Actors Who Nearly Died on Set (and What Happened)

Filming movies and television shows involves significant physical risks that often go unnoticed by the general audience. Stunt work and mechanical failures can turn a fictional scene into a life-threatening situation for the performers involved. Many famous stars have faced narrow escapes that could have ended their careers and lives prematurely. The following list highlights actors who survived dangerous incidents while filming popular projects.

Jackie Chan

This legendary martial artist suffered his worst injury while filming ‘Armour of God’ in Yugoslavia. He attempted to jump from a castle wall to a tree branch but missed his grip and fell onto the rocky ground below. A piece of his skull cracked and pierced his brain tissue causing immediate bleeding. He required emergency brain surgery and still has a plastic plate in his head as a result of the accident.

Michael J. Fox

The actor nearly died by hanging during the production of ‘Back to the Future Part III’. He offered to perform the stunt without a box under his feet to make the scene look more realistic. The rope placement went wrong and actually cut off his airway for several seconds. He lost consciousness before the director realized he was not acting and cut the rope.

Isla Fisher

She faced a terrifying drowning scare while filming a magic trick scene for ‘Now You See Me’. Her character was supposed to escape a water tank while chained but the release mechanism jammed. She banged on the glass to alert the crew but they believed she was simply acting out the distress of the character. The stunt coordinator finally realized the chains were stuck and activated the emergency release.

Jason Statham

The action star survived a near-fatal accident on the set of ‘The Expendables 3’ when a truck he was driving suffered brake failure. The vehicle careened off a pier and plunged sixty feet into the Black Sea with the actor trapped inside. Statham relied on his past experience as a professional diver to stay calm and swim to the surface. The truck sank completely while he managed to escape without serious injury.

Tom Cruise

He narrowly avoided decapitation while filming a sword fight on horses for ‘The Last Samurai’. Mechanical horses were used for the scene and a malfunction caused his co-star to swing a real steel sword at the wrong moment. The blade stopped just inches from his neck due to the quick reflexes of the stunt team and automated safety stops. Cruise has stated that he felt the wind of the blade against his neck.

Sylvester Stallone

The actor insisted on real punches during the filming of ‘Rocky IV’ to increase the intensity of the boxing match. Dolph Lundgren punched him so hard in the chest that his heart slammed against his breastbone and began to swell. Stallone was flown to a hospital in Santa Monica and placed in intensive care for over a week. Doctors noted the injury was similar to the trauma seen in victims of head-on car collisions.

Jennifer Lawrence

She almost suffocated during the filming of ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1’ inside a tunnel filled with smoke. A fog machine malfunctioned and spewed excessive amounts of dense smoke into the enclosed space where she was filming. The crew lost sight of her and she began choking and gasping for air before rescue teams located her. She suffered from nausea and dizziness but recovered after receiving fresh air.

Johnny Depp

A horse riding stunt went wrong during the production of ‘The Lone Ranger’ and nearly crushed the actor. His saddle slipped loose while he was galloping across the desert and he was thrown underneath the hooves of the horse. The animal narrowly missed stepping on his head and chest before he was dragged across the ground. He walked away with only minor bruising despite the severity of the fall.

Brendan Fraser

The hanging scene in ‘The Mummy’ nearly killed the actor when the rope tension was pulled too tight. He was suspended by his neck for several seconds and completely cut off from oxygen. Fraser passed out and had to be resuscitated by the on-set EMTs after his heart rate dropped significantly. He later described the experience as terrifying and disorienting once he regained consciousness.

Halle Berry

She choked on a piece of fruit while filming a romantic scene with Pierce Brosnan for ‘Die Another Day’. The obstruction completely blocked her windpipe and she was unable to breathe or speak. Brosnan immediately performed the Heimlich maneuver to dislodge the fig and save her life. The actress credited his quick thinking with preventing a tragedy on the James Bond set.

George Clooney

The actor suffered a severe spinal injury while filming a torture scene for the movie ‘Syriana’. He hit his head on the floor during a stunt and tore the dura matter around his spine causing fluid to leak. The pain was so intense that he contemplated suicide while hospitalized and unable to move. Successful surgery eventually corrected the issue but he dealt with chronic pain for years.

