Stars Who Almost Died While Performing Their Own Stunts

Action movies often require actors to push their physical limits to capture the perfect shot. While safety protocols are usually strict, accidents can happen that put major stars in life-threatening situations. Some of these incidents occurred due to equipment failure while others were the result of unpredictable stunt conditions. The following list highlights actors who narrowly escaped death while filming dangerous sequences.

Jackie Chan

This legendary martial artist sustained the worst injury of his career while filming ‘Armour of God’. He jumped from a castle wall to a nearby tree branch that unexpectedly snapped upon impact. The fall caused his skull to crack and sent a piece of bone penetrating into his brain tissue. He required immediate brain surgery to survive the accident and now bears a permanent plastic plug in his skull.

Tom Cruise

The veteran action star faced a terrifying moment on the set of ‘The Last Samurai’ during a sword fighting sequence. A mechanical horse malfunctioned and caused a real steel blade to swing inches from his neck. His co-star managed to stop the weapon just before it made fatal contact with his jugular. Cruise continues to perform death-defying stunts despite this close call early in his career.

Jason Statham

Statham faced a near-drowning incident while filming ‘The Expendables 3’ in Bulgaria. The truck he was driving suffered a complete brake failure and plunged off a cliff into the Black Sea. He was forced to escape the sinking vehicle while still strapped into his harness underwater. His past experience as an Olympic diver likely helped him stay calm and swim to safety.

Isla Fisher

The actress nearly drowned in front of a live audience of extras while filming a magic trick for ‘Now You See Me’. Her safety chain became stuck during a water tank escape scene and prevented her from surfacing. The cast and crew initially thought her desperate struggles were just part of her brilliant acting performance. A stunt coordinator eventually realized she was in actual distress and triggered the emergency release.

Michael J. Fox

Filming ‘Back to the Future Part III’ involved a scene where his character is hanged by an outlaw gang. Fox agreed to remove the box from under his feet to make the struggle look more realistic. He miscalculated the timing and effectively cut off his airflow for several seconds. The director realized he was unconscious only when he failed to respond to a cue.

Brendan Fraser

Fraser experienced a similar hanging accident while shooting a prison execution scene for ‘The Mummy’. The rope around his neck was pulled too tight during a take and cut off his circulation completely. He lost consciousness and had to be resuscitated by emergency medical staff on the set. The actor later stated that he woke up with gravel in his ear and a severe headache.

Charlize Theron

Theron suffered a serious spinal injury while performing a backflip for the sci-fi action film ‘Aeon Flux’. She landed awkwardly on her neck and came dangerously close to partial paralysis. The production shut down for several weeks while she underwent corrective surgery and physical therapy. She has since relied more on stunt doubles for acrobatic maneuvers to protect her spine.

George Clooney

Clooney suffered a debilitating spinal injury while filming a torture scene for the thriller ‘Syriana’. He hit his head during a stunt and tore his dura mater which caused spinal fluid to leak. The pain was so intense that he contemplated suicide before undergoing a successful surgery. He still experiences occasional pain from the incident years later.

Sylvester Stallone

Stallone insisted on trading real punches with Dolph Lundgren to increase the intensity of ‘Rocky IV’. One powerful blow to his chest caused his heart to slam against his breastbone and swell. He was flown to a hospital in critical condition and spent over a week in intensive care. Doctors compared the trauma to injuries typically seen in head-on car collisions.

Dylan O’Brien

The young actor suffered severe injuries while performing a vehicle stunt for ‘Maze Runner: The Death Cure’. He was pulled from one vehicle and struck by another car while filming a high-speed chase sequence. He suffered a concussion and facial fractures that required months of reconstructive surgery. The production was halted indefinitely until he made a full recovery.

Uma Thurman

Thurman was injured on the set of ‘Kill Bill: Vol. 2’ after being pressured to drive a faulty convertible. The car drifted off the road and slammed into a palm tree at a considerable speed. She suffered a concussion and permanent damage to her knees and neck from the impact. The footage of the crash was later released and showed her slumped motionless in the driver’s seat.

Viggo Mortensen

Mortensen nearly drowned while filming a river sequence for ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers’. The weight of his armor pulled him underwater when a current swept him off his feet. He was trapped beneath the surface for several seconds before managing to kick himself back up. The production team had safety divers nearby but the current moved him too fast for them to reach him immediately.

Ed Harris

Harris experienced a terrifying moment while filming the underwater thriller ‘The Abyss’. He ran out of air during a deep tank scene and signaled for a safety diver who was not immediately available. Another crew member offered a regulator that was accidentally installed upside down and caused him to inhale water. He reportedly punched the director afterward due to the extreme physical and mental strain.

