Hurt on the Set: 5 On-Screen Injuries that were Actually Real

If you think acting is not a dangerous job, think twice! This article explores the five times actors were hurt on the set, and their injuries got in the final film!

Hollywood is often associated with fake stuff. That’s because everybody knows that is a set, those people are actually actors, and that blood isn’t actually real. Or is it?

Acting can be a riskier job than some would imagine. It’s not always about romantic scenes and filming in some lovely locations. Sometimes, acting involves faking fights with the “bad guys,” getting thrown through fake windows, jumping from a moving car to another, getting shot (not for real), and jumping from dangerous heights. You must be really naive if you think this doesn’t lead to real-life injuries as well. So, characters do get hurt during the movies. But, guess what, actors too get hurt while filming the movies.

But, what’s even more interesting is that when they do get hurt for real, most actors are real pros, and they are able to grit their teeth through the pain, complete their lines, and don’t break the character.

That being said, let’s see the five on-screen injuries that were actually even more real than we thought.

1. Leonardo DiCaprio’s injury in Django Unchained 2012

Leonardo DiCaprio is often praised as one of the most valuable actors from Hollywood, and not just for his early performance in Titanic. DiCaprio was part of some of the most popular movies ever produced by Hollywood. And, let’s not forget that the actor was awarded three Golden Globes so far and had plenty of nominations for various prizes.

But, even if he is an outstanding actor, no one would expect him not to break his character when he is in incredible pain and his hand is full of blood. DiCaprio wanted to prove the contrary when filming for the Django Unchained movie in 2012.

While playing the role of Monsieur Candie in Quentin Tarantino’s movie, DiCaprio hurt his hand, slicing it open. He was supposed to hit the table with his hand several times to film a dramatic scene. Yet, the actor accidentally smashed his hand on a crystal glass, resulting in very real blood for the scene. The actor, however, didn’t break from the character but rather used the accident to his advantage, making his character and the scene more believable.

As the experts from AccidentClaimsAdvice explain,” Accidents can happen all the time to anybody when you expect them the least. Often time, the fault falls on someone’s else negligence.”
As you may imagine, the actor did need stitches after smashing the glass and slicing open his hand.

2. Channing Tatum’s injury in Foxcatcher 2014

Channing Tatum is another popular actor from Hollywood who suffered a pretty bad accident while filming but didn’t break from the character despite the pain.

The American actor, producer, and dancer suffered a pretty bad accident while head-butting his own reflection in the Foxcatcher movie in 2014. Playing the role of Mark Schultz, the Olympic Wrestler, Tatum gets a little bit too dramatic about his role, actually hitting a mirror three times and making it shatter. After the accident, Channing never stopped for a second, despite cutting himself. He continued to make the scene look even more real and dramatic, putting his head through it and the frame behind it. It seems that after taking what was left from the mirror down, people on the set even noticed that there was a hole in the wall as well.

3. Brad Pitt’s injury in Se7en 1995

Remember the chase scene in the movie Se7en that left Brad Pitt’s character pretty injured? Well, it wasn’t just detective David Mills, Pitt’s character, who got injured during that scene. Brad Pitt, the actor, got hurt too, for real this time.

Brad Pitt is also known for his many successful roles, and he is one of the most praised actors in the world. So, we’re not surprised that Pitt also successfully got through the pain caused by his injury only to make the scene for the Se7en movie as realistic as possible.

While filming the chase scene, where he chances the murderer he and his detective partner were looking for in the movie, Brad Pitt actually slipped on the rain-slicked hood of a car, ramming into the glass and damaging a tendon in his hand. The actor required an emergency ward visit, plus several stitches for his injury. So, the fact that for the rest of the movie scene, he has a broken arm isn’t just to make the character more realistic. The actor was truly hurt.

4. Nicole Kidman’s injury in Moulin Rouge 2001

While filming Moulin Rouge in 2001, Nicole Kidman also got severely injured after falling. More precisely, the actress fractured two ribs and hurt her knee cartilage really bad after falling while shooting the ‘Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend’ dance number. The actress also broke a rib while desperately trying to get into a corset that will make her waist 18-inch.

The actress has had multiple interviews in which she talked about how her starring in Moulin Rouge took quite a toll on her. Even if we can’t see it for the rest of the film, the actress filmed some of the following scenes after the accident while sitting down so that the cameras wouldn’t capture her leg brace.

5. Jake Gyllenhaal’s injury in Nightcrawler 2014

Actors and mirrors seem to have a dangerous relationship on the set. Some of the scenes where actors use mirrors end with some pretty bad injuries. This time, for Jake Gyllenhaal, as well.

While filming for the Nightcrawler movie in 2014, Gyllenhaal severely cut his hand when he hit a mirror. The mirror broke, resulting in the actor cutting himself and a more intense scene. While hitting the mirror was part of the scene, breaking it and real blood were not.

Unsurprisingly, Jake Gyllenhaal had to go to the hospital to get his cuts treated. Yet, the movie scene was indeed more dramatic due to the accident.