18 Times Actors Did Their Own Stunts And Ended Up Badly Injured On Set

Ouch!

1. Halle Berry in Bruised.

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While shooting an MMA scene in her new film, Halle got kicked by her co-star (real martial arts fighter Valentina Shevchenko) and broke two ribs as a result. The injury did not stop Halle from finishing the scene: "The fighter in me stood up and said, 'You just have to keep going, take some Advil and tough your way through it."

2. George Clooney in Syriana.

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As he was getting beaten up for the scene, George fell over while bound to a chair, hitting his head against the floor. He tore his dura, the sack that holds in spinal fluid. The actor was in an enormous amount of pain and even thought about ending his life: "I was at a point where I thought, 'I can't exist like this. I can't actually live.'"

3. Charlize Theron in Æon Flux.

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Charlize left set with a herniated disk and potential paralysis after landing on her neck when doing a backflip. “That injury scared me — I was almost paralyzed,” she said in an interview.

4. Leonardo DiCaprio in Django: Unchained.

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When Leo banged his fist against a table for a scene, he slammed his hand into a glass. He kept in character, but later needed stitches for the bloody gash on his hand.

5. Michelle Yeoh in Crouching Tiger.

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While running across rooftops in an action sequence, Michelle tore her ACL and required surgery. For the rest of the film, she wore a brace that couldn't be seen on camera. "It took me three months to recover, to be ready for the last fight sequence," Michelle said in an interview.

6. Ruby Rose in Batwoman.

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While performing a stunt, Ruby developed two herniated discs near her spinal cord, nearly paralyzing her. "I was in chronic pain and yet couldn’t feel my arms," she said in an Instagram post. Ruby underwent emergency surgery, which saved her from paralysis.

7. Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible — Fallout.

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While shooting a scene where he jumps from one building to another, Tom smashed his ankle against the side of a wall. The actor suffered a broken ankle, but the take was used in the actual film.

8. Jeremy Renner in Tag.

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As a result of falling off a stack of 20 chairs in a scene for the film, Jeremy broke both of his arms. "I knew when I hit the ground that it wasn't good," he said in an interview.

9. Kate Winslet in Titanic.

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Kate nearly drowned while filming a water scene after her coat got caught on a gate underwater. "I had to sort of shimmy out of the coat to get free. I had no breath left," she explained in an interview.

10. Angela Bassett in What's Love Got to Do With It.

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In a scene portraying domestic violence, Angela fell over the back of a couch and fractured her wrist.

11. Dylan O'Brien in Maze Runner: The Death Cure.

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After falling off a moving vehicle, Dylan was hit by another vehicle that was following. He ended up with a concussion, facial fractures, and lacerations, and mental trauma after the accident. "The state that you're in after something like that, you just want to run from all that stuff," he said.

12. Johnny Depp in The Lone Ranger.

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Johnny was thrown from a galloping horse, dragged through a desert, and trampled by the animal in a scene from the film. Fortunately, he only ended up with a bad bruise on his stomach. "I was very lucky, because it could have been horrific," he commented in an interview.

13. Jaimie Alexander in Thor: The Dark World.

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Jaimie slipped and fell down a metal staircase on set, ending up with a dislocated shoulder, slipped discs, a torn rhomboid muscle, and 11 chipped vertebrae.

14. Tom Hanks in Castaway.

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After cutting his leg during filming, Tom developed an awful staph infection, which doctors say could have killed him had he not received treatment.

15. Jackie Chan in Armour of God.

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Jackie has sustained many injuries throughout his career, but one of the worst was on the set of Armour of God, when he leapt from a cliff to a tree, fell 40 feet, and landed on a rock. One of his bones ended up puncturing his brain, and he nearly died as a result.

16. Blake Lively in The Rhythm Section.

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While shooting a fighting a scene, Blake shattered her hand, breaking several bones and damaging ligaments. "I was lunging towards Jude Law with my fake rubber knife and my hand collided with his elbow," she explained. They had to pause shooting for six months until her hand recovered.

17. And finally, Bruce Willis in Die Hard.

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Bruce permanently lost two-thirds of his hearing after a machine gun fired extra loud blanks on set.