While plenty of movies depict characters involved in life-threatening conflicts, other times, actors have actually ended up confronting near-death experiences on set themselves. Whether throughdangerous stunt work, freezing cold working conditions, or just plain bad luck, there have been plenty of shocking stories of actors facing their mortality head-on while in the midst of making a Hollywood movie. Luckily, all these stars made it out alive and managed to evade their brush with death.
Frombeloved franchisesto blockbuster smash hits, even on gigantic film productions with the most rigorous safety precautions imaginable,accidents on movie setscan still happen. Other instances occurred due to the intensity with which method actors commit to their role, and their immersive acting style actually causes them to fall ill. Making movies can be dangerous work, and we’rethankful that all these stars pulled throughand managed to complete the movies where they very nearly paid the ultimate price.
10Michael J. Fox
Back to the Future Part III (1990)
WhileBack to the Futureremains one of the most acclaimed film trilogies of all time, this series almost ended in tragedy as Michael J. Fox was involved in a terrifying near-death experience on set. InBack to the Future Part III,there’s a scene where the outlawMad Dog attempts to lynch Marty McFlyafter he traveled back to the Wild West, but things went wrong during filming, and for a few seconds, Fox was hanged for real.
In his autobiography, which was appropriately titledLucky Man, Fox explained that while swinging from the rope without any supports, he miscalculated the position of his hand and was “dangling from the gallows pole” with his carotid artery blocked. Thankfully, the film’s director, Robert Zemeckis, realized just in the nick of time, and Fox didn’t suffocate.
9Kate Winslet
Titanic (1997)
Titanicremains one of the most well-known disaster films of all time, but one on-set disaster was luckily avoided when its female lead, Kate Winslet, narrowly avoided death herself. This was because the freezing cold filming conditions in the water of the James Cameron picture meant she caught hypothermia. In an interview withStephen Colbertin 2017, Winslet reflected on the filming of the once highest-grossing movie of all time and said, “Yeah, I was really f*cking cold.”
However, the cold was just one of several problems Winslet faced during the filming ofTitanic, as she told theLos Angeles Timesthat she also faced her fair share of on-set injuries. Winslet spoke about chipping a bone on her elbow and having bruises all over her arm from slipping on the deck. The most terrifying moment came whenWinslet almost drowned during a scene where a gigantic wave made its way through the ship.
8Tom Cruise
Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
Of all the Hollywood actors likely to find themselves in terrifying near-death experiences, Tom Cruise would be top of the list. That’s becauseCruise famously does his own stunts, and we’ve watched him hang from the side of planes, jump from skyscrapers, and risk his life in high-speed chases for decades. However, Cruise faced his mortality head-on during the filming ofEdge of Tomorrow(viaPeople) when his co-star Emily Blunt left it too late to press on the brakes in a particularly dangerous scene.
Blunt explained, “I left it too late and so drove us into a tree, and I almost killed Tom Cruise” during the filming ofEdge of Tomorrow. As a performer who often takes his life into his own hands, it would be ironic for Cruise to meet his end due to some mismanaged stunt driving on behalf of one of his co-stars. However, both Cruise and Blunt survived the incident, and much like in the time loop story ofEdge of Tomorrow, were able to come back from the brink of death.
7Sylvester Stallone
Rocky IV (1985)
WhileRockyfans will remember Apollo Creed’s tragic death at the hands of Ivan Drago inRocky IV, Sylvester Stallone has revealed that he almost died in the ring fighting Dolph Lundgren. As one of the most terrifying and powerful foes in the entireRockyseries, Lundgren’s Drago was a menacing presence, it’s true, but it seems that the Swedish actor had the genuine boxing skills to pack up his formidable character.
That’s because Stallone admitted (viaAin’t It Cool) that Lundgren “pulverized me,” and he was hospitalized for nine days following their fight. While it wasn’t immediately apparent that Stallone’s life was in danger, later that night his “heart started to swell” and his blood pressure went up to 260.This saw Stallone rushed to intensive careand in need of urgent medical attention.
6Tom Hanks
Cast Away (2000)
As a story of survival that reunited Tom Hanks with hisForrest Gumpdirector, Robert Zemeckis,Cast Awaywas a highly anticipated release. While viewers excitedly watched Hanks’ FedEx executive Chuck Noland struggle to survive while marooned on a remote island, the truth was that the star himself almost died during the filming. AlthoughHanks went through intense physical and psychological torment to get in the right state of mind for the role, it was actually a leg injury (viaCollider) that meant he nearly met his maker.
