10 actors that suffered major injuries on set 

Hollywood might seem glamorous, but behind the cameras, it can be downright perilous. Although action movies frequently use stunt doubles, some performers take it too far by doing their own stunts, sometimes with catastrophic results. Others have been left for dead by on-set accidents, technical failures, or plain old miscalculation.

For others, their wounds were etched in film history, such as the unforgettable scream from Viggo Mortensen in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers that was actual agony on camera. Others, including Tom Cruise, have made it a career habit to do absolutely crazy stunts, even the ones that mean serious injury. Unfortunately, accidents have even occurred that resulted in fatalities, necessitating sweeping changes in safety across Hollywood.

These ten actors suffered serious injuries on set, showing that even the biggest stars aren't invincible. Their tales of woe show the risks of practical stunts, the necessity for improved safety precautions, and the sheer commitment it takes to make movies happen. Here are some of the most surprising injuries ever incurred during filming.

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1. Tom Cruise – Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018)

Tom Cruise is famous for performing his own stunts, but one came close to going too far in Mission: Impossible – Fallout. During a rooftop jump, he timed the landing wrong and bashed his ankle against the side of a building. Although it was clear that he was in pain, he pulled himself up and completed the shot before falling over. The injury halted production for months, but Cruise was not deterred. After he had recovered, he came back to complete the film, demonstrating his commitment.

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2. Harrison Ford – Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

Harrison Ford is returning as Han Solo in Star Wars: The Force Awakens its fate was disaster. A malfunctioning hydraulic door suddenly blasted into Ford's leg while he was on the Millennium Falcon-which broke it. The injury needed surgery, thus making a temporary halt in production. Ford, however, remarkably recovered and finished the film. The accident eventually launched an official investigation on behalf of UK safety authorities, and ruled that the production facilities were guilty of unsafe working conditions. This has made a hallmark in the introduction of new, stricter safety protocols designed to ensure that even the biggest blockbuster productions take precautions for their actors.

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3. Jackie Chan – Police Story (1985)

Jackie Chan's dedication to doing his own stunts has resulted in thousands of injuries, but Police Story is still one of his most perilous films. During a scene in which he slid down a pole lined with lights, the bulbs burst on impact, scalding his hands and shocking his body. He subsequently crashed through a glass ceiling, which left him with a broken vertebra, a dislocated pelvis, and second-degree burns. Despite the severity of his wounds, Chan completed the film and even did another death-defying stunt only days afterward. His brush with death inspired Hollywood to spend more money on safety equipment, although Chan himself never lost his penchant for taking life-threatening risks.

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4. Dylan O’Brien – Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018)

Dylan O'Brien's accident while shooting for Maze Runner: The Death Cure was almost fatal. Things went awry while he was performing a high-speed stunt that involved a harness and vehicle- there was a sickening whip-like motion, and he was violently thrown, managing to pick up a concussion and facial fractures, and brain trauma. Such an incapacitating injury almost delayed production by a year. The accident eventually left O'Brien emotionally scarred and questioning his future in acting. His recovery and return to work proved his grit and strength.

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5. Charlize Theron – Aeon Flux (2005)

In the course of filming the sci-fi action movie Aeon Flux, Charlize Theron had a near-career-ending accident. In a stunt where she was supposed to perform a backflip, she landed improperly and hurt her neck seriously, narrowly escaping paralysis. The shoot was suspended for eight weeks while she recovered. Theron confessed that the accident severely affected her both physically and mentally. Despite the danger, she continued performing her stunts in Atomic Blonde and The Old Guard, although she became more vocal about the importance of stunt safety.

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6. Sylvester Stallone – Rocky IV (1985)

In Rocky IV, Sylvester Stallone demanded realism- so much so that he instructed Dolph Lundgren to punch him for real. Trained martial artist Lundgren delivered a vicious punch to the chest of Stallone, sending his heart crashing into his ribcage. Stallone spent nine days in intensive care with his heart swelling. The frightening experience reminded him to reconsider his devotion to realistic fight scenes. Though Rocky IV was a favorite among fans, Stallone has since cautioned against the pitfalls of going too far with realism. His injury reaffirmed the necessity for staged fight scenes instead of actual punches in action movies.

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7. Viggo Mortensen – The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

Viggo Mortensen's commitment to realism in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers resulted in one of the trilogy's greatest unscripted moments. In a scene where Aragorn thinks Merry and Pippin are dead, he kicks a helmet and unleashes a visceral scream. That was real. Mortensen broke two toes in the process. Rather than breaking, he remained in character, and the shot was so intense that Peter Jackson left it in the final version. Mortensen afterwards confessed that the pain was agonizing but provided an added depth of raw emotion to Aragorn's sorrow.

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8. Brandon Lee – The Crow (1994)

One of Hollywood's most catastrophic on-set injuries occurred while making The Crow. Brandon Lee, the son of martial arts star Bruce Lee, was killed after a prop gun inadvertently held a fragment of an actual bullet. The scene had another actor shooting at Lee's character, but through a combination of prop malfunctions, the gun fired off a projectile that hit him in the abdomen. Despite hasty medical intervention, Lee succumbed hours later. His death led to sweeping reforms in gun safety on movie and television sets.

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9. Bruce Willis – Tears of the Sun (2003)

While filming Tears of the Sun, Bruce Willis suffered a bad head injury that left his hearing permanently impaired. Filming an explosive battle scene, with live explosions, a violent detonation went off too close and left him with hearing loss in one ear. Willis has since owned up to the fact that the injury impaired his performance in future films as he had difficulties with dialogue and directional sensitivity. Despite this, he went on to have a career of almost two decades before he retired because of health issues.

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10. Isla Fisher – Now You See Me (2013)

In Now You See Me, Isla Fisher was an escape artist, but one stunt almost became a real-life tragedy. During a water tank scene, Fisher was chained and submerged, but a mechanical malfunction kept her from surfacing. For almost three minutes, she struggled to get someone's attention, as the crew thought she was in character. She managed to escape, but the harrowing experience left her shaken. Fisher has since disclosed that the experience put her in deeper respect for expert stunt performers. Her near-drowning experience supported the need to have proper checks on safety checks before filming scenes for water and restraints.