Top 10 Actors and Actresses Who Nearly Died On Set

Many actors and actresses have gotten hurt during production, but were fortunately lucky enough to survive. The following are stars who were nearly killed after on set accidents.
The Top Ten
1 Tom Hanks (Cast Away) Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his roles in Splash, Big, Turner & Hooch, Philadelphia, Forrest Gump, Apollo 13, Saving Private Ryan, You've Got Mail, The Green Mile, the Toy Story Franchise, Cast Away, The Da Vinci Code, Captain Phillips,... read more

Tom Hanks suffered a cut on his leg on the set of the film, which quickly became infected and swelled for two weeks. He went to see a doctor, and it turned out he had a life-threatening staph infection. The cut could have poisoned his blood and killed him.

That's the reason I didn't become an actor. It isn't safe, man.

2 Johnny Depp (The Lone Ranger) John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor, producer, and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor... read more

During one horseback-riding scene, Depp's saddle slipped, causing the actor to slowly start sliding to the side and eventually fall off onto the ground. Luckily, the horse lifted its front legs and went over Depp, but unfortunately, its back leg bruised the actor's torso.

Oh! I remember that blooper. It looked like it would have hurt.

3 Jackie Chan (Armour of God) Chan Kong-sang known professionally as Jackie Chan, is a Hong Kong martial artist, actor, film director, producer, stuntman, and singer. He is known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of improvised weapons, and innovative stunts, which he typically performs himself, in the cinematic... read more

The actor is known for performing his own stunts, but during one particular stunt, he had to jump from a wall toward a branch. He missed the branch, landed hard, and hit his head on a rock. He sustained an injury so severe it required surgery to remove a piece of his skull, which was lodged in his brain.

Jackie Chan could fill this list by himself.

4 Tom Cruise (The Last Samurai) Thomas Cruise Mapother IV is an American actor and producer. He has received various accolades for his work, including three Golden Globe Awards and three nominations for Academy Awards. He is one of the highest-paid actors in the world.

In one scene, Tom Cruise and his Japanese co-star Hiroyuki Sanada were seated on mechanical horses for a sword fight, but unfortunately, the machinery malfunctioned. This caused Sanada to lose control of his weapon. Thanks to Sanada's martial arts skills, he was able to stop the sword one inch away from Cruise's neck.

5 Michael J. Fox (Back to the Future III) Michael Andrew Fox, known as Michael J. Fox, is a Canadian-American actor, author, producer, and activist. Michael is best known for his roles as Marty McFly, from the Back to the Future trilogy and Alex P Keaton, from Family Ties.

In the scene where Michael J. Fox's character Marty McFly is being captured and hung with a noose by "Mad Dog" Tannen and his gang, the actor was actually being hung. Initially, Fox performed the scene while standing on a box, but it just didn't look convincing enough. So, he did one take without it and passed out for half a minute.

What they did to Michael J. Fox should have been illegal. They should have made a lifelike dummy.

6 Margaret Hamilton (The Wizard of Oz)

Throughout the film, Margaret Hamilton's character would often disappear in a cloud of smoke. However, during the filming of one such scene, this went horribly wrong. The trap door she was supposed to escape through (before fiery jets were turned on) wouldn't open, leaving the actress to suffer second-degree burns on her face and third-degree burns on her hand.

I think I heard about this. That would be horrible.

7 Isla Fisher (Now You See Me) Isla Lang Fisher is an Omani born Australian actress. Born to Scottish parents in Oman, she moved to Australia at age 6. She appeared on the children's adventure series Bay Cove and the short-lived soap opera Paradise Beach, before playing Shannon Reed on the soap opera Home and Away.

During a scene where Isla Fisher's character performs a trick in which she makes a grand escape in a water tank while being handcuffed, her being stuck wasn't actually an act. She tried banging on the glass to get the cast and crew's attention, but since it was what her character was supposed to be doing, they all just assumed it was good acting. Thankfully, she was able to free herself before she could drown.

8 Jaimie Alexander (Thor: The Dark World)

After tripping over a rain-soaked metal staircase, Jaimie Alexander was left badly injured, with injuries that almost left her paralyzed. According to her, she herniated a disk in her thoracic spine, dislocated her left shoulder, tore her right rhomboid, and chipped eleven of her vertebrae.

9 Charlize Theron (Æon Flux) Charlize Theron is a South African and American actress, film producer, and model. She has received several accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and the Silver Bear for Best Actress... read more

While performing a backflip, the actress accidentally landed on her neck, nearly damaging her spinal cord. According to Theron, she was "almost paralyzed." The injury required six weeks of physical therapy.

