There is nothing like the rush you feel from seeing a genuine stunt performed in a film, particularly when it’s the star doing it. These flash moments of shock come at a price, though: actual cuts and bruises, and a few occasions in the ambulance. These are the actors who crossed the line and put their bodies on the line for the films.
10. Natalie Portman’s Rib Injury during Black Swan
Natalie Portman had to pay a very bitter price to play a prima ballerina. During the filming of a lift in Black Swan, she hurt her rib; one bone was entirely on top of the other. The pain was so excruciating that the scene when her character is examined by a physical therapist actually stemmed from her actual injury. Portman never broke character for an instant; therefore, the line between acting and feeling was very thin.
9. Daniel Craig’s Tooth Trouble in Casino Royale
James Bond might be indestructible, but Daniel Craig isn’t. While filming a vicious fight sequence in Casino Royale, Craig was actually struck, and two of his front teeth were shattered. The filmmakers rushed him to London to get emergency dental repairs, and he wore a mouthguard for the remainder of the shoot. The result? Some of the most realistic fight scenes of the Bond series, along with real pain.
8. Dylan O’Brien’s On-Set Crash That Could Have Ended His Career
Dylan O’Brien’s on-set accident might have put an end to his acting career. While filming a complex stunt for the film, he was pulled out of a moving vehicle and struck by another car, with multiple fractures to the face and a concussion. A bout of reconstructive surgery and a few months’ worth of rehab were required, but O’Brien came back to complete the movie. His comeback was nothing less than heroic.
7. Margaret Hamilton’s Burns in The Wizard of Oz
Poor old Hollywood wasn’t the most safety-aware of places. Margaret Hamilton, Wicked Witch of the West, was severely burned during a pyrotechnics-gone-bad stage exit. A failed trapdoor led her to be engulfed in fire that left her with second-degree burns on her hands and face. Six weeks passed before Hamilton healed enough to return and finish up her scenes—with green makeup.
6. Halle Berry’s Broken Ribs in Bruised
Halle Berry didn’t just play an MMA fighter in her directorial debut, Bruised—she even got hit on her body. During the case, while filming a fight scene with UFC champion Valentina Shevchenko, Berry broke two ribs. She chose to go on with the shoot, completing the film in her injured, yet very determined, state of mind instead of production shutting down. If that is not a definition of total commitment, then what is?
5. Michelle Yeoh’s Torn ACL in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Besides being a daredevil when it comes to stunts, Michelle Yeoh’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was her breaking point. She even tore her ACL during the movie’s gorgeous rooftop chase, and ultimately ended up needing surgery and several months of rehab. Yeoh returned to complete the shoot, and she spent much of her time on set wearing a leg brace under her costume. Her dedication really made the movie have much more gravitas and intensity, which was even apparent in the movie’s theme of beauty and power.
4. Sylvester Stallone’s Heart Injury in Rocky IV
In the course of performing the boxing scene for Rocky IV, Sylvester Stallone instructed co-star Dolph Lundgren to punch him in reality. On an extremely unfortunate twist of fate, one of the punches was so powerful that it inflamed Stallone’s heart, really just like what occurs when one experiences a car accident. He was seriously ill and spent a couple of days in intensive care, but the incident was real enough to be retained in the film.
3. Brad Pitt’s Hand Injury in Se7en
In the shooting of a dramatic car chase sequence in Se7en, Brad Pitt, the star actor of the film, slipped and, in a desperate attempt to arrest his fall, he punched the window of the car. Fortunately for him, the glass was razor-sharp, and in turn, it sliced through his hand, and in a deep cut requiring suturing. The director, David Finch, treated the accident as a blessing in disguise and chose to proceed with the shoot, working the injury into the script, thereby the bandaged hand became the character’s appearance. What one observes is an undetectable blending of a true event with fiction.
2. Tom Cruise’s Broken Ankle in Mission: Impossible – Fallout
Tom Cruise’s personal rule of doing his own stunts is the stuff of myths, but it finally caught up with him on Fallout. In jumping from one roof to another, he miscalculated the space and landed splat on a wall, injuring his ankle in the process. Shooting was delayed for nine weeks as he recuperated—but in typical fashion, Cruise came back to finish the scene on his own. The take where he hurts himself actually makes it into the movie.
1. Jackie Chan: The Greatest Stunt Legend
Few performers have sacrificed as much personally on behalf of their craft as Jackie Chan. For decades of doing his own death-defying stunts, Chan has broken virtually every bone, endured humanly possible skull fractures, spinal injuries, dislocated shoulders, and even had his brain opened up after a fall out of a tree. His commitment to practical stunts has earned him a worldwide legendary status and a walking scar tissue of healed wounds.
From blacked-out eyes to broken limbs, these performers demonstrated that movie magic sometimes takes an extremely real cost. Their injuries are part of film history—a reminder that the greatest action sequences oftentimes derive from performances without fear and a little too much devotion.