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Movies captivate audiences worldwide, offering an unparalleled experience of storytelling on the big screen, complete with suspense and snacks. However, the journey to bring these stories to life often involves significant sacrifices. Tragedies such as fatalities, severe injuries, and lasting psychological trauma have befallen actors and stunt performers. In some cases, directors, driven by their artistic vision, overlook these hardships. Below are ten instances where filmmaking took a devastating turn.
10. Stuntman Attacked by a Shark
Many filmmakers distance themselves from their early projects. Samuel Fuller, known for directing *White Dog* and *The Big Red One*, regretted his involvement in the 1969 film *Shark!* to the extent that he requested his name be removed from the credits. His dissatisfaction stemmed not only from the film's poor quality but also from a tragic incident during production. The movie, featuring Burt Reynolds, resulted in the death of Mexican stuntman Jose Marco.
During filming, Marco was performing a scene where a bull shark attacked him. As he struggled with the bull shark, a great white shark breached the protective netting in the open water and mauled him, fatally wounding his abdomen. Despite the crew's efforts to drive the great white away, Marco succumbed to his injuries hours later. In a shocking move, the producers renamed the film from *Caine* to *Shark!* and exploited Marco's death as a marketing tool to promote the movie.
9. Stunt Pilot Dies in Aircraft Accident
*The Flight of the Phoenix*, featuring Jimmy Stewart, was far from a cinematic failure. It earned two Academy Award nominations in 1965. Despite its strong source material—a best-selling novel—and a star-studded cast, the film underperformed commercially.
However, the box-office disappointment paled in comparison to the tragedy that unfolded during production. Director Robert Aldrich and 61-year-old stunt pilot Paul Mantz decided to reshoot a scene where Mantz lands the “Phoenix” on sand dunes. During filming, Mantz’s plane struck a dune with excessive force, causing the fuselage to fracture and the nose to plunge sharply. The impact killed Mantz instantly. Bobby Rose, a 64-year-old stuntman aboard the plane, suffered a broken shoulder and pelvis. The entire incident was captured on camera, and the footage remains accessible online.
8. Actor Narrowly Escapes Death from Falling Light Fixture
Filming on a horror movie set can be unnerving, even for the most experienced actors and crew members. John Leonetti, director of the first *Annabelle* film, recounted two eerie supernatural occurrences that took place during production.
One of the eerie occurrences involved three claw marks mysteriously appearing in the dust on the living room set’s window. This deeply unsettled the crew, especially since the movie’s demon is depicted with three talons.
The second event was far more chilling. During filming in a Koreatown apartment building, the demon was introduced into the scene. As the actor portraying the building’s janitor entered the shot, a heavy light fixture suddenly fell onto his head. The situation became even more unnerving when it was discovered that the script called for the demon to kill the janitor in the exact hallway where the light fixture had been mounted.
7. Filming Boat Capsizes During Production
The production of *Jaws* is almost as iconic as the film itself. Numerous fascinating stories surround the movie, such as Stephen King’s son suggesting that an extra might have been an unidentified murder victim from Provincetown in 1974. Additionally, one of the film’s most terrifying scenes, featuring a severed head, was filmed in a swimming pool.
The set was not without its challenges, as filming on the ocean often is. What was planned as a 55-day shoot stretched to 159 days. Tensions ran high between Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw, and the crew grew increasingly impatient. To add to the chaos, during the filming of the final scene, the boat’s hull was damaged, causing it to sink with the actors still aboard. Director Steven Spielberg urgently yelled, “Get the actors off the boat!” A rescue boat was dispatched to save the sinking *Orca*, and thankfully, no one was harmed in the incident.
6. Actors Experience Near Mental Collapse
James Cameron, renowned for blockbusters like *Titanic* and *Avatar*, also helmed the 1989 underwater thriller *The Abyss*. This film is infamous for its grueling production, as much of it was shot submerged in water.
The filming process was exceptionally demanding for both the cast and crew. Actors spent up to 12 hours daily on set, submerged 40 feet underwater in a decommissioned nuclear reactor. Crew members descended to depths of 50 feet and had to undergo regular decompression in specialized chambers. The necessity of relieving themselves in wetsuits led to algae growth and increased chlorine use. The stress took a toll on lead actor Ed Harris, whose hair turned white from chlorine exposure, and he once broke down in tears while driving home. Co-star Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio also suffered an emotional and physical breakdown, even walking off set at one point.