Johnny Depp

Depp was thrown from his horse while filming a chase scene for ‘The Lone Ranger’. The saddle slipped and caused him to fall directly in the path of the galloping animal. He was trampled and dragged for several yards before the horse jumped over him. A hoof struck his chest but he miraculously escaped with only minor bruising.

Gerard Butler

Butler was held underwater by a massive wave while filming the surfing drama ‘Chasing Mavericks’. He was pulled under for nearly a minute and washed through a dangerous reef area. Safety patrols had to rescue him on a jet ski and rush him to a local hospital. He later described the experience as a near-death encounter that shook him deeply.

Jennifer Lawrence

The actress nearly suffocated while filming a tunnel sequence for ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1’. A fog machine malfunctioned and filled the enclosed space with thick smoke that cut off oxygen. The crew lost sight of her until rescue teams managed to pull her out coughing and gasping for air. Production paused for several days to ensure the ventilation systems were safe.

Margaret Hamilton

The actress playing the Wicked Witch in ‘The Wizard of Oz’ was severely burned during her fiery exit scene. The trap door mechanism failed to drop her fast enough before the pyrotechnics detonated. She suffered second and third-degree burns on her hands and face. She required weeks of recovery before returning to the set with protective gloves.

Jim Caviezel

Caviezel was struck by lightning while filming the Sermon on the Mount scene for ‘The Passion of the Christ’. Witnesses saw fire coming from his head and smoke rising from his ears after the strike. He also suffered from hypothermia and pneumonia during the grueling production schedule. The actor later underwent open-heart surgery due to the physical toll the role took on his body.

Aaron Paul

A large boulder fell from a cliff face and crushed the exact spot where Paul had been standing seconds earlier. He was filming a scene for ‘Breaking Bad’ when he asked the director if he could move to a different position. The massive rock landed on his chair and destroyed it completely. The cast and crew were shaken by how close the actor came to being crushed.

Matthew Fox

Fox was stabbed with a real knife during a fight scene for the final season of ‘Lost’. The prop master accidentally swapped the retractable knife with a real blade for the stunt. His co-star stabbed him but a protective vest prevented the blade from penetrating his chest. He suffered severe bruising and the realization that the mistake could have been fatal.

Diane Kruger

Quentin Tarantino personally strangled Kruger for a scene in ‘Inglourious Basterds’ to get a realistic reaction. The director applied too much pressure and cut off her oxygen supply for too long. She lost consciousness and collapsed on the floor before he released his grip. The final take used in the movie shows her genuine struggle for air.

Kate Winslet

Winslet developed severe pneumonia and nearly drowned during the production of ‘Titanic’. Her heavy coat snagged on a gate while she was submerged in a tank of freezing water. She had to struggle free from the garment while running out of breath underwater. She almost quit the production due to the dangerous working conditions and illness.

Ruby Rose

Rose suffered a serious neck injury while performing stunts for the TV series ‘Batwoman’. She herniated two discs that came close to severing her spinal cord. Emergency surgery was required to prevent permanent paralysis. She documented the surgery and her recovery on social media to show the risks of stunt work.

Chevy Chase

Chase was electrocuted while filming ‘Modern Problems’ in a suit covered with landing lights. The electrical current short-circuited and surged through his body causing him to lose consciousness. He had a near-death experience and suffered from deep depression afterward. The accident permanently altered his perspective on physical comedy and on-set safety.

Martin Lawrence

Lawrence collapsed from heat exhaustion while wearing a heavy latex suit for ‘Big Momma’s House’. The temperature inside the costume reached dangerous levels and caused him to slip into a three-day coma. Doctors had to use a respirator to help him breathe while his body temperature regulated. He made a full recovery but the incident delayed production significantly.

Jaimie Alexander

The actress suffered a slipped disc and chipped eleven vertebrae while filming ‘Thor: The Dark World’. She slipped on a metal staircase during a rain scene and fell from a significant height. The injury paralyzed her left side for a brief period and required extensive physical therapy. She was out of action for a month before she could return to finish her scenes.

Harrison Ford

Ford broke his leg and faced a risk of being crushed on the set of ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’. A hydraulic door on the Millennium Falcon set closed unexpectedly and pinned him to the floor. The force of the door was compared to the weight of a small car. The production was halted for weeks while the veteran actor recovered from surgery.

Justin Theroux

Theroux nearly drowned while filming an underwater scene for the HBO series ‘The Leftovers’. A diving regulator malfunctioned and he was unable to communicate with the safety divers. He struggled to swim to the surface while weighted down by his costume. The panic and lack of oxygen left him shaken for the remainder of the shoot.

