Sylvester Stallone pushed things too far while filming Rocky IV in 1985. He told co-star Dolph Lundgren to actually hit him as hard as possible, and one brutal punch caused his rib cage to slam into his chest, leading to serious swelling around his heart. The damage was so severe that Stallone ended up spending nine days in intensive care. | © MGM
Brendan Fraser had a frightening moment while filming The Mummy in 1999. During a hanging scene, something went wrong, and he reportedly stopped breathing for real. Co-star Rachel Weisz later said he had to be resuscitated, turning what was meant to be a stunt into a genuinely life-threatening situation. | © Universal Pictures
Johnny Depp had a rough fall while shooting The Lone Ranger in 2013. He was thrown from a horse during a stunt, and the animal kept moving, trampling dangerously close to him on the ground. He later said he saw his life flash before his eyes, but somehow walked away with just bruises. | © Walt Disney Pictures
Tom Cruise’s stunt obsession nearly backfired again on the set of The Last Samurai in 2003. A mechanical horse rig malfunctioned mid-scene, throwing off the timing of a sword fight. His co-star Hiroyuki Sanada’s blade ended up just inches from Cruise’s neck, and for a moment, it was far more real than anyone planned. | © Warner Bros. Pictures
Jennifer Lawrence faced a real scare while filming The Hunger Games in 2012. During a scene where she had to run through a tunnel, a fog machine malfunctioned and filled the enclosed space with thick smoke. She struggled to breathe and had to get out quickly, coming dangerously close to suffocating. | © Lionsgate Films
Aaron Paul had a split-second brush with disaster during the first season of Breaking Bad in 2008. He asked to adjust his position for a scene, and moments later, a large boulder crashed down onto the exact spot where he had been standing. The near miss left him badly shaken and aware of how differently that day could have ended. | © Sony Pictures Television
Michael J. Fox had a terrifying accident while filming Back to the Future Part III in 1990. During a hanging scene, he insisted on performing it himself, but misjudged the position of his hand and actually began to choke. He lost consciousness before the crew realised something was wrong and cut him down just in time. | © Universal Studios
Daniel Day-Lewis took method acting to extremes while filming Gangs of New York in 2002. He refused to wear modern warm clothing between takes, insisting on staying true to the 19th-century setting, and ended up developing pneumonia. He even reportedly resisted taking contemporary medicine until doctors warned him that without treatment, he could die. | © Miramax Films
Jason Statham had a close call while filming The Expendables 3 in 2014. The brakes on a three-ton truck he was driving suddenly failed, leaving him unable to stop as it sped toward the water. He jumped out just seconds before the vehicle plunged into the Black Sea. | © Lionsgate Films
Ed Harris had a terrifying moment while shooting the underwater drama The Abyss in 1989. During one scene, his oxygen supply reportedly ran out before the cameras cut, leaving him genuinely gasping for air beneath the surface. The experience was so intense that rumors later spread he even confronted director James Cameron over how dangerously close it came. | © 20th Century Studios
Tom Cruise is known for loving high-risk stunts, but one Edge of Tomorrow moment nearly went very wrong. During a car chase scene, co-star Emily Blunt misjudged a turn and crashed straight into a tree while Cruise was in the passenger seat. She later joked that she almost killed him, but the crash was real and easily could have ended much worse. | © Warner Bros. Pictures
Charlize Theron pushed herself hard while filming Aeon Flux in 2005. During a backflip stunt, she landed on her neck and came frighteningly close to being paralyzed. The injury was serious enough that production shut down for nearly two months while she recovered. | © Paramount Pictures
Halle Berry took a hard hit while filming a fight scene for The Call in 2013. She slammed her head against a concrete floor and was knocked unconscious on set. It looked scary at the moment, but she recovered quickly and was back to work soon after. | © Sony Pictures Releasing
Tom Hanks went through a lot filming Cast Away, but the real danger wasn’t the isolation scenes. A small cut on his leg turned into a serious staph infection, and he ended up hospitalized for three days. Doctors later said that if it hadn’t been treated in time, the infection could have become life-threatening. | © 20th Century Studios
Jackie Chan built his career on doing his own stunts, no doubles, no shortcuts. During filming for Armour of God in 1986, a simple tree-jump went wrong, and he fell about 25 feet, smashing his head on a rock and fracturing his skull. He was rushed into emergency surgery and survived, but he still carries a small hole in his skull, covered by a plastic plug, as a permanent reminder of how close it came. | © Miramax Films
Movie sets may look controlled and carefully planned, but sometimes things go terrifyingly wrong. A split-second mistake, a malfunction, or a stunt pushed too far can turn fiction into real danger. Here are 15 actors who came shockingly close to losing their lives while the cameras were rolling.
