Celebrities Who Were Hospitalized During Filming

Movie sets can look controlled from the outside.

There are stunt teams, medics, safety checks, rehearsals, and insurance rules. But accidents still happen. Actors can get injured during stunts, develop infections, suffer burns, face exhaustion, or need urgent care after physically demanding scenes.

This article focuses on public, documented cases where celebrities were hospitalized, rushed to medical care, or needed serious treatment connected to filming. It does not treat injuries as entertainment. These stories are a reminder that film sets are workplaces, and safety matters more than any scene.

Tom Holland

Tom Holland was hospitalized after an on-set injury while filming Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

Reports said Holland suffered a mild concussion during a stunt accident at Leavesden Studios in England. Filming was temporarily paused while Marvel Studios and Sony reviewed production plans, and Holland reportedly took time away from the set to recover.

Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks nearly faced a life-threatening medical situation while making Cast Away.

During filming, Hanks suffered a cut on his leg that became infected. Public production summaries note that he was rushed to a local hospital, underwent surgery, stayed there for three days, and filming was suspended for about three weeks while he recovered.

Harrison Ford

Harrison Ford was injured on the set of Star Wars: The Force Awakens when a hydraulic door from the Millennium Falcon set came down on him.

Early reports described a severe ankle injury, but Ford’s publicist later confirmed that he had broken his left leg and undergone surgery. Time reported that he was expected to begin rehabilitation after the operation.

Austin Butler

Austin Butler’s Elvis transformation came with a physical cost after filming wrapped.

Butler said that after he finished shooting Baz Luhrmann’s biopic, his body “started shutting down,” and he was hospitalized with a virus that mimicked appendicitis. Teen Vogue reported that the illness came after years of intense preparation and immersion in the role.

Charlize Theron

Charlize Theron suffered a serious neck injury while filming Æon Flux.

The Guardian reported in 2004 that production was shut down indefinitely after Theron was injured while performing stunts. The report said doctors were monitoring her condition and that the shutdown was expected to last at least six weeks.

Sylvester Stallone

Sylvester Stallone’s fight scenes with Dolph Lundgren in Rocky IV became famous partly because one punch caused real damage.

Stallone has said that Lundgren hit him so hard during filming that he ended up in intensive care. Business Insider reported that Stallone described nearly dying after Lundgren “pulverized” him during the fight scene.

Dylan O’Brien

Dylan O’Brien suffered serious injuries while filming Maze Runner: The Death Cure.

Teen Vogue reported that production was suspended indefinitely because of the severity of his injuries. Reports at the time described a concussion, facial fractures, and lacerations after an on-set accident during a stunt sequence.

Jackie Chan

Jackie Chan has suffered many injuries during his career, but his accident on Armour of God remains one of the most serious.

Chan fell while performing a stunt in Yugoslavia, fractured his skull, and was taken to the hospital for surgery. His official injury-history page notes that he recovered, though he lost some hearing in his right ear.

Buddy Ebsen

Buddy Ebsen was originally cast as the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz, but the makeup made him seriously ill.

The original Tin Man makeup used aluminum dust, which Ebsen inhaled. People reported that he was hospitalized and treated under an oxygen tent after developing serious breathing problems. He had to leave the film, and Jack Haley replaced him.

Margaret Hamilton

Margaret Hamilton, who played the Wicked Witch of the West, was badly burned while filming The Wizard of Oz.

The injury happened during a pyrotechnic effect. Time reported that Hamilton suffered burns, and the production had to deal with the added concern of her green makeup being removed quickly because of the injury.

Tippi Hedren

Tippi Hedren was also injured during the long and dangerous production of Roar.

Public accounts of the film’s production note that Hedren was bitten in the head by a lion during a promotional shoot, with the animal’s teeth scraping her skull.

Kate Winslet

Kate Winslet’s freezing-water scenes in Titanic became part of the film’s behind-the-scenes history.

Winslet later clarified that she experienced hypothermia during filming. The cold-water work required actors to spend long periods wet and exhausted while performing some of the movie’s most emotional scenes.

Halle Berry

Halle Berry had a frightening medical emergency while filming Die Another Day.

During a scene with Pierce Brosnan, Berry choked on a fig and later said Brosnan helped her by performing the Heimlich maneuver. BuzzFeed reported her account from The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Isla Fisher

Isla Fisher’s underwater tank scene in Now You See Me became famous because viewers thought her panic was acting.

Reports have long described the scene as a near-drowning incident, with Fisher struggling during a water-tank escape sequence. More recent coverage noted that Fisher later insisted she was safe during filming, while also acknowledging that earlier accounts had described the scene as frightening.

Jennifer Lawrence

Jennifer Lawrence did not have a typical stunt injury on Mother!, but the role pushed her body hard.

During intense emotional scenes, Lawrence tore her diaphragm while hyperventilating. Teen Vogue reported that she clarified the injury came from the performance itself, not from another person physically harming her.

Daniel Day-Lewis

Daniel Day-Lewis’ method acting on Gangs of New York became part of his legend, but it also created health concerns.

Public accounts of his career note that while playing Bill “The Butcher” Cutting, he reportedly refused warmer modern clothing because it did not fit the period and later developed pneumonia.

Brendan Fraser

Brendan Fraser’s action-movie years left a long physical record.

Fraser has spoken publicly about the injuries and surgeries that followed years of action work, including films such as The Mummy. His later career reevaluation focused partly on how much physical strain he absorbed during that period.

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