Beyond the screen: The tragic on-set deaths and injuries that shook Hollywood
Brandon Lee died while filming The Crow.
Image: Instagram
Filming "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," Tom Holland recently suffered a mild concussion after a stunt went wrong, forcing a pause in production while he recovers.
His injury is being treated as a precaution, but it’s yet another reminder that actors sometimes put their lives on the line to get the perfect shot, even when there are stunt doubles and safety protocols in place.
Over the decades, there have been far worse accidents than concussions, and some have even resulted in stars losing their lives.
Tragic on-set deaths
Brandon Lee – The Crow (1993)
Probably one of the most famous “on-set death” cases.
A prop gun fatally shot Lee. The weapon was supposed to fire a blank, but a fragment of a previously fired dummy bullet was still lodged in the barrel and was propelled out, striking him in the abdomen.
He died later that day.
Vic Morrow and two children – Twilight Zone: The Movie (1982)
During filming of a Vietnam War sequence late at night, a helicopter crashed after pyrotechnic effects damaged the aircraft’s rotor.
Vic Morrow and the two children, Myca Dinh Le (7) and Renee Shin-Yi Chen (6), were killed.
The accident exposed many safety lapses, including violating child labour laws and failing to ensure safe working distances and the timing of explosives.
Halyna Hutchins – Rust (2021)
Though not an actor, the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the Rust set is one of the more recent tragedies.
She was killed when a prop gun discharged and injured the director, Joel Souza, too.
The incident led to criminal charges and renewed industry discussion about gun safety.
Jon-Erik Hexum – Cover Up (TV series, 1984)
In a tragic accident, Hexum died on set by unintentionally shooting himself in the head with a prop gun loaded with a blank cartridge, while goofing off during a break in filming.
The blank cartridge, while not a bullet, fired a wad of paper and cardboard with enough force to fracture his skull and cause a fatal brain haemorrhage.
Actors who suffered serious injuries
Jackie Chan – Armour of God (1986)
While filming Armour of God, Jackie Chan attempted a stunt where he jumped from a wall to a tree branch.
The branch broke, and he fell about 5 metres. His head hit a rock, which caused a skull fracture, and a piece of bone was forced into his brain. He needed an 8-hour brain surgery.
As a result, he now has a permanent hole in his skull filled with a plastic plug and hearing loss in one ear.
Chan has had many other serious injuries from stunts: a dislocated pelvis, spine injuries, burns, and broken bones.
For example, in Police Story, sliding down a pole that was part of a stunt left him with burns and spinal stress, among other things.
Tom Cruise - Mission Impossible – Fallout (2018)
On a rooftop chase, Cruise attempted a jump between buildings and mis-landed, resulting in a broken ankle.
It’s one of the more publicly known accidents, given how much he tends to do his own stunts.
Brad Pitt – Se7en (1995)
While shooting Se7en, Brad Pitt was involved in a scene in which his character chases someone and slides across the hood of a car.
During that scene, he smashed through the windshield and severed a tendon in his hand, which required emergency stitches.
The filmmakers decided to write that injury into the story. From then on, his character wore a cast for the remainder of the film.
Charlize Theron – Aeon Flux (2005)
In Aeon Flux, Charlize Theron was doing a stunt that involved a back handspring. She did not get enough height and ended up landing on her neck on a concrete bridge.
She herniated a disc between the vertebrae near her neck.
She had pain, spasms and nerve damage for years. She eventually needed a neck fusion surgery, which helped her recover.