 12
Sacha Baron Cohen
The British actor was also put in danger on a movie set like his wife. However, his accident was definitely more unique.
"The worst part filming Borat was the naked fight, because I had a 250 lb. man’s ass on my face, and his buttocks was so big that I couldn’t actually breathe when I was underneath there,” he said. "So, I had about 30 seconds of air under there before I had to breathe in. And I had a signal with the director, which was when I thought I was going to pass out, I would hit the mattress three times.
He continued, “If you look at the ‘Borat’ film now, you will see that I do hit the mattress three times, and the director didn’t stop filming, which meant I was faced with this very stark choice, which was either to die, or to breathe in the rancid air from my costar’s rectum. And when I was underneath there, I decided to die. Luckily, my co-star moved off and I managed to finish the scene. Otherwise, that would have been a very inglorious end to my life."
9 of 12
Sylvester Stallone
While filming Rocky IV, the Italian actor told his co-star Dolph Lundgren to try to knock him out in the ring while cameras were rolling.
"At one point, he hit me so hard on the top of the head I felt my spine compress," he told The Guardian. "He then hit me with an almighty uppercut. That night my chest and heart started to swell, and I had to be helicopter-ambulanced from my hotel to a nearby emergency room.
"If it had swollen any more, I would have died. After that, I was like, 'Dolph, it's only a movie, bro…'"
10 of 12
Tom Hanks
Tom's drastic weight loss isn't what almost killed the Oscar winner while filming Castaway. He also suffered a deep cut on his leg and was diagnosed with a staph infection.
11 of 12
Jim Caviezel
The actor, ironically, was struck by lightning while filming The Passion of the Christ.
"I was lit up like a Christmas tree," he said. "I was doing the Sermon on the Mount. I knew it was going to hit me about four seconds before it happened. I thought, "I'm going to get hit." And when it happened, I saw the extras grab the ground.
12 of 12
Martin Sheen
The Hollywood icon had a heart attack while filming Apocalypse Now, and had to crawl for help from the isolated set.
"Even though I did not physically die that night, the Willard character in me did," he said. "My face-to-face confrontation with death and my own human vulnerability purged the need to be an empty celluloid image bent on the accumulation of such things as fame or wealth."