Filming of movies and TV shows is often a long process that includes plenty of hard work, and sometimes during this process, actors are met with dreadful accidents.
With this in mind, let us look at 10 such actors who developed phobias, medical conditions, And more while filming these TV shows or movies
10. Alex Wolff – Hereditary
In an exclusive interview with Looper, Alex Wolff admitted that taking part in ‘Hereditary’ had an effect on him like no film he had acted in before.
“I’ll tell you that movie did about as much damage to me as a movie can do,” Wolff told the outlet, admitting the damage included psychological effects and loss of sleep. He suffered “all of it,” he said, adding, “It really affected me.”
“I don’t think you can go through something like this and not have some sort of PTSD afterwards.” Alex also added, “It was one of those ones that really did some gymnastics on my emotional well-being.”
9. Jodie Foster – Napoleon and Samantha
Jodie Foster was mauled by a lion when she was just nine years old while filming ‘Napoleon and Samantha’ (1972).
Speaking on The Tonight Show, Foster said, “I was walking ahead of him. He was on an invisible leash, some piano wire. He got sick of me being slow, picked me up and held me sideways and shook me like a doll. I was in shock and thought it was an earthquake. I turned around and saw the entire crew running off in the other direction. The trainer then said, ‘Drop it’ and he opened his mouth and dropped me.”
Due to the incident, Jodie said, “Now cats freak me out a little bit.”
8. Dylan O’Brien – Maze Runner: The Death Cure
While on set for the filming of ‘Maze Runner: The Death Cure’ (2018), Dylan O’Brien was hit by a car during a stunt in 2016 and suffered multiple injuries.
Dylan explained that it “completely rewired” how he felt about being on set and that there was a moment when he thought he would never step foot on a set again.
Related: Top 10 Hollywood Actors Who Perform Their Own Stunts
7. Janet Leigh – Psycho
After filming the infamous scene where Marion is stabbed in the shower in Psycho (1960), Janet Leigh said it caused her to develop a phobia of taking showers.
While speaking to Women’s World in 1984, Janet Leigh admitted that scene had such an effect on her, that she stopped showering altogether and started taking baths instead.
6. Sophia Bush – One Tree Hill
After filming a sequence where Brooke nearly drowns inside a car in One Tree Hill Season 8 (2010), Sophia Bush was revealed to have developed a fear of being underwater.
She explained that she had to pretend to be drowning while submerged in a pool with weighted belts in her lap in order to film the scene on an episode of the Drama Queens podcast.
5. Kristin Chenoweth – The Good Wife
In 2012, Kristin Chenoweth was hospitalized while filming ‘The Good Wife’ Season 4, having suffered a “seven-inch skull fracture, a hairline fracture, cracked teeth, and ribs” from falling lighting equipment.
Kristin was left with “long-standing injuries” from the on-set accident, which she currently has to deal with even today.
4. Barry Keoghan – The Banshees of Inisherin
Barry Keoghan had necrotizing fasciitis, often known as flesh-eating disease, on his arm four days prior to filming ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’ (2022).
Barry claimed that his doctors were also considering amputation. Director and Writer Martin McDonagh recalled visiting Barry, saying, “I went to the hospital thinking, Shit — is he going to die? Let alone, is he going to make the movie.”
3. Ryan Reynolds – Buried
Because the majority of Buried (2010) is about Ryan Reynolds’s character being buried alive in a coffin, the actor experienced severe claustrophobia throughout the production.
He stated, “For me, I was enclosed in there and had moments of utter panic that were soothed in various ways.”
“All of the physical injuries are like souvenirs. But the emotional stuff is harder. When you’re spending 17 straight days in a heightened state of anxiety and panic, it’s not very good for your nervous system, so you walk away pretty jittery. I definitely struggled with a lot of insomnia when I was working on this film and that was something that was new to me”
In case you missed it: 8 Actors Who Begged For Their Iconic Characters To Be Killed Off
2. Michael J. Fox – Back to the Future Part III
Michael J. Fox disclosed in his book Lucky Man (2002) that he nearly passed away while filming the close-ups of Marty McFly being hung in ‘Back to the Future Part III (1990)‘.
Michael said for a few takes he was able to have his hands between the rope and his neck so that he was still able to breathe, however it went wrong on the third take. He wrote, “I miscalculated the positioning of my hand. Noose around my neck, dangling from the gallows pole; my carotid artery was blocked, causing me briefly to pass out.”
1. Tom Hanks – Cast Away
Tom Hanks was rushed to the hospital while filming ‘Cast Away (2000)‘. He explained, “I was there for three days with something that, believe it or not, almost killed me.” Tom had an infection from a cut that was “eating its way through [his] leg.”
He added: “I went to the doctor who took one look and said, ‘I have to put you in the hospital because we have to get this infection out of you before it poisons your blood and you die’.”
