The epitome of a great adventure, suspense, or thriller film is the amazing stunts. Watching high-speed chases, death-defying leaps from skyscrapers, and massive explosions that can wreck the whole world can put anyone at the edge of their seats. Although these stunts are part of the script and done with utmost care, it does not mean that they pose zero life threats. Moreover, even if most stunts were done by experienced professionals, there are some actors who really take pride in what they do and they choose to do their own stunts. Choosing to do this puts their lives on the line. It is very brave of them, though.

Actors who don’t use stunt-doubles especially when doing crazy scenes earn the respect of moviegoers. They risk their lives to provide a film in the most genuine way.

Let’s take a look at this reel of movie actors who have almost died doing the craft they love best, shooting movies.

15. Isla Fisher in Now You See Me

One of the most death-defying stunts an actor did while shooting a film was when Isla Fisher got inside of a giant water-filled tank in movie Now You See Me. In the movie, Isla was one of the magicians called the Four Horsemen. One of her acts was to be inside a clear tank of water and try to escape it.

While shooting, it looked like Isla was acting like she was struggling to escape. In reality, she was really struggling. Unknown to the crew, she got stuck at the bottom of the tank that almost caused her to drown in real life. She managed to escape though and the crew just thought that she was one great actress.

14. Halle Berry in Catwoman and others

Halle Berry may be the quintessential symbol of sophistication but she can get clumsy at times. Still, no one can prevent her from doing her own stunts with all of the dangers involved. She has experienced many serious accidents while shooting movies but she still continues to personally do her stunts.

One of her worst injuries was when she had a head trauma while shooting Catwoman. Other lighter injuries were when she broke her foot shooting for the movie Cloud Atlas and broke her arm in Gothika. Her accidents were so crazy that at one time while filming for Die Another Day, she almost died from choking.

13. Kate Winslet in Titanic

Kate Winslet and onscreen partner Leonardo DiCaprio were catapulted to stardom after the film Titanic was released. However, what many people and even fans don’t know is that Kate almost died shooting that film. It may look like it was Leonardo who was almost always at risk of getting hurt but Kate almost drowned when her jacket got stuck on a gate that she was supposed to pass in one scene. If you remember, the movie is mostly about them trying to escape death from a sinking ship. Hence, water rushing all over was a common sight on the film. This resulted in an almost fatality for Kate but she was lucky to be safe.

12. Leonardo DiCaprio in Django: Unchained

It took a long time before Leonardo DiCaprio brought home an Oscar. Although he has made some of the best films we know, his talent took a long time to get recognized. Another amazing trait of Leo was that he always tries to execute his stunts personally. Hence, he faces the risk of getting seriously hurt or even dying when shooting a film.

On the movie Django:Unchained, Leo took the role to heart such that in one scene he smashed the table so bad he cut his hands. He was bleeding badly but he didn’t ask to stop the shoot. He continued on with the scene even though it was not part of the script. That was one of the most iconic scenes in the movie as well because it was as real as you can get.

11. Charlize Theron in Aeon Flux

On the movie Aeon Flux, Charlize Theron played a secret agent in a strange and dystopian society. She did most of her stunts there, and the riskiest one was when she did the ultimate backflip. Due to this, she suffered from a herniated disc, which if not treated properly and immediately would have resulted in a permanent damage to her spine. To treat her herniated disc and get back in top condition, Charlize had to undergo a series of intensive physical therapy. The shooting of the movie was paused until Charlize was fully healed to get back on the set.

10. Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge

The musical rom-com Moulin Rouge does not look like it entailed death-defying stunts. Still, it was the movie that almost killed Nicole Kidman. While shooting the musical, stunts were happening so fast that it was inevitable for accidents to happen. Nicole suffered with broken ribs twice during the whole duration of shooting the movie.

Nicole got these injuries while doing several dance routines wearing a very tight corset. She had to move around fast and with grace while being restricted by the corset. Still, she managed to finish shooting the film despite her injuries. Yes, these actors are so dedicated that they will go as far as donning the necessary costumes, even if it results in a few broken bones here and there.

9. Channing Tatum in Foxcatcher

Buff and beautiful, Channing Tatum appears to be indestructible. However, on the movie Foxcatcher, where Channing was wrestling champ, Mark Schultz, he took the role so seriously that he scared his crew. In one scene, Channing punched himself several times and banged his head three times on a mirror placed on a thick drywall. The mirror broke and it worried other people due to the strong impact Channing made on it.

