Let’s be real: nothing gets an audience more amped up than a show-stopping stunt. Explosions, bullet chases, and impossible bounds hook us on the screen. What gets lost in the fray is the real danger behind the lens. For every flawlessly performed action sequence, there’s a stunt person or sometimes the actor themselves putting it all on the line. And when it all goes wrong, the price is paid. Here are ten instances when film and television productions crossed the line, from death scares to tragedies that reshaped Hollywood history.
10. Dylan O’Brien’s Close Call – Maze Runner: The Death Cure
O’Brien had done many stunts before, but one scene on The Death Cure ended terribly. During the filming of a scene involving a moving car, he was hit and sustained serious injuries: a concussion, broken facial bones, and a brain injury. Production was suspended for almost a year, and his recuperation wasn’t merely physical; he confessed that the experience made him doubt whether he’d ever act again. The crash served as a wake-up call regarding the perils of pushing young stars into adrenaline-fueled action scenes.
9. Jackie Chan Skull Fracture – Armour of God
Jackie Chan is almost a genre in himself as far as stunts are concerned, but even he is not invincible. During a stunt in which he leapt off into a tree while filming Armour of God, the branches gave way, and he fell. He broke his skull, had emergency brain surgery, and still has a permanent hole in his head to show for it. Though he survived, it’s one of the most notorious examples of just how serious his stunt work is.
8. Isla Fisher’s Real-Life Struggle – Now You See Me
During a scene in which her character was chained up in a water tank, Fisher’s escape stunt turned horrifyingly real. Her chains were really wedged, and she found herself submerged for more than three minutes. She hit on the glass for assistance, but the crew merely believed she was giving an award-winning performance. She did escape just in time—but the experience was so realistic that some of the real footage ended up in the final cut.
7. Michael J. Fox’s Near-Hanging – Back to the Future Part III
To make a hanging scene realistic, Fox consented to do it without the use of a secret box for support. The risk did not pay off: one take left him unconscious, hanging from the rope. Director Robert Zemeckis quickly figured out he wasn’t acting and rushed to his rescue. Fox later confessed that he couldn’t pretend because he actually had been choking.
6. The Twilight Zone Helicopter Disaster
Few on-location accidents have caused as many repercussions as the tragedy of 1982’s Twilight Zone: The Movie. In a scene that called for explosions, a helicopter went into a tailspin and crashed, killing actor Vic Morrow and two children on the spot. Director John Landis and others were charged with manslaughter but acquitted. The catastrophe left indelible marks on Hollywood, provoking permanent changes in the way stunts and special effects are coordinated.
5. Brandon Lee’s Deadly Shooting – The Crow
What should have been an ordinary scene became one of the darkest moments in cinema history. Brandon Lee died after a prop gun malfunctioned, firing a fragment that hit him in the abdomen. He was 28. The eerie similarities with his father Bruce Lee’s premature death only added to the tragedy. The accident highlighted how deadly even “safe” guns can prove in the wrong hands.
4. The Rust Shooting
The 2021 on-set shooting during Rust filming was a sad reminder that Hollywood’s gun safety lessons had not yet been learned. Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun that fatally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza. The armorer for the film, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, was eventually convicted of involuntary manslaughter. The repercussions—lawsuits, penalties, and industrywide outrage—kept open questions about whether actual firearms should again be used in production.
3. Olivia Jackson’s Life-Changing Accident – Resident Evil: The Final Chapter
Stuntwoman Olivia Jackson’s life was shortened in the aftermath of a failed motorcycle stunt. She crashed into a piece of equipment, suffering devastating injuries, including the loss of her left arm. She finally succeeded in her court action against the production company, but the cost was high: her well-being and her career. Her case serves to indicate how stunt performers tend to bear enormous risks to provide spectacle.
2. John Bernecker’s Deadly Fall – The Walking Dead
Stuntman John Bernecker died after plummeting over 20 feet onto concrete during filming of the blockbuster TV series. Investigators deemed his death accidental, but his family claimed there were inadequate safety precautions and appealed to the court. Although a jury awarded millions in damages, the ruling was later overturned on appeal. The disaster underlined shortcomings in safeguarding stunt workers, even on big productions.
1. Lessons Learned—and Not Learned
With each tragedy, the industry says it transforms. And in large part, it has: nowadays, productions are subjected to tighter safety measures, set safety officers are standard issue, and stunts can cost as much as 15% of a film’s budget. But as recent accidents have shown, even the best planning can’t ensure disaster will be avoided. At the end of the day, the greatest reminder is this: no movie magic is worth human life.