During the filming ofCast Away’searly scenes, when Chuck was scoping out his new island home, Hanks received a severe cut that sent him to the hospital and forced him to take a three-day break from the shoot. What Hanks thought was just a simple cut was later revealed to be a poison that infected his leg and very nearly claimed his life. Luckily, Hanks made it through, even if the same can’t be said for his volleyball companion Wilson inCast Away.
5Charlize Theron
Aeon Flux (2005)
Stunt work can be incredibly dangerous, and even with the number of precautions taken in Hollywood productions, it’s still possible for things to go wrong. Charlize Theron is certainly well aware of this, as she almost lost her life in a freak accident on the set of the sci-fiAeon Flux. This incident occurred while participating in a wire-hanging stunt on a trampoline, the results of which not only shut the production down temporarily but also changed how Theron approached action scenes for the rest of her career.
Theron explained (viaFar Out) that the accident was very “severe” and she was “a centimeter away from being completely paralyzed for the rest of my life.” Left with chronic pain, spasms, and nerve damage,Theron required neck fusion to fully recoverand said she always comes to set extra prepared for any stunt scenes.
4Jackie Chan
Armour of God (1986)
As one of the most renowned action stars ever,Jackie Chan is no stranger to death-defying stunts, but one movie where things got a little bit too real for the Hong Kong star wasArmour of God. This cult classic martial arts comedy featured plenty of action packaged as Indiana Jones-style adventure, but during a routine stunt where Chan leaped from a tree to a ledge, a branch snapped and he plummeted to the ground. However, rather than jump to his feet like a character in a movie, Chan cracked his skull and very nearly died.
The fall was so bad thatChan actually needed brain surgery, and an emergency operation was performed on him immediately. Thankfully, the operation was a success, and a bone fragment was successfully removed from Chan’s brain, allowing him to spend seven days in recovery before getting back to filming and completing the movie. While the accident didn’t have any impact on Chan’s career as an action star, he revealed in his memoirNever Grow Upthat it caused permanent hearing loss in one ear.
3John Hurt
The Elephant Man (1980)
The make-up in David Lynch’sThe Elephant Manwas so impressive that it led the Academy Awards to add a brand new Best Make-Up category after its release. With John Hurt as the Victorian man suffering from a severe deformity, John Merrick, this real-life figure was a powerful example of the way society dehumanizes those perceived as other and the prejudices those who are different must face. to properly portray Merrick,Hurt underwent nine hours of makeup for each dayof filming which was so heavy that it almost killed him.
It’s said that Hurt’s make-up forThe Elephant Manwas so extensive he risked suffocating to death if he did not sit upright (viaWhat Culture.) A few times during filming, Hurt forgot this essential advice and put his life in jeopardy. With such grueling preparations required, John reportedly said to his wife during shooting, “I think they finally managed to make me hate acting.”
2Jennifer Lawrence
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay—Part 2 (2015)
The Hunger Games may have featured citizens of a dystopian society fighting to the death in an elaborate televised contest, but its star, Jennifer Lawrence, almost met her end for real when filming the series’ final installment. During the shoot forThe Hunger Games: Mockingjay—Part 2, Lawrence nearly choked when a fog machine malfunctioned (viaYahoo.) With dense smoke spewing from the machine inside of a tunnel, the cast and crew panicked as Lawrence disappeared from sight.
This shocking incident led to an assistant director shouting for help and urging that the machines be turned off and fans brought in to clear the smoke. After a few minutes of panic, a rescue crew was able to carry Lawrence to safety. WhileLawrence suffered other injuries during her time filmingThe Hunger Gamesfranchise, this was the closest she came to actually dying.
1Daniel Day-Lewis
Gangs of New York (2002)
In the world of method acting, nobody has a reputation for taking things to the extreme quite like Daniel Day-Lewis. But this intense commitment to his craft almost claimed his life during the filming of Martin Scorsese’sGangs of New YorkwhenDay-Lewis decided to stay in his era-appropriate costume to play the 1800s gangster William “Bill the Butcher” Cutting. With nothing but a flimsy coat to wear, made entirely out of materials available in 1886 (viaSlash Film), Day-Lewis couldn’t protect himself from the city’s harsh conditions.
This led to Day-Lewis catching pneumonia. However, rather than seek modern medical treatment, Day-Lewis refused to be treated with only period-appropriate medicine, a decision that could have cut his life short just like the notorious real-life gangster he was playing, who died at just 33, although that was from a gunshot wound and not the cold. Luckily, Day-Lewis managed to pull through, and Bill the Butcher stands as one of his most impressive roles.