Michelle Yeoh

Yeoh almost died while performing a motorcycle jump onto a moving train for ‘Supercop’. She overshot the landing and slid off the side of the train into oncoming traffic. Her co-star Jackie Chan tried to grab her but missed as she tumbled to the ground. She escaped with minor injuries and insisted on performing the stunt again successfully.

Burt Reynolds

Reynolds insisted on performing a canoe stunt over a waterfall for ‘Deliverance’ despite warnings. He hit a rock on the way down and shattered his tailbone. The current stripped his clothes off and trapped him in a whirlpool at the bottom. He later admitted that the stunt looked terrible on film despite the immense pain it caused.

Meryl Streep

Streep nearly drowned while filming a rafting sequence for ‘The River Wild’. She was thrown from the boat into the freezing water and swept away by the current. The director asked her to do the scene again but she refused due to exhaustion. She later stated that she was truly terrified for her life during the incident.

Eli Wallach

Wallach faced three separate near-death experiences while filming ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’. He was almost decapitated by a train step that severed the chain connecting him to a corpse. He also drank acid that was placed in a bottle by mistake. Another scene involved a horse bolting with his hands tied behind his back.

Bob Denver

Denver was nearly mauled by a lion while filming an episode of ‘Gilligan’s Island’. The animal lunged at him when the table he was standing on collapsed under his weight. The trainer managed to tackle the lion in mid-air just before it reached the actor. Denver refused to work with the animal again for the remainder of the series.

Kevin Costner

Costner was caught in a massive squall while tied to the mast of his trimaran in ‘Waterworld’. The crew had to evacuate the set and left him exposed to the elements for nearly half an hour. He was whipped around by high winds and nearly drowned in the crashing waves. The expensive trimaran almost capsized with the star still attached to it.

Buster Keaton

Keaton performed one of the most dangerous stunts in history for ‘Steamboat Bill, Jr.’. A two-ton building facade fell around him with only a small window opening to save him. He stood perfectly still as the heavy wall crashed down inches from his body. Even a slight movement would have resulted in him being crushed to death instantly.

Ellen Burstyn

Burstyn suffered a permanent spinal injury while filming ‘The Exorcist’. A stunt coordinator pulled her harness too hard during a scene where she is thrown across the room. She screamed in real pain which the director decided to keep in the final cut of the film. She has dealt with back issues ever since that specific day on set.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Gordon-Levitt crashed into the back of a taxi while filming ‘Premium Rush’ on a bicycle. He went through the rear windshield and sliced his arm open. The injury required thirty-one stitches to close the deep wound. He returned to the set shortly after to complete the filming despite the trauma.

Jeremy Renner

Renner fractured both of his elbows after falling twenty feet from a stack of chairs in ‘Tag’. The stunt rigging failed and sent him crashing to the ground. He realized something was wrong immediately but attempted to finish the scene. He later had to wear green screen casts on his arms so they could be digitally removed.

Tom Hanks

Hanks cut his leg while filming in Fiji for ‘Cast Away’ and ignored the wound initially. The cut became infected with staphylococcus and caused his leg to swell massively. Doctors told him he was close to blood poisoning that could have been fatal. Production halted for three weeks while he received intravenous antibiotics.

Malcolm McDowell

McDowell suffered temporary blindness and a scratched cornea while filming ‘A Clockwork Orange’. The metal clamps used to hold his eyes open during the Ludovico treatment scene caused severe damage. He also cracked a rib and nearly drowned in a water trough during another torture sequence. The physical abuse he endured on set is now infamous in cinema history.

Gunnar Hansen

Hansen wielded a real chainsaw while playing Leatherface in ‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’. He slipped on the muddy ground during a chase scene and the running saw flew out of his hands. The blade landed inches from his head as he lay on the ground. The low budget production could not afford safe props or stunt doubles.

Harold Lloyd

Lloyd lost his thumb and forefinger when a prop bomb exploded in his hand during a publicity shoot. He later climbed a skyscraper for ‘Safety Last!’ with a prosthetic glove covering his injury. He hung from a clock face high above the street with only one fully functional hand. The stunt remains one of the most iconic and dangerous images in silent film.

Tippi Hedren

Hedren was bitten on the neck by a lion while filming the movie ‘Roar’. The film featured dozens of untrained big cats that attacked the cast and crew repeatedly. She suffered a fracture to her leg and multiple scalp wounds that required surgery. The production is known as the most dangerous film shoot in history.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Schwarzenegger nearly drowned while filming a tank scene for the sci-fi movie ‘The 6th Day’. He was swimming underwater when the platform above him trapped him beneath the surface. He ran out of air and had to be pulled to safety by a quick-thinking stunt diver. The actor admitted it was one of the few times he felt genuine panic on a set.

Please share your thoughts on these terrifying close calls in the comments.