Dylan O’Brien

He suffered a concussion and severe facial fractures on the set of ‘Maze Runner: The Death Cure’. The actor was pulled from one vehicle to another during a stunt when the safety harness failed and he was struck by another car. Production on the film was halted for months while he underwent facial reconstruction surgery and recovered from brain trauma. He eventually returned to complete the film after a long rehabilitation process.

Uma Thurman

The director of ‘Kill Bill’ pressured her to drive a car she felt was unsafe down a winding sand road. She lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a palm tree causing permanent neck and knee injuries. The footage of the crash shows her slumping over the steering wheel motionless for several minutes. It took years for her to release the footage and reconcile with the director over the negligence.

Viggo Mortensen

He nearly drowned while filming a scene in a river for ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers’. The heavy armor and costume weighed him down and the current pulled him underwater for an extended period. He struggled to find his footing on the riverbed and swallowed a significant amount of water. Crew members were preparing to dive in to rescue him when he finally managed to kick himself to the surface.

Ed Harris

Filming ‘The Abyss’ involved dangerous underwater sequences that pushed the actor to his physical limits. During one scene he ran out of air and signaled for oxygen but the safety diver handed him a regulator upside down. He inhaled water instead of air and began to panic as he drowned. A different cameraman saw the struggle and gave him a functioning regulator just in time.

Kate Winslet

She developed severe hypothermia and nearly drowned during the production of ‘Titanic’. Her coat snagged on a gate while she was submerged in the water tank and she could not resurface to breathe. She had to wiggle out of the heavy coat while underwater to escape the entrapment. Winslet also refused to wear a wetsuit under her costume which contributed to her illness.

Martin Sheen

The actor suffered a massive heart attack while filming ‘Apocalypse Now’ in the Philippines. He was alone in his cabin when the incident occurred and had to drag himself to the road to find help. The production was so stressful and isolated that he had not realized his health was deteriorating. He received last rites from a priest before eventually recovering and returning to finish the film.

Margaret Hamilton

The actress playing the Wicked Witch in ‘The Wizard of Oz’ was severely burned during her exit scene. A trap door failed to open fast enough before a burst of fire was released to hide her disappearance. The flames ignited her copper-based green makeup and caused second-degree burns on her face and hands. She required six weeks of recovery before she could return to the set.

Buddy Ebsen

He was the original Tin Man in ‘The Wizard of Oz’ but nearly died from an allergic reaction to the makeup. The aluminum dust used for his costume coated his lungs and caused them to fail. He was hospitalized in an oxygen tent and had to be replaced by Jack Haley. The studio did not believe he was sick until doctors confirmed the severity of his respiratory condition.

Jim Caviezel

While playing Jesus in ‘The Passion of the Christ’ he was struck by lightning during the Sermon on the Mount scene. Witnesses saw fire coming from his head and smoke rising from his ears immediately after the strike. He survived the electrical shock but also suffered from hypothermia and pneumonia during the grueling shoot. He later required open-heart surgery due to the physical toll the role took on his body.

Aaron Paul

A large boulder was positioned on top of an RV for a scene in ‘Breaking Bad’ but it was not secured properly. A gust of wind blew the heavy rock off the vehicle onto the exact spot where the actor had been standing moments before. He had moved away to ask the director a question just seconds before the impact. The crew realized the boulder would have killed him instantly had he remained in position.

Charlize Theron

She nearly broke her neck while performing a back handspring for the movie ‘Aeon Flux’. She landed awkwardly on her neck and suffered a herniated disc that was millimeters away from her spinal cord. The injury halted production for several weeks and required extensive physical therapy. Doctors informed her that she was lucky to have avoided paralysis or death.

Diane Kruger

The actress was choked for real during a scene in ‘Inglourious Basterds’ by director Quentin Tarantino. He wanted the reaction to look authentic and convinced her to let him apply the pressure himself. She lost consciousness and her face turned blue before he released his grip. The take used in the final film shows her genuine fight for air and loss of consciousness.

Tom Hanks

He contracted a staph infection from a small leg cut while filming ‘Cast Away’ in Fiji. The infection spread rapidly through his leg and he was rushed to a hospital for emergency surgery. Doctors told him that he was about an hour away from blood poisoning reaching his heart. The production was shut down for three weeks while he recovered from the life-threatening bacteria.

