Actors and actresses always go above and beyond the call of duty when filming a movie and there have been countless tales of many a crazy actor risking life and limb for the art of cinema. You just need to look no further than Tom Cruise’s death deifying antics on that Qatar skyscraper in Mission: Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol to see how far even the most comfortably richest of Hollywood talent will look the grim reaper dead in the eye for the sake of a scene.
Often of course, this can lead to serious accidents during filming, which nevertheless makes for an entertaining read for us mere mortals to scoff at while living our own boring workaday lives, but obviously a worry for the people involved.
While jealousy may be the real reason we take so much joy at the misfortune of the rich and famous, who doesn’t like finding out what really goes on behind the scenes that we don’t hear about with film-making?
We admire enough actors and actresses for doing their own stunts and putting their body on the line when it all goes well, so why shouldn’t we see the proverbial bloopers?
Here are six actors or actresses who have thankfully survived almost-fatal accidents during filming this year’s biggest films. In no particular order of severity, but all equally entertaining, I present to you danger, humour, and horror intertwined.
Lets Start off with Number 6!
6. Jaimie Alexander
Slips Off Metal Staircase & Receives Shopping List Of Horrific Injuries Filming Thor: The Dark World
Based on the title of the film, you’ll see in a minute why this accident is slightly ironic. The beautiful and fearless Jaimie Alexander risked disfiguring herself permanently when filming the new Thor film this year. The 29-year old actress took a mighty fall when slipping off a metal staircase during a rain-beaten set.
While you’d expect many of these accidents to happen while attempting a stunt of some kind, it comes as a shock to see the actress sustaining this injury off-film and while merely walking on a staircase.
‘It was raining, it was dark outside, it was like five in the morning — and I went down a metal staircase and slipped. It took me out of filming for a month’ – Jaimie said in an interview with the New York Post. Dark World, dark outside… see what was meant? Never mind.
As a result of the fall, the actress sustained multiple injuries and was lucky she didn’t do herself any permanent damage. Jaimie slipped a disc in her spine, chipped 11 of her vertebrae, and dislocated her left shoulder – while also tearing a rhomboid on her left side. A shopping list of horrific injuries for the poor woman, but she recovered and is now back to her usual self thankfully. It could have been much, much worse for the actress, but shows how the simplest task of walking down metal stairs, albeit wet ones, can almost be fatal. Health and safety may well be the name of the next Thor film.
As expected, her loyal fans were devastated to hear the news as it broke, and sent many messages of well-wishes via social networking sites. She tweeted details of her recovery process on a day-by-day basis, and finally ended with ‘I’m walking in heels again. That’s a good sign’. Marvellous.
5. John Abraham
Is Shot By Wadala Co-Star During Filming
Again the name is riddled with badly-timed irony, but this incident is even more serious than the first. John Abraham, a Bollywood actor, was nearly killed on set after being shot by his co-star. What a great way to build a working relationship.
The incident happened while on set filming a shooting scene between co-star Anil Kapoor and John Abraham. Kapoor was originally meant to shoot a blank bullet at Abraham from a distance of 15 feet. However, reports suggested the bullet was fired from just one-and-a-half metres away.
This occurred because the team who were in charge of making sure the gunfire scene went off okay made a monumental cock-up. Nobody informed either person that the shot was being fired far too close, ergo it went ahead and nearly killed the actor.
Being fired so close meant the shot that burst into flames saw Abraham suffering far more intensity than he would have done if the shot was taken further away. It was only thanks to bad aim that the shot only hit the side of Abraham’s neck and didn’t hit the middle or it could well have been fatal.
Nevertheless, the momentum floored the Bollywood actor initially who later said ‘Everything happened in the heat of the moment. Nobody expected the intensity and the velocity of those blank bullets. I should have checked the gun.’ Truly terrifying, and miraculous he’s still alive. The scene was never retaken, and it’s believed they used the footage showing Abraham nearly dying from the shot. A tender moment.
4. Isla Fisher
Almost Drowns Filming Now You See Me (And Crew Just Think It's Great Acting)
Actress Isla Fisher was close to drowning while filming a scene for Now You See Me and was very lucky she came out of it relatively unscathed. The 37-year old was filming a magic-trick scene when she found herself stuck underwater for around three minutes as a chain was caught, subsequently keeping her there.
‘My chain got stuck. I had to really swim to the bottom; I couldn’t get up. Everyone thought I was acting fabulously. I was actually drowning. No one realised I was actually struggling.’ – she said.
Fisher, who is married to Sascha Baron Cohen, managed to free herself using a quick-release switch, and a stuntman who was nearby also aided her in the escape. A rather terrifying ordeal that would make many a little gun-shy about wanting to complete that scene – or at least pass it on to a stunt double.
She revealed it was her first near-death experience, but oddly enough wasn’t exactly in celebratory mood for such a landmark – nor does the former Home and Away star wish for a second.