After that scene, Channing may have needed a few stitches but good thing was he recovered fast enough in order to finish the entire film. Yep, this was an incident of intense method acting that almost seriously harmed the actor.

8. Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Premium Rush

Premium Rush is one of Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s iconic action-packed films. In this movie, he is a bike messenger who goes through the traffic-jammed streets of New York City to deliver packages. He does all his stunts by himself even riding through rush hour on a bike for the movie. However, in one of the scenes when he was driving really fast on his bike, a cab driver failed to see the barricade protecting the set. The cab crashed into the set and hurt JGL. He hit the cab and flew out the cab’s back window. It was a scary accident but good thing it didn’t end in a fatality.

7. Tom Hanks in Cast Away

Known for his bubbly personality, Tom Hanks played the lead role in the survival drama movie Cast Away. He played Chuck Noland, the FedEx guy who got stranded on a deserted island when his plane crashed into the ocean. He was mostly alone during the entire film, which was psychologically straining even for moviegoers. Even though Tom was not really alone when shooting the film, to experience psychological problems, he inflicted a serious injury on himself with a deep cut on his leg. This added an extra layer of edginess to his performance, but one wonders what would have happened if the cut grew into a bad infection. It was a scary ordeal but Tom pushed through and finished the project.

6. Brad Pitt in Se7en

Brad Pitt is known for many of his suspense and thriller films. One of his iconic movies is Se7en along with Morgan Freeman. It was a box-office film but what many people don’t know about it is that Brad seriously injured one of the tendons while shooting the film. He smashed a windshield so hard that he inflicted an injury on himself.

If you have seen the film a thousand times because you’re a true-blue fan, you may have noticed a scene towards the end of the movie where Brad is wearing a cast. Although it was part of the movie, the cast was real.

5. George Clooney in Syriana

George Clooney is one of the most admired actors around. He is so flexible and multi-talented that he appears in almost any genre of movie. Additionally, he takes pride in his craft such that he always chooses to personally do his stunts no matter how scary they can get. Little did people know, this hunk actor almost died during the shooting of the movie Syriana. In the movie, George suffered a blunt head trauma that lasted for a long time. Apparently, when he got it checked, he was leaking spinal fluid. Fortunately, they were able to fix it before anything fatal could have happened.

4. Sylvester Stallone in The Expendables

Popular for his death-defying stunts back in his Rambo days, Sylvester Stallone almost got into a fatal accident during the shooting of the movie The Expendables. Although a bit older now, Sylvester still opts to do his stunts on his own. We all know The Expendables is an action-packed film and any slight error can cause a big problem. While shooting that movie, Sylvester had to undergo multiple surgeries due to an accident he experienced on the set.

Really, Father Time catches up on everybody, even on Rambo.

3. Jason Statham in The Expendables

Another victim of shooting the film The Expendables was Jason Statham. Although this guy looks unbreakable, he is still human and can get hurt. In the shooting of the movie, Jason was driving a truck when it hit the water. Unfortunately, this happened because the brakes of the truck did not work. It was a fortunate thing that Jason is an experienced competitive swimmer. Hence, even when the trunk sunk, he came out of the water with just a few scratches. Had it been a different person, he would have died while trying to escape a sinking truck. Talk about your close call!

2. Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games

Jennifer Lawrence or J-Law is a badass in her own right. When she was filming for The Hunger Games, she did most of her stunts on her own. Although her stunts didn’t put her into the risk of drowning or falling off a cliff, she got knocked down by a faulty smoke machine. This happened while they were shooting inside a cramped tunnel. With thick fog around, it was difficult to see what was happening. If anything went wrong then, J-Law could have died. It was still fortunate that they saw her and saved her. She walked it off with just a slight dizziness.

1. Jackie Chan in Armour of God II

There is possibly an unlimited account of Jackie Chan hurting himself seriously doing his own stunts on movies. The Kung Fu master does all his stunts, not matter how difficult, on his own. He flies, kicks, punches, leaps, and more whenever required on the script. For so many years, he has made a name in the industry for being amazing in all of his stunts.

Due to this, it is inevitable that he would encounter a few times when he would seriously injure himself on the set. On the movie Armour of God II, Jackie hurt his head seriously that he went through a delicate brain surgery. He got everyone worried but despite that, he still continues to do his stunts whenever he makes movies.