15 Outrageous On-Set Stories You Need To Read To Believe
James Holden Quick Links
The top box office movies are full of unbelievable stories that will make the hair on your head stand up. If you think that love scenes are only the on-set moments that are racy, horror and thriller movies also have created some unbelievable moments that give traditional love scenes a run for their money.
While some of these are movies, we also explore some of the biggest television shows of all-time like Game of Thrones and The Sopranos. Today you will find out the movie that critics said was “plagued by tragedy” and the actors that lived to tell their story.
For other entries, you may be shocked when you read about the number of pranks that went wrong, the drama behind the scenes and cast members that lost their lives during and after filming certain movies. What is worse is when the directors have been unable to offer the media a logical explanation for some of the craziest things that have ever gone down on a movie set.
Ready to hear some of the most entertaining stories from the most entertaining movies in the history of cinema? You're in the right place.
15. X-Men Apocalypse - McAvoy Gave Patrick Stewart His Hair
The new cast of X-Men: Apocalypse started to play a game where they would cross their fingers and put them on their waist. If another person looked at their hands, cast members would punch the person in the shoulder. The director said that Jennifer Lawrence created the game and she would even get hit by male cast members.
The actor Oscar Isaac that played Apocalypse had to use a cooling system under his costume because the prosthetics on his face that includes the neck, nose, and chin pieces were too thick for proper ventilation.
Angel (Ben Hardy) was supposed to wear a set of large wings, but instead, a team of visual effects specialists added them into his scenes.
When James McAvoy (Professor Charles Xavier) shaved his head for the part, he put his hair in a plastic bag and gave it to Patrick Stewart to keep.
14. The Exorcist - Cast Gets Too Familiar With a Demon
The Exorcist movie is adapted from the book William Blatty and starred Linda Blair as a little girl named Reagan who becomes possessed by an evil spirit. But while the idea is scary enough, you'll be amazed at the jaw-dropping events that happened on set.
The character MacNeil owned the house that was in the movie. It caught on fire because a winged creature got stuck in a circuit box, but Reagan’s room was untouched. The two actors Vasiliki Maliaros and Jack MacGowran played characters in the film that died, and the shocking fact is both men died during post-production with some to believe that the movie opened the door for a demon to conjure negative events. More deaths followed; Max von Sydow’s brother died on the first day of filming in addition to Linda Blair’s grandmother.
While working on set, a carpenter lost a few fingers and Linda Blair was so freaked out by her involvement in the film and creepy off-set events that she had a nervous breakdown.
13. Harry Potter - Hermione Gets Stalked
The youngest cast members of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ended up with head lice and it ended up getting so bad there were filming delays.
To get a breath of fresh air on location in a forest, Emma Watson was startled by a man that turned out to be a stalker that she had previously recognized from stalking her outside of her home.
When Bellatrix Lestrange stuck a wand at Matthew Lewis (Neville), she accidentally ruptured his eardrum onset of the fifth installment.
Arguments started to brew between Alan Rickman and directors over the creative control of his character Snape. Before the movie, The Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling gave him details about his character that no one else knew.
In 2005 while working together on Goblet of Fire, Matthew Lewis and Rupert Grint (Ron) played tricks on Alan Rickman by throwing milkshakes at his old car. Two years later while the three worked together on Order of the Phoenix, Alan made sure Matthew and Rupert stayed far away from his new BMW.
12. Saturday Night Live - Larry David is Surprisingly Hard To Work With
When Kanye West was about to start filming his skit on Saturday Night Live in February 2016, he was outraged and angry about new changes with the set-up on stage.
Hold your nose for this one. Tina Fey admitted that the bathroom in the SNL on-set studio was far from the room where comedy writers worked. She found jars and cups of urine backstage.
Eddie Murphy was confirmed to play Bill Cosby in a Jeopardy skit during the SNL 2015 40 Special. He canceled at the last minute to avoid being in a whirlwind of controversy.
When Larry David the famous Seinfeld producer was a writer for SNL he threatened Dick Ebersol that he would quit because he was unsatisfied with his position on the show. Larry returned the next day to resume work because he realized the amount of money he would be walking away from and the SNL team gave him bad looks for acting like it was a typical day at work.