Cameron himself faced a life-threatening situation when he ran out of oxygen underwater and had to be rescued by a safety diver.
5. Stunt Double Left Paralyzed After Failed Stunt
David Holmes, Daniel Radcliffe’s stunt double in the *Harry Potter* series, had collaborated with Radcliffe on six films before disaster struck. While filming at Warner Brothers Studios for *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows*, Holmes was rehearsing a ‘jerk back’ stunt. He was propelled into a wall and yanked back by a high-tension wire. However, the stunt went horribly wrong, resulting in a broken neck and immediate paralysis.
Holmes spent six months in the hospital and was informed he would remain paralyzed from the chest down for life. This was followed by extensive rehabilitation. Daniel Radcliffe supported Holmes by organizing a charity auction to help cover medical expenses, and the two remain close friends. Holmes later founded his own production company with two fellow individuals who are also paralyzed.
4. Camera Assistant Killed in Freight Train Accident
*Midnight Rider* only ever completed one scene, which was edited from footage capturing a devastating train accident that claimed the life of crew member Sarah Jones and injured seven others.
The film, intended to be a biopic about rock star Gregg Allman, was set to feature William Hurt. The raw footage from the tragedy shows crew members and actor Wyatt Russell frantically attempting to clear the train tracks and move set props. Moments later, a freight train barrels toward them. William Hurt later revealed he had felt uneasy upon arriving at the tracks and questioned assistant director Hillary Schwartz about safety. Schwartz assured him they were safe, a statement that would later haunt her. She was fined $5,000 and given 10 years’ probation for her involvement. It was later discovered that the filmmakers had been denied permission to film on the railway by the track’s owner. Director Randall Miller received a two-year prison sentence and eight years’ probation for trespassing and involuntary manslaughter.
3. Radioactive Film Set Linked to Actors Developing Cancer
*The Conqueror*, a 1956 film starring John Wayne and Susan Hayward, not only flopped at the box office but is also frequently listed among the worst films ever made.
However, the film’s poor reception was overshadowed by the controversy surrounding its filming locations. The production team chose to shoot exterior scenes just 137 miles from the Nevada National Security Site, despite nearby nuclear weapons testing. At the time, the federal government claimed the tests posed no health risks.
This assurance proved tragically incorrect. By 1980, 91 out of 220 cast and crew members had been diagnosed with cancer, and 46 had died from the disease. Director Dick Powell developed fatal kidney cancer and took his own life in 1963. John Wayne battled lung cancer and ultimately died of stomach cancer in 1979. Susan Hayward succumbed to brain cancer in 1975. While some argue that not all cancers can be directly linked to the location, experts emphasize that the high number of cases among the film’s crew is unlikely to be coincidental.
2. 70 Injuries Caused by Wild Animals on Set
In 1974, production began on *Roar*, a film centered around a family under siege by jungle animals. Unable to secure 40 lions for their script, Tippi Hedren and her husband Noel Marshall decided to establish their own private zoo.
The couple initially raised a lion cub named Neil, but complaints from neighbors forced them to relocate to a ranch outside Los Angeles. There, they expanded their collection to include tigers, additional lions, and elephants. This ranch became the filming location for their movie. What was planned as a nine-month shoot stretched into five years, marred by numerous injuries caused by the wild animals. The cinematographer suffered a severe scalp injury from a lion, requiring 220 stitches. Hedren broke her leg and sustained scalp wounds after being thrown off an elephant. Her daughter, Melanie Griffith, nearly lost an eye in an attack and needed 50 stitches to her face.
The constant injuries were compounded by a flood that claimed the lives of three lions. To add to the misfortune, the film was a commercial failure upon its release in 1981.
1. Stuntman Suffers Brain Damage in Head-On Collision
While filming *The Hangover Part II*, stuntman Scott McLean was performing a meticulously rehearsed stunt. He was leaning out of a moving truck’s window for the shot when an oncoming car skidded and collided with him.
McLean was immediately taken to the hospital and placed in a medically induced coma to aid his recovery. He remained in the coma for two months but unfortunately sustained permanent brain damage. Afterward, he was transferred to a rehabilitation clinic and later filed a lawsuit against Warner Bros. for financial compensation. The former stuntman now experiences persistent seizures, along with speech and physical disabilities.