Glad she's still alive. One of my favorite actresses.

With all the action she did in Atomic Blonde, it seems she's in good health. That's great.

10 George Clooney (Syriana) George Timothy Clooney is an American actor, filmmaker and activist. He has received three Golden Globe Awards for his work as an actor and two Academy Awards, one for acting and the other for producing.

During the film's torture scene, the chair George Clooney was tied to was pushed over, causing him to hit his head and crack open his skull. The injury left him so badly damaged that spinal fluid was leaking from his nose. Clooney even contemplated suicide at one point. Thankfully, he was able to receive proper treatment.

The Contenders
11 Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant) Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio (born November 11, 1974) is an American actor and film producer. Known for his work in biopics and period films, he is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and three Golden Globe Awards. As of 2019, his films have grossed... read more

Leonardo DiCaprio had to risk getting hypothermia since he had to work in frozen rivers for the film.

12 Sylvester Stallone (Rocky IV) Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone is an American actor, film director, screenwriter, and producer.

Sylvester Stallone asked his co-star to punch him as hard as he could. However, when the co-star did as instructed, Stallone's heart was injured. The damage was severe enough that he was hospitalized for over a week.

13 Bob Hoskins (Super Mario Bros.)

Bob Hoskins was injured several times during the production of Super Mario Bros. According to the actor, he was stabbed four times, electrocuted, broke a finger, and nearly drowned.

14 Ed Harris (The Abyss) Edward Allen Harris is an American actor, producer, director, and screenwriter. His performances in Apollo 13, The Truman Show, Pollock and The Hours earned him critical acclaim in addition to Academy Award nominations.

In one scene, Ed Harris' character was supposed to run out of air. However, the actor actually was running out of air. During the scene, Ed Harris' oxygen tank ran out unexpectedly, leaving him gasping for air. As a result, Ed almost drowned, and he later punched director James Cameron in the face out of frustration.

15 Daniel Day-Lewis (Gangs of New York) Sir Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis is an English actor. He holds both British and Irish citizenship. He has won 3 Academy Awards for Best Actor for My Left Foot, There Will be Blood, and Lincoln.
16 Jason Statham (The Expendables 3) Jason Statham is an English actor. He is known for his roles in the Guy Ritchie crime films Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, and Revolver.

While filming a stunt for the film, the brakes of the truck Jason Statham was driving failed, causing the vehicle to crash into the sea. Thankfully, as it careened into the water, the actor was able to escape and jump out of the truck in time.

17 Halle Berry (The Call) Halle Maria Berry is an American actress. Berry won the 2002 Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the romantic drama Monster's Ball. As of 2018, she is the only black woman to have won the award.

When filming a fight scene, the actress slipped and hit her head on a concrete floor, knocking herself out. She was rushed to the hospital, and fortunately, made a speedy recovery.

18 Diane Kruger (Inglourious Basterds) Diane Kruger is a German-American actress and former fashion model. She is well known for her roles in National Treasure, Troy, and Inglourious Basterds.

In the choking scene with Hans Landa, she almost died due to lack of air.

19 Gunnar Hansen (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre) Gunnar Milton Hansen was an Icelandic-born American actor and author best known for playing the mentally impaired cannibal Leatherface in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
20 Jim Caviezel (The Passion of the Christ)
21 Kurt Russell (The Thing) Kurt Vogel Russell is an American actor. He began acting on television at the age of 12 in the western series The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters. In the late 1960s, he signed a ten-year contract with The Walt Disney Company where, according to Robert Osborne, he became the studio's top star of the 1970s... read more
22 Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2) Jennifer Shrader Lawrence is an American actress. Lawrence began her career in television, playing her first major role as a main cast member on the TBS sitcom The Bill Engvall Show... read more
23 Eli Wallach (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly) Eli Herschel Wallach was an American film, television and stage actor whose career spanned more than six decades, beginning in the late 1940s.
24 Viggo Mortensen (The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers) Viggo Peter Mortensen Jr. is an American actor, author, musician, photographer, poet, and painter. Born in the State of New York to a Danish father and American mother, he lived in Argentina during his childhood. He is the recipient of various accolades including a Screen Actors Guild Award and has... read more
25 Brendan Fraser (The Mummy) Brendan James Fraser is a Canadian-American actor. He played Rick O'Connell in The Mummy trilogy, and is known for his comedy and fantasy leading roles in films, such as Encino Man, The Scout, George of the Jungle, Bedazzled, Looney Tunes: Back in Action, Journey to the Center of the Earth, and Inkheart... read more
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