11. Power Rangers - Homophobic Issues
Billy Cranston’s character (the Blue Ranger) played by actor David Yost and the entire cast in addition to the people on set knew that he was gay. His character appeared in the first movie Might Morphin Power Rangers and in Power Rangers Zeo where he played a significant part in the film, or so we thought. The end of Billy Cranston’s character came to an end when he moved to a new planet. The reason for this is the producers, writers, and directors believed that a non-heterosexual man was not the best fit for Billy’s character.
In the first season of filming, the cast was paid the same salary as a person working at McDonald's. Although the movie grossed billions of dollars, it was difficult for them to request vacation for holidays such as Christmas.
10. Fast and Furious - The Rock Demands Luke Hobbs Character
After Michelle Rodriguez signed up to be apart of the fist movie she almost quit because she thought her character Letty Ortiz was unclassy when directors wanted Letty to cheat on Dom. Michelle also had no experience driving before being a part of the franchise film.
Jessica Biel, Natalie Portman, and Kristen Dunst lined up to get the part of Mia, but the role was meant for Jordana Brewster.
If it weren't for scheduling conflicts during 2 Fast 2 Furious, the 90s rapper Redman would be in Ludacris' place to play the computer savvy character named Tej Parker.
The ambitious actor Dwayne Johnson walked into the Universal Studios office without an invitation to ask for a part in Fast Five and got the role to play Luke Hobbs.
Tyrese Gibson (Roman Pearce) flew back and forth from Atlanta to Puerto Rico during Fast Five because Transformers: Dark of the Moon was filming at the same time.
9. The Dark Knight - The Movie "Plagued By Tragedy"
The internet is full of conspiracy theories about the death of Heath Ledger who played the Joker in The Dark Knight, but his unfortunate death was not the only tragedy. One month after the movie was released Morgan Freeman who played Lucius Fox was in a car accident. According to the Daily Mail UK, when Anne Hathaway’s stunt double helped her with challenging scenes as Cat woman she “crashed into expensive camera equipment.” Shortly after this happened, the classic car that we love called the Batwing became totaled in an accident.
While a special effects technician was working on a moving camera truck, the truck catapulted into a tree, and the technician died on set.
Back to Heath Ledger; to get ready for his part as the Joker he stayed in a hotel for six weeks thinking about terrible things that would give us nightmares. He also designed his own makeup!
8. Game of Thrones - Tommen Takes a Tumble
Whether he signed a non-disclosure agreement or didn’t want bad luck while filming, Eugene Simon who plays Lancel Lannister kept his mouth shut for six seasons about his experience on the show. It was after his character ended in the program that he decided to reveal backstage stories that are listed below for your entertainment:
Game of Thrones was filmed in the city of Belfast in Northern Ireland in a castle with a corridor that stretches up to 300 meters long. When people on set would turn on a flashlight down the passageway, you can see the yellow eyes of bats staring in the dark.
When fans watched Tommen Baratheon (Dean-Charles Chapman) see his wife die in a wildfire explosion in the season finale when he took off his crown and jumped out of a window he ended up injuring his nose after falling into a hard mattress.
7. The Walking Dead - No Swearing Allowed
The homeowners of the farm house filmed in The Walking Dead Season 2 made it clear that zombies and bad language were not allowed on their property. It was a typical day on set when crew members watched Andrew Lincoln acting crazy as he would get into the Rick Grimes character which is the longest-living person in a show full of zombies and blood.
Josh McDermitt admitted that his character Eugene has the most similar persona to who he is in real life that he has ever played.
The HBO network declined a deal to be the first to air The Walking Dead because of its gruesome scenes which are surprising because the network is known for violent shows that include The Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire, and the prison show Oz.
7. The Sopranos - The Death That Upset The Cast
The creator of The Sopranos named David Chase said he felt like a monster because of his guilt for developing stories with a long list of characters murdered. He admitted that many of the actors could not get out of character after filming because the show depicted violent crimes that real gangsters live out.
Before it became a TV show, David Chase first pitched the idea as a movie to Hollywood producers but his agent stopped him from pursuing a film because he believed that it would be more successful on television.
Cast members were on purposely given a script right before an episode started to create real-life tense moments. Most of the cast were paranoid that their character would come to an end without notice. They became obsessed and would ask writers and the director for tips which most were fine with but when Sal Bonpensiero was murdered the cast expressed their anger to the writers because they felt Sal was an important part of the story line.
6. Entourage: The Entertainers That Never Made the Cut
If you loved watching Entourage, seeing the different celebrities that cameo in the show was a treat. President Barack Obama, Russell Crowe, and Charlie Sheen decided to decline an invitation to have an opportunity to have a brief appearance in the show.
