Trying to bring the action-packed scenes in Hollywood blockbusters and TV shows, several people were injured and even killed while attempting to perform some dangerous stunts.
- Oct 31, 2021
AceShowbiz - People find movies and TV series magical with the dangerous and thrilling stunts and all. While it's true, they are also things that led to tragic on-set accidents.
Trying to bring the action-packed scenes in Hollywood blockbusters and TV shows, several people were injured and even killed while attempting to perform those stunts. The lack of safety protocol and regulations were often blamed for horrible incidents on the set.
Most recently, shooting accident took place on the set of "Rust" involving actor Alec Baldwin. The "30 Rock" alum accidentally shot and killed cinematographer Halyna Huntchins with a prop gun. He also injured director Joel Souza, who has been discharged from hospital.
Unfortunately, the tragedy isn't the only instance how dangerous movies/TV shows set could be. Here are ten other horrifying accidents on the set of Hollywood movies and TV shows.
1. America's Got Talent: Extreme
"America's Got Talent: Extreme" contestant Jonathan Goodwin got into a near-death accident during a car stunt rehearsal in October. The daredevil was sandwiched between two cars while hanging mid-air after something went wrong when he tried to unhook his harness. Jonathan fell and the accident led to an explosion.
Thankfully, Jonathan was alive. In his statement following the horrifying accident, he said, "I have been to the very brink and dodged the worst that a human being can, without fear…because I was protected by love. Love is all you need, so make sure you get some, cos its good s**t." Concluding his message, he revealed that he still has "a long road to recovery."
2. Resident Evil: The Final Chapter
Another horrifying on-set accident occured during the filming for "Resident Evil: The Final Chapter". Back in September 2015, a motorcycle stunt went horribly wrong during the filming of the sixth and final installment of the "Resident Evil" franchise as Milla Jovovich's stunt double Olivia Jackson was severely injured and lost her left arm.
That was not the only accident on the set of the movie. Just two months later, Olivia's colleague Ricardo Cornelius died after an unsecured Humvee slid off of a platform and crushed him. Meanwhile, Olivia decided to sue the stunt coordinator and his company, the film driver, the boom operator and the stunt vehicle company for negligence. She won a court ruling in South Africa's High Court in April 2020.
3. Deadpool 2
In August 2017, a stuntwoman was killed in an on-set accident while filming "Deadpool 2". Joi Harris was riding a motorbike near Vancouver's Jack Pool Plaza when she lost control, leading her to crash through a window. Unfortunately, she died shortly after. Production on the movie was subsequently halted after the crash.
An investigation was launched following the tragic accident. Later in May 2020, it was reported that producers of the Ryan Reynolds-starring movie were slapped with nearly $300,000 for failing to provide a safe workplace. The fine was imposed on TCF Vancouver Productions LTD by WorkSafeBC, the Canadian equivalent of OSHA. "The primary purpose of an administrative penalty is to motivate the employer receiving the penalty -- and other employers -- to comply with occupational health and safety requirements and to keep their workplaces safe," the agency said at the time.
4. The Expendables 2
Another stuntman had to lose his life on the set. Kun Liu died while performing on an inflatable boat on the Ognyanovo dam in Bulgaria for "The Expendables 2". Back in October 2011, Kun and other stuntmen participated in a stunt which involved an explosion. While two others were injured, Kun succumbed to his wounds.
"Our hearts go out to the families and those on the production affected by this tragedy," Nu Image/Millennium Films said in a statement. "The filmmakers are working closely with the authorities in responding to and investigating this accident." His parents later filed a case of wrongful death against Millennium Films and the movie's stunt coordinator, claiming that the filmmakers and Stahelski "negligently and carelessly failed to provide adequate protection from harm to the participants of the stunts."
5. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Harrison Ford escaped death while filming "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" in June 2014. The actor, who reprised his role as Han Solo in the movie, broke his left leg as he was crushed beneath the heavy door of the Millennium Falcon while filming at Pinewood Studios in London. Foodles Production pleaded guilty to two breaches under health and safety legislation.
"Now we had lots of money and technology and so they built a f**king great hydraulic door which closed at light speed and somebody said, 'Ooh I wonder what this is?' " the actor said of the accident. "And the door came down and hit me on my left hip because I was turned to my right. And then it flung my left leg up and it dislocated my ankle and as it drove me down to the floor, my legs slapped on the ramp up to the Millennium Falcon and broke both bones in my left leg."
6. Twilight Zone: The Movie
Victor Morrow was another victim of unsafety work environment in Hollywood movie industry. The actor died in a helicopter accident while filming in "Twilight Zone: The Movie" back in 1982.
At the time, he acted for a scene, which was directed by John Landis, alongside two child actors, 7-year-old Myca Dinh Le and 6-year-old Renee Shin-Yi Chen. The scene saw them trying to flee from a Vietnamese village during Vietnam war while a U.S. Army helicopter hovered over them. The helicopter crashed following a pyrotechnic explosion and landed on the 53-year-old and the child actors. The three were killed during the tragic accident.
7. Cover Up
Jon-Erik Hexum was a rising star when he died on October 18, 1984. The actor's life was cut short when he accidentally shot himself with a 44. magnum while filming CBS action-adventure series "Cover Up", on which he played a CIA agent working undercover as a model.
The actor was playing Russian roulette with the weapon, which was loaded with blanks. He reportedly put the weapon right up against his temple before firing it off. The wadding from the blank drove a piece of his skull into his brain, causing a massive brain hemorrage. Jon-Erik was pronounced dead before he was eventually taken off of life support a week later.
8. The Walking Dead
"The Walking Dead" crew mourned the death of stuntman John Bernecker in 2017. The production on season eight of AMC's zombie apocalypse series was halted after John suffered injuries after falling more than 20 feet onto concrete floor on the set in Georgia.
"We are saddened to report that John Bernecker, a talented stuntman for 'The Walking Dead' and numerous other television shows and films, suffered serious injuries from a tragic accident on set," AMC said in a statement, addressing the incident that involved John, whose credits included "Black Panther", "The Fate of the Furious", "Keanu" and "Logan". "He was immediately transported to an Atlanta hospital, and we have temporarily shut down production. We are keeping John and his family in our thoughts and prayers."
9. Midnight Rider: The Gregg Allman Story
The filming of "Midnight Rider: The Gregg Allman Story" back in 2014 featured a fatal incident on the very first day of shooting. During the filming on a live railroad track, camera assistant Sarah Jones was killed after being struck by an oncoming train.
According to reports, the crew members tried to quickly remove their gear from the tracks as soon as they heard the train coming. However, a piece of debris propelled the 27-year-old camera assistant back into the train's path which led to her death. Following the accident, director Randall Miller served one year in jail as it was revealed that producers did not have permission to film on the railway. Sarah's parents also received $11.2 million in damages.
10. The Crow
Brandon Lee's death may be one of the things that comes to people's mind when it comes to on-set accidents. The son of Bruce Lee died after being shot with a prop gun while he was filming the final scenes of the movie "The Crow" back in 1993.
Actor Michael Massee, who played drug dealer Funboyin the film, fired at Brandon during a scene with a gun. The weapon was later revealed to have been improperly loaded. While dummy bullets had been replaced with cardboard wadding, a bullet fragment had broken off and remained in the gun. Brandon died at 28 from wounds as the metal tip of the dummy bullet struck his abdomen.
