Movie business is a tough job. Actors want to do their own life threatening stunts, but it’s not necessary everything will go right.  Wires can snap, brakes may fail, and rivers can get dangerous. If you thought that actors have it easy then wait till you check out these 10 Famous Scenes Where Actors Nearly Died.

Michael J. Fox – Back to the Future Part 3

You remember the scene from Back to the Future part 3, where Marty is hanging with a noose around his neck. His acting was brilliantly perfect and that’s because he wasn’t acting. Michael J. Fox revealed in his autobiography that he did a few takes standing on a box, but since it didn’t look realistic enough, he decided to minus the box. Although his fingers were under the noose, the timing was off and he almost went dim for about 30 seconds before the crew realized he was really choking. Fox was given time off to recover from the incident. Talk about dedication!

Isla Fisher – Now You See Me

Isla Fisher will never forget the near death experience she had while filming a magic trick scene in ‘Now you See Me.’ Fisher was chained and lowered in a water tank. She had to free herself and escape before piranhas were thrown in. Everyone thought she was acting, when actually she was drowning. The quick release switch and a nearby stuntman helped her escape.

Jackie Chan – Police Story

It’s no secret that Jackie Chan does his own stunts and Police Story was no exception. In the climax scene that takes place in a mall, the daredevil actor leaps on a metal pole and slides down with many light bulbs exploding around him. Chan cracked his seventh and eighth vertebrae, dislocated his pelvis and burnt his hands severely shooting this scene. You could say he nearly died. Also while filming ‘Armour of God’ a piece of his skull cracked and shot up in his brain. He had to have an emergency brain surgery.

Sylvester Stallone – Rocky 4

Sylvester Stallone’s fight scenes in Rocky 4 really got us gasping and that is because the actors were punching each other for real.  When Stallone was shooting for this particular fight scene, he asked Dolph Lundgren to hit him hard for the final knockout. Well, indeed the actor did and it sent Stallone straight to the hospital because it made his heart swell. Stallone was in intensive care for almost 8 days but, he thankfully recovered.

Martin Sheen – ‘Apocalypse Now’

Director Francis Ford Coppola wanted this Vietnam movie to be as realistic as possible and spent almost 5 years filming in the jungles of Philippines. Most of the cast and crew suffered flu, pneumonia, dysentery and other physical injuries, besides having to battle malaria and terrible weather. It doesn’t end here. Martin Sheen suffered a heart attack and had to crawl half a mile just to get help. He took almost a month to recover from this harrowing ordeal.

Bruce Campbell – The Evil Dead

The gory classic horror ‘Evil Dead’ sent chills down our spine and literally so to say for the leading actor Bruce Campbell as well. In the scene towards the end, Sam Raimi notoriously decided to ride a motor bike one handed while holding the camera in the other. Unfortunately, Raimi slammed into Campbell knocking him to the floor. Campbell escaped by a few inches else his skull could have been caught under the wheel. Talk about luck!

Jason Statham – Expendables 3

Jason Statham is known as an action star but this was a close call. Statham was driving a truck in this Expendables 3 scene when the brakes of the truck failed. Luckily Statham jumped out of the truck just in time before the truck went plunging 60 feet in the water below. Statham was lucky to narrowly escape death.

Hally Berry – Die Another Day

Halle Berry is supposed to be the most accident prone actress. While filming a fight sequence in ‘The Call,’ Berry fell on her head and hit a concrete floor. She also suffered a broken arm while filming ‘Gothika’ and choked on a fig in ‘Die Another Day.’

Meryl Streep – The River Wild

Meryl Streep almost drowned while shooting for ‘The River Wild.’ After filming rafting scenes for 18 straight hours, Streep was tired and groggy, but director Curtis Hanson wanted one more shot. Streep was obviously not up for it, but Hanson insisted. Unfortunately, she was thrown off the raft and almost drowned in the freezing cold water. Kevin Bacon quickly pulled her out. She went straight to the director and said, “Next time I say I can’t do something, I think we should believe me, don’t you?”

Eli Roth – Inglorious Bastards

Tarantino’s wartime action flick has a scene where the Nazis burn to death. A theatre was set on fire and within seconds the fire started getting close to Eli Roth. Thankfully, Tarantino got his shot and the actor got away in the nick of time.

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