Gerard Butler

The actor was held underwater by two consecutive waves while filming the surfing movie ‘Chasing Mavericks’. He was tumbled over a reef and pinned down for nearly a minute without access to air. A safety patrolman on a jet ski eventually grabbed him and pulled him to safety. He was hospitalized for shock and secondary drowning symptoms after the incident.

Meryl Streep

She nearly drowned while filming a rafting scene for ‘The River Wild’ after the director asked her to perform the stunt herself. The boat capsized in the rough water and she was thrown into the freezing river. Her life jacket was the only thing that kept her afloat until a safety diver could reach her. She was exhausted and hypothermic by the time she was pulled from the current.

Harrison Ford

A hydraulic door on the Millennium Falcon set of ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ malfunctioned and crushed the actor. The heavy metal door pinned him to the floor and broke his leg in multiple places. The force of the impact was strong enough to have killed him if it had struck his head or chest. He was airlifted to a hospital and required surgery and months of rehabilitation.

Donald Sutherland

He contracted spinal meningitis while filming ‘Kelly’s Heroes’ on location in Yugoslavia. The illness caused him to slip into a coma and his heart stopped beating for several seconds. He later recounted seeing a white light and feeling his body floating above the bed. The production had to work around his absence while he recovered from the severe infection.

Chevy Chase

The comedian was electrocuted while filming ‘Modern Problems’ when lights attached to his body short-circuited. He lost consciousness and suffered electrical burns through his clothes. The current was strong enough to cause him to have a near-death experience before the power was cut. He suffered from depression and physical pain for months following the accident on set.

Matthew Fox

He was stabbed with a real knife during a fight scene in the series finale of ‘Lost’. The prop master had accidentally swapped the retractable knife for a real blade during the chaotic sequence. The actor wore a protective pad under his shirt which prevented the blade from piercing his heart. The force of the blow still caused severe bruising and collapsed the actor to the ground.

Bob Denver

The actor who played Gilligan was in a cage with a lion for a scene in ‘Gilligan’s Island’. The lion lunged at him when the bed he was sitting on collapsed unexpectedly. The animal trainer tackled the lion in mid-air just inches before it could maul the actor. Denver later stated that he felt the breath of the lion on his face before it was subdued.

Tippi Hedren

She was attacked by a bird on the set of ‘The Birds’ which scratched her face dangerously close to her eye. Later while filming ‘Roar’ she was bitten on the back of the head by a lion. The lion’s teeth scraped her skull and she required thirty-eight stitches to close the wound. She also suffered a fractured leg during another incident involving an elephant on the same set.

Melanie Griffith

While filming ‘Roar’ with her mother Tippi Hedren she was attacked by a lion. The animal mauled her face and nearly tore her eye out during the unscripted attack. She required facial reconstruction surgery and received fifty stitches to repair the damage. The film is notorious for having over seventy crew members injured by untrained wild animals.

Eli Roth

The actor and director was nearly incinerated during the fire in the theater scene of ‘Inglourious Basterds’. The flames spread faster than anticipated and the temperature on the platform reached dangerous levels. The floor began to collapse under him and his co-star as the structural steel melted. Fire crews doused them with foam just seconds before the platform gave way completely.

Malcolm McDowell

His eyes were clamped open for long periods during the Ludovico technique scene in ‘A Clockwork Orange’. The clamps scratched his corneas and caused temporary blindness and extreme pain. He also suffered cracked ribs during the stage show scene when he was stomped on by another actor. A breathing apparatus malfunction in the water trough scene nearly caused him to drown as well.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

He nearly died on the set of ‘The 6th Day’ while filming an underwater sequence. He swam to the spot where he was supposed to breathe air from a hidden tank but the tank was empty. He realized he was trapped underwater without air and had to scramble to the surface. A stunt diver grabbed him and pulled him up just as he was beginning to black out.

Jaimie Alexander

She slipped on a metal staircase while filming ‘Thor: The Dark World’ in wet conditions. The fall caused a slipped disc in her thoracic spine and chipped eleven of her vertebrae. Her left shoulder was dislocated and she tore a rhomboid muscle on her right side. The injury nearly paralyzed her and required intense physical therapy for a full month.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

The actor crashed into the back of a taxi cab while filming the bicycle movie ‘Premium Rush’. He went through the rear windshield of the car and slashed his arm open on the shattered glass. The cut severed a vein and required thirty-one stitches to close the wound. He continued filming despite the heavy blood loss and shock from the impact.