When the script began, Vince Vaughn was a part of the vision before it started but because he was making $20 million for each film he starred in at the time, having Vince on set was an over the budget idea.
When Entourage it was presented as a pitch to HBO it was rejected and the networks executive producer Steve Levinson admitted that the executives hated it. The TV network's only feedback to the Entourage producer was to make the show more exciting, and the rest is history. When Adrian Grenier (Vincent Chase) received the script, he almost declined to be a part of it because it lacked entertainment.
5. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Alberto Del Rio's Fight With Raphael
Megan Fox had a fun time doing kickboxing scenes for TMNT Part 2 but was limited because she was pregnant. Her stunt double helped her do the rest of the dirty work.
Aside from the movie, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle mascot got into big trouble with a famous Mexican wrestler. At an IWRG show where Alberto Del Rio’s brother had a wrestling match in Mexico, Alberto got into an altercation with a Raphael mascot and fans witnessed the two slamming into a locker room and roughing it out in the hallway. The morning after the fight both the mascot and Alberto were tight-lipped about the incident, but Alberto added a photo of him and his girlfriend Paige hugging stating “Good night marks.” Did he imply that he left bruise marks on Raphael?
4. Luke Cage Show: Hidden Subliminal Messages
At Pop's Barber Shop in the first scene of the show, a poster on the wall lists a few entertainers that don't have to pay for haircuts that include Al Pacino, Michael Jordan, and Richard Roundtree the latter of whom is the actor that played Shaft.
In the Barber Shop, the owner has a 'swear jar' that pays homage to the funkadelic pop star Prince because he also kept a swear jar in his house.
The two words 'the incident' are used in Luke Cage and also in other Marvel shows on Netflix. This is a reference to the movie The Avengers when Avengers characters are fighting in the middle of New York City.
The Notorious B.I.G. painting that Cottonmouth keeps standing in front of in his nightclub is a metaphor that like Big Poppa, his death will be coming soon in the show.
3. JackAss's Anaconda Bites and Rugged Road Tattoo Rides
Inside of the Anaconda Ball Pit Johnny Knoxville had to wear electric tape on his wrists to avoid getting bitten by the two snakes that were beneath the colorful balls. An on-set employee told him that one of the Anacondas tore off a crew member’s calf muscle. One of the snakes bit Ryan Dunn and it was a struggle to save his life when it wrapped its tail around his body.
As the group was on an adventure drive in the wilderness while getting tattoos, Wee-Man arrived on set in fear. He was dating Henry’s girlfriend behind his back, and Henry was confirmed by the producers to draw the tattoo on Wee-Man’s body.
When the gang is having, fun doing golf cart crashes it is on a golf course with mini carts that are forty years old. Dave England admitted that they could have broken their noses or died during filming.
2. On-Set Injuries In Movies That End in Emergencies
During the movie Now You See Me Isla Fisher was in the water chamber for 3 minutes and almost drowned when she had trouble unlocking her shackles.
Zach Galifianakis had brain injuries after doing his scenes with a moving taxi for the movie The Hangover Part II.
While working on Django Leonard DiCaprio slammed his fist into a glass cup while he yells at Jamie Foxx to sit back down at a table.
In Inglorious Bastards, Christoph Waltz strangles Diane Kruger so hard that she passes out in the final cut of the movie.
In the film, Nightcrawler Jake Gyllenhaal punches a glass mirror in his apartment, and behind the scenes, he cut his hand and went to a hospital for treatment.
Last but not least, in Pineapple Express we see James Franco wearing a headband. He was hiding three stitches after he ran into a tree in excitement while working.
1. Suicide Squad - Margot Robbie's Tattoo Mistake
Jared Leto may have taken things too far while on the set of Suicide Squad with the goal of topping Health Ledger's Joker character in The Dark Knight. Cast member revealed that Jared stayed in character even when they were not working. Before production, he sent his colleague's strange gifts and decided to give Margot Robbie a box with a huge rat in it. He also threw a dead pig on a table during rehearsal.
Jared Leto wasn’t the only troublemaker. One day after filming, the cast went out and got drunk. Margot Robbie carried a tattoo gun with her that night and a film assistant said yes to the idea of her giving him a tattoo. Margot is lucky that she is a good looking woman. She made an obvious typo by drawing 'swad' instead of 'skwad' on his arm, but he seemed to be okay with it.