You can see the final version of the scene they went with for the movie below and see if it was all worth it
3. Jason Statham
Nearly Drowns Filming The Expendables 3
Bald-headed movie hard-man Jason Statham, who is 46 years of age amazingly, came close to having a fatal accident while on set of The Expendables 3. Statham had a potential drowning situation when working on a scene. The English actor was driving a truck when the brakes failed to work and saw him subsequently drive into the Black Sea.
‘We’re doing a stunt and Jason was driving the truck. But the truck doesn’t stop and it goes over the dock, into the Black Sea with Jason driving. He’s in the water, in the truck. Now we are freaking out, everybody’s screaming. He gets out, swims to the top, and the truck is gone. Jason Statham is a true bad, bad dude.’- Co-star Terry Crews said.
It sounds like a typical story in an action movie, but this time it was completely real. While many people would panic in Statham’s situation, the 46-year old does have a reputation for being a genuine tough guy who laughs in the face of danger. Considering how the Transporter star got himself out of the submerged truck and swam to the top, it certainly highlights how he fit’s the bill perfectly regarding the genre of films he makes.
If only his crewmate wasn’t shouting ‘Jason!’ during the incident, it may have been a very interesting piece of footage to consider using on the film – if not incredibly tasteless, while completely underplaying the seriousness of the accident. Nevertheless, Statham was completely fine after the palaver, and it’s unlikely a man so used to on-set injuries will be fretting about this – considering the nonchalant nature of his escape.
2. Halle Berry
Smacks Head First Onto Concrete Fall And Knocked Out Cold Filming The Call
Thank goodness the exquisite Halle Berry is alive after suffering what could have been a very serious head injury on set. The woman with the most seductive walk in Hollywood was shooting a fight sequence (no, not in a mud-pit) for The Hive (aka The Call) and ended up falling and hitting her head against a concrete floor with some gusto.
Halle was knocked out cold by the fall and the set was closed down for the day as a result. It’s not the first time the actress has been involved in on-set injuries – breaking her foot and arm, while suffering an eye injury while filming too. Not to mention breaking my heart on a number of occasions.
Her fans and admirers would be obviously worried the perfectly proportioned face of Halle could have been tarnished by the accident, but after being rushed to Cedar-Sinai Medical Centre it turned out to be nothing too serious.
Certainly proving some fight scenes are definitely more real than they appear. The co-star fighting with Halle Berry would have surely been fearing the worst, but after hearing she has sustained no lasting injuries, would have breathed a sigh of relief, before being sued their ass off subsequently ending their career in the performing arts – I’m kidding, of course.
1. Johnny Depp's
Life Hung In The Balance As Horse Drags Him 25 Yards In The Lone Ranger
Popular A-list actor Johnny Deep was very close to being killed or seriously disfigured and subsequently unrecognizable after a stunt during filming went greatly wrong and could have been fatal for the 50-year old. Depp was riding a horse named Scout when the saddle came loose and he was thrown from the reigns – left barely hanging on while being dragged 25 yards.
‘My horse had it in for me. Scout decided to jump over a few obstacles. I was still holding on to the mane like an idiot trying to get back up and at a certain point you have to make a decision, do I go down and hit the deck on my own? Or do I wait for the hoof to split my face in two? I decided to go down and, incredibly, the horse lifted its front legs and he missed me.’ – said Johhny Depp.
The Pirates of the Caribbean star was incredibly lucky he wasn’t greatly harmed from the incident as a horse’s legs are incredibly powerful and can be fatal when trampling a human being. Not to mention the terrifying prospect of being dragged 25 yards over any harsh terrain at the time. It’s not his first brush with death either as Depp survived a plane crash in 2011 while filming The Rum Diary.
The 2005 film SALAAM NAMASTE is credited for making the idea of live-in popular in India. It’s been nearly 14 years since the film released and although live-in is a known concept by now and we have also had a few more films on this topic, it’s still considered a taboo in many places, including in some progressive urban areas of the country. Hence, to show a couple living-in in a small Uttar Pradesh town secretly can make for a fun and entertaining watch. Cinematographer-turned-director Laxman Utekar's debut Hindi film LUKA CHUPPI explores this aspect. Moreover, it stars Kartik Aaryan and this is the actor’s first film after the much loved and successful flick SONU KE TITU KI SWEETY. So does LUKA CHUPPI manage to provide entertainment in abundance? Or does it fail in its endeavour? Let’s analyse. LUKA CHUPPI is the story of a couple living-in with their family. Superstar Nazim Khan (Abhinav Shukla) gets into a controversy when it comes to light that he is living-in with his girlfriend and is unapologetic about it. The moral police come out in full force to protest against his 'indecent' act. One such organisation is Rashtriya Sanskriti Manch and in Mathura, it is led by Vishnu Trivedi (Vinay Pathak). His daughter is Rashmi (Kriti Sanon) and she joins a local news channel after completing her media studies in Delhi. Here she bumps into Guddu (Kartik Aaryan) and both fall in love. After a fight with his elder unmarried brother Vikas (Himanshu Kohli) and brother in law Babulal (Pankaj Tripathi), he decides to tie the knot ASAP.
