Actors Who Injured Their Co-Stars During Filming
Movie magic is all smoke, mirrors, and foam rubber, until someone goes home with a real bruise, broken bone, or scar. To sell a punch, kick, or fall, actors need to commit, and sometimes they commit a little too hard.
From legendary martial artists to modern superhero stars, here are some of the wildest times actors accidentally injured their co-stars.
Linden Ashby’s kidneys got wrecked in Mortal Kombat (1995)
Mortal Kombat surprised everyone by not being terrible (for its time), and a big part of that is how fierce the fights look. That realism came at a price for Linden Ashby, who played cocky movie star Johnny Cage.
While filming his big showdown with Scorpion, played by martial artist Chris Casamassa, an ax kick went wrong. Casamassa’s heel slipped between Ashby’s pads and nailed him right in the kidney. He later said he ended up peeing blood for days and said that “it hurt a lot.” On the plus side, the fight looked fantastic!
Thomas Jane actually stabbed Kevin Nash in The Punisher (2004)
In the 2004 film The Punisher, Kevin Nash, a former pro wrestler, and Thomas Jane’s Frank Castle engage in a brutal brawl with a massive Russian thug. In the midst of all the chaos and furniture breaking, at one point, Castle stabs the Russian.
Tiny problem: someone forgot to swap the real knife for a prop one, and Jane genuinely stabbed Nash near the collarbone. Nash, being a terrifyingly chill giant, didn’t freak out, but Jane felt awful and later talked about how shocked he was that Nash was so calm about being literally stabbed. What an absolute unit!
Dolph Lundgren nearly stopped Stallone’s heart in Rocky IV (1985)
Sylvester Stallone wanted the fight with Ivan Drago in Rocky IV to look brutally real, and for that, he told Dolph Lundgren to actually try to knock him out for a few shots. Great for realism. Terrible for Stallone’s health.
Lundgren rocked him so hard that Stallone’s heart literally slammed against his ribs and started to swell. That’s the kind of injury doctors usually see in serious car accidents. Stallone had to be flown to the ICU and spent days recovering.
Jean-Claude Van Damme’s co-star lost an eye in Cyborg (1989)
Low-budget sci-fi flick Cyborg has a wild behind-the-scenes story, but the worst part happened during a pirate fight scene. Jean-Claude Van Damme’s character battles a group of villains, including one played by Jackson “Rock” Pinckney.
In the chaos, a prop knife stopped being harmless and went straight into Pinckney’s eye. The injury was serious enough that he lost an eye and later sued, eventually winning nearly half a million dollars in damages.
Bruce Lee rang Jackie Chan’s bell in Enter the Dragon (1973)
Before Jackie Chan was the Jackie we all know and love, he was a teenage stunt guy working on Bruce Lee’s classic Enter the Dragon. In one scene, Lee is supposed to whack a line of attackers with a pair of sticks, and Chan’s job was to run in, pretend to get hit, and dramatically fall down.
Only Bruce Lee didn’t do half-measures and swung a little too hard, actually cracking Jackie Chan in the dome. They kept going until the director yelled “Cut,” and only then did Lee rush over, apologizing and checking on him. Chan later admitted that, yes, it hurt, but he milked the moment to enjoy a hug from his hero.
Joe Pesci literally bit Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone (1990)
Joe Pesci is terrifying when he wants to be, which is exactly why Home Alone works so well. As burglar Harry, he spent most of the movie slipping, falling, and getting tormented by Kevin McCallister’s traps, but one of the scariest moments happened off-screen.
During the scene where Harry threatens to bite off Kevin’s fingers, Pesci got a little too into character. In one take, he accidentally bit Macaulay Culkin’s finger hard enough to leave a scar that Culkin says he still has on his right index finger.
Stone Cold nearly broke Stallone’s neck in The Expendables (2010)
This time, Stallone’s opponent was wrestling legend “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. Their fight in the film is exactly what you’d expect: big, loud, and full of haymakers.
Stallone later revealed that the brawl was so intense that he ended up with a hairline fracture in his neck. He needed serious surgery afterward and now has a metal plate in there as a souvenir. So yes, you can think of it as Stone Cold basically giving Rocky a hardware upgrade.
Dave Bautista messed up Daniel Craig’s knee in Spectre (2015)
In Spectre, Daniel Craig’s 007 takes on Dave Bautista’s hulking henchman in a brutal fight on a train. One stunt had Bautista fling Craig across the carriage. It looked fantastic on the screen, but the crew didn’t plan the landing very well.
Craig tore his meniscus and had to take time off for knee surgery. Although he later explained that it was an incident that could have occurred while “getting out of the shower,” the impact of Bautista’s wrestling-powered toss was undeniable.
Michael B. Jordan took a real punch in Creed (2015)
To make Creed feel authentic, director Ryan Coogler cast real fighters and insisted on real hits for some shots. That’s how Michael B. Jordan ended up taking a real punch to the face from pro boxer Tony Bellew. And not just once, but twice!
They needed a slow-motion knockout shot, and you just can’t fake your face deforming in real time if you strive for realism. Jordan later joked that Bellew claimed he was only punching at 40%, but it felt closer to 85%. He compared the aftermath to being in a car accident for several days. But eventually, it was totally worth it.
Halle Berry broke two ribs fighting Valentina Shevchenko in Bruised (2020)
For her directorial debut, Bruised, Halle Berry decided not only to play an MMA fighter but also to train like one, with real UFC champ Valentina Shevchenko as both her co-star and coach.
They decided to film their big showdown early in the shoot. On day two, Shevchenko landed a kick that broke two of Berry’s ribs. The actress seriously considered shutting down production to heal, but decided to power through the pain and finish the fight scene instead. Only after they got what they needed did she admit how much pain she was in. What a badass legend.