Kevin Costner

He was nearly killed while filming ‘Waterworld’ when a squall hit the massive trimaran set. The actor was strapped to the mast of the boat and could not unhook himself as the winds picked up. The boat began to swing violently and nearly crushed him against the rigging. A stunt coordinator had to climb up and cut him loose before the storm worsened.

Carrie Fisher

She choked on a Brussels sprout while filming inside the Blues Mobile for ‘The Blues Brothers’. Her co-star Dan Aykroyd noticed she was struggling to breathe and performed the Heimlich maneuver. The force of his thrust dislodged the vegetable and allowed her to breathe again. She later joked that the comedian saved her life with the maneuver.

Buster Keaton

The silent film star broke his neck while filming a scene for ‘Sherlock Jr.’ involving a water tower. The water pressure from the spout knocked him onto the railroad tracks below and his neck hit a steel rail. He did not realize he had fractured a vertebra until years later during a routine x-ray. He suffered from severe migraines for years but continued to perform his own dangerous stunts.

Daniel Day-Lewis

He refused to wear a warmer coat while filming ‘Gangs of New York’ to stay in character. The actor developed pneumonia and his temperature spiked to dangerous levels during the winter shoot. He initially refused antibiotics because they were not historically accurate to the period. Doctors eventually forced him to take the medicine by warning him that he would die without it.

Hilary Swank

She suffered from mercury poisoning while preparing for her role in ‘Million Dollar Baby’. The actress had to consume a massive amount of fish to gain muscle mass for the boxing film. Her blisteringly high mercury levels caused her heart rate to drop dangerously low. She kept the condition secret from the director to ensure she would not be replaced.

Michelle Yeoh

She attempted a dangerous jump from a van onto a moving convertible for the movie ‘Supercop’. The actress slipped during the landing and rolled off the car into oncoming traffic. A stunt driver in a following car had to swerve sharply to avoid running her over. She survived with minor injuries but the near-miss is included in the outtakes of the film.

Amitabh Bachchan

The Bollywood superstar suffered a near-fatal intestinal injury during a fight scene in ‘Coolie’. He was thrown against a table and the corner ruptured his spleen and intestines. He remained in a coma for several days and was declared clinically dead for a few minutes. The entire nation of India prayed for his recovery and the film’s ending was changed to save his character.

Kristin Chenoweth

A piece of lighting equipment fell from the ceiling on the set of ‘The Good Wife’ and struck her. The impact fractured her skull and cracked her nose and ribs. She was knocked unconscious and slammed her head against the concrete floor. It took her months to recover from the brain injury and she had to leave the show permanently.

Drew Barrymore

She suffered a severe concussion while filming the pilot episode of ‘Santa Clarita Diet’. The actress attempted to jump on a mesmerizing actor’s back but slipped and hit her head on the concrete. Paramedics were called immediately as she began to vomit and lose coordination. She spent two days in the hospital undergoing tests for brain bleeding and trauma.

Ryan Reynolds

The actor suffered from severe claustrophobia while filming inside a wooden coffin for the movie ‘Buried’. The confined space filled with sand as part of the scene and he began to panic for real. He passed out from the lack of oxygen and the extreme heat inside the box. The crew had to pull him out to revive him before they could continue filming.

Anne Hathaway

She nearly drowned in a riptide while filming a beach scene for a movie in Hawaii. The current pulled her out to sea and she began screaming for help as she went under. A surfer nearby heard her cries and paddled over to rescue her from the waves. She suffered a scraped foot on the coral but was otherwise unharmed.

Idris Elba

He slipped near a waterfall while filming ‘Beasts of No Nation’ in Ghana. The actor leaned against a tree that turned out to be loose and he tumbled toward a hundred-foot drop. A safety ridge caught his fall just before he went over the edge of the cliff. The production team was shaken by how close the leading actor came to a fatal fall.

Tell us which of these on-set survival stories shocked you the most in the comments.