Celebrities | Movies | Pop Culture | 00s | 90s | 80s

5 Iconic Movie Scenes That Almost Killed Their Stars

We all know what it's like to be sitting on the edge of your seat during a particular scene, just waiting to see how our favorite character was going to get out of the life-or-death situation.

It's nerve-wracking, but we can always take a breather and remember that they were never in any real danger. But that's not always the case.

Here are some of the most famous scenes that almost cost stars their lives, but were kept in anyways!

Back To The Future: Part 3

Did you find yourself short of breath while watching this scene? So did Michael J. Fox.

While at first the actor tried to film the scene while standing on a box, it just wasn't convincing enough. He did one take without it, but didn't realize how long the scene would take, and ended up passing out for 30 seconds.

The Wizard of Oz

Sure, by our standard, the Wicked Witch of the West's smoke trick wasn't too impressive, but it was pretty cool special effects at the time.

While it may not have been witchcraft, the smoke effect brought it's own evil. The petroleum in the product caught flame from some sparks and set Margaret Hamilton on fire, giving her severe burns.

Rocky IV

There were some hard knocks going back and forth between Sylvester Stallone and Dolph Lundgren, but the last one that landed on 'Rocky' was no act.

Stallone had asked Lundgren to give him all he had for it to look real, and the professional martial artist obliged. Stallone went down, and ended up in intensive care for eight days with a swollen heart!

You think there would be better safety protocols on set, but these next examples prove otherwise!

Gangs Of New York

Daniel Day-Lewis is a notorious method actor, and in order to capture the feeling that his cold-blooded character would have experienced, he wore only clothes from the 1800's in the winter while filming.

Eventually, he developed severe pneumonia from this habit and the doctors said he would have to undergo treatment. He actually refused, since there was no treatment in the time that the period the movie was being shot in.

After trying to muscle through it, his condition began to deteriorate during filming and he eventually agreed to take the medicine.

Police Story

In case you didn't know, Jackie Chan is a bad ass. The actor insists on doing all his own stunts in his films, which means all those times that you have seen his character do something crazy, just remember that was actually him, and not some double.

In his career his has suffered all types of injuries, including broken bones, contusions, and large cuts. His death-defying jump in Police Story was no different, and the star ended up cracking two vertebrae, badly burning his hands, and even dislocated his pelvis!

Share with someone who never knew their favorite movie nearly cost someone their life!

More Throwbacks

Celebrities

'Mighty Ducks' Star Shaun Weiss Arrested Again Only Months After Leaving Rehab

After Shaun Weiss' arrest in August left everyone worried about the former child star, the actor was forced to re-evaluate his choices. His mugshot showed a gaunt, sickly, and unrecognizable man, but Weiss believed this was his "rock bottom" and hoped to come back from it stronger than ever. In a statement released to his Facebook page after the arrest, Weiss revealed that he realized he was in "danger." Oroville Police Department"At this time, in an effort to break free from the self destructive patterns of behavior and drug abuse that have landed me at rock bottom, (to be

Celebrities

91-Year-Old 'Boy Meets World' Star Scared Off Burglars After They "Kicked In" His Door

Mr. Feeny will forever be a character that every 90s kid cherishes. He was the teacher. The one teacher we all wished we could have in real life, the one teacher who could have given us helpful advice, and above all else, he was the one teacher who would have been the best neighbor ever.William Daniels was a legend and an icon long before Boy Meets World, because he was the voice of KITT in Knight Rider. Not only that, but he won two Emmy awards for his role on St. Elsewhere. Daniels is a talented man, and his

70s

James Karen, Legendary Actor Known For 'Poltergeist' And So Much More, Dead At 94

You probably don't know his name, but you definitely know James Karen's face. The prolific character actor, best known for his role as the unscrupulous developer Mr. Teague in 1982's Poltergeist, passed away in his Los Angeles home on Tuesday at the age of 94.MGM/UA Entertainment Co.Over the course of his seven-decade career, Karen racked up over 200 acting credits across movies, television, and even video games. If you watch just about any of the most popular television shows from the 1970s, 80s, or 90s, you're guaranteed to see him pop up sooner or later. Born Jacob

Movies

Macaulay Culkin Clears Up Some Confusion About The 'Home Alone' Recreation

When that amazing new Google Assistant ad dropped yesterday starring Macaulay Culkin recreating all of the iconic scenes from the 1990 classic Home Alone, People absolutely lost their minds. But here's the thing, you watch it once and you're like, "Oh wow, that's hilarious!" But if you watch it a second time, you'll see that they really went all out to recreate it shot for shot. Honestly, it's almost creepy how well they did. Whether he's jumping on the bed:20th Century Fox / YouTube - GoogleUsing his aftershave:20th Century Fox / YouTube - GoogleTrimming the tree:20th Century Fox / YouTube

Movies

Macaulay Culkin Is Back As Kevin From 'Home Alone' And It's Actually Amazing

It's Christmas time, and you know what that means! It's time to watch a family abandon their son in their home and not even call anyone to go take care of him while he fends off burglars and makes an enormous mess of their house! That's right, every year we all gather around the TV and watch Home Alone for the millionth time, enjoying the hilarious antics that young Kevin McCallister gets into. Macaulay Culkin's portrayal of the character is what made the movie work, well, that and the fact that the 'Wet Bandits' were pretty funny. Culkin made a

Movies

A Behind-The-Scenes Look At The New Aladdin Is Here And At Least One Of Our Wishes Was Granted

We've been waiting patiently, okay mostly patiently, since Disney announced that Aladdin was being remade. The cartoon remains one of the most iconic movies of all time, and the fact that they were going to try and bring it to life with real humans instead of the animated versions was kind of concerning. We saw the first trailer a while ago, but the only character we actually saw up close was Aladdin himself. We didn't see how the Genie looked, or Jasmine, or any of the other characters. But now, Entertainment Weekly has given us all the first look at