Actors Injured By Painful Costumes And Prosthetics
Actors who can no longer do the robot, blue mutants with blisters, and demons who couldn't wait to shed their skin; sometimes, the demands of crazy costumes have had long-lasting effects on performers.
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00:00 Actors who can no longer do the robot, blue mutants with blisters, and demons who couldn't
00:05 wait to shed their skin, sometimes the demands of crazy costumes have had long-lasting effects
00:10 on performers.
00:12 Michelle Pfeiffer took on the career-defining role of Catwoman in Tim Burton's 1992 movie,
00:17 Batman Returns.
00:19 Despite leading man Michael Keaton objecting to the casting of Pfeiffer, as the two shared
00:23 a romantic past, no one else could embody Catwoman and wield her iconic whip quite like
00:28 Pfeiffer.
00:29 During the scenes, Pfeiffer wasn't always so smooth with the weapon, and had a few accidents
00:33 while training.
00:34 As she told interviewer Dominic Wells, "There was a beauty, an elegance and a sexuality
00:39 to it, which at any moment could turn violent.
00:42 It's really lethal, though.
00:43 I injured myself a couple of times and accidentally drew blood on my teacher."
00:47 Despite some painful moments, Pfeiffer doesn't hold any animosity toward the prop.
00:52 She revealed on Instagram in 2019 that she still has the iconic whip in her possession,
00:57 though it needs some TLC.
00:59 The actor even showed off her whip swinging skills, which seemed just as strong as in
01:03 1992, injuries aside.
01:06 Lots of work went into creating the ambiance of 1950s New York scene in The Marvelous Mrs.
01:12 Maisel.
01:13 From period cars to authentic-looking department stores, the production team captured it all,
01:17 and part of that was making sure that the characters looked the part.
01:20 For leading lady Rachel Brosnahan, as wife-turned-comedian Miriam Maisel, that meant that her dresses
01:26 needed to showcase the era's popular silhouette - a tiny waist and flowing skirt.
01:31 This was achieved by making Brosnahan wear a period-appropriate corset.
01:35 Though flattering, this aspect of Brosnahan's wardrobe, mixed with creator Amy Sherman Palladino's
01:40 wicked-fast dialogue that first became a staple on Gilmore Girls, left her with lasting discomfort.
01:47 She explained the unfortunate side effects on The Late Late Show with James Corden.
01:51 "I actually got kind of a corset-related injury.
01:54 Basically, some of my ribs are sort of fused together a little bit, and I can't take super
02:00 deep breaths anymore."
02:01 The conclusion of any fantasy film series isn't complete without an epic final battle,
02:07 and 2012's The Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn Part II is no different.
02:11 The Volturi are not pleased about a vampire and human producing offspring, and set out
02:16 to kill anyone who stands in their way during a bloody fight on snowy grounds.
02:20 While their on-screen characters are mostly concerned with staying alive, the Twilight
02:24 actors had a different concern while shooting this scene.
02:27 Keeping their eyesight intact, everyone portraying a vampire had to wear colored contact lenses,
02:32 which were far from comfortable.
02:34 Elizabeth Reeser, who plays Esme Cullen, told Vanity Fair, "Oh my God, they were beyond
02:39 annoying.
02:40 They are excruciating."
02:41 "And can you see through them?"
02:42 "No.
02:43 It's like we're Mr. and Mrs. Magoo."
02:46 The artificial snow used in the battle scene didn't help her already irritated eyes.
02:51 Peter Facinelli, who portrayed Carlisle Cullen, revealed to Vanity Fair that sometimes the
02:56 paper snow would make its way underneath the painful contacts.
02:59 "I remember Elizabeth woke up one day and her eyes were swollen shut.
03:03 I was like, 'I play a doctor, but I can't help you, Elizabeth.'"
03:07 The 1985 fantasy film Legend is a cult classic, due in no small part to Tim Curry as the Lord
03:13 of Darkness.
03:14 From his fire-red skin and three-foot-long horns to stilts that gave him an additional
03:19 18 inches of height, Curry was a sight to behold on set.
03:23 His entire transformation took five and a half hours for makeup artists to complete.
03:28 "And we had terrible negotiations about what bits of me would still be visible."
03:36 Understandably, Curry couldn't wait to shed his devil skin once filming wrapped up for
03:41 the day, but this was easier said than done.
03:44 Spirit gum, a strong adhesive, was applied all over his body to keep the makeup and prosthetics
03:49 secured.
03:50 This meant that he was forced to soak in water for an hour to loosen the adhesive before
03:54 he could fully take off the makeup without injuring himself.
03:57 Eventually, Curry became so fed up with the lengthy process of shedding his darkness look
04:02 that he stopped caring about the pain and impatiently ripped everything off, taking
04:06 some of his skin with it.
04:08 Thanks to monsters of makeup, they had to shoot around Curry for the following week
04:12 as he recovered.
04:13 Jack Haley may be synonymous with the hollow-chested Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz, but originally,
04:19 another actor was supposed to assist Dorothy Gale on her quest to the Emerald City.
04:24 Buddy Epson, of the Beverly Hillbillies fame, was initially cast, but a major health scare
04:29 forced filmmakers to look elsewhere.
04:31 Epson's daughter Kiki later shared how real aluminum powder was dusted onto her father's
04:36 face and hands several times a day, telling Fox News Digital, "He inhaled it over time.
04:41 It coated the inside of his lungs like paint.
04:44 He could not get oxygen to his blood, but he didn't know this was happening.
04:47 He just knew that he was cramping up on set and during shooting."
04:50 A little over a week into filming, Buddy was having so much trouble breathing that he was
04:54 rushed to the hospital, where he remained on oxygen for two weeks.
04:58 Kiki Epson continued, "He actually couldn't get oxygen to the blood.
05:02 He had taken as much as he could in his body, and it just broke down."
05:05 Upon recovering six weeks later, Buddy learned that he'd been replaced.
05:09 Though replacement actor Jack Haley's makeup was now a paste instead of a deadly powder,
05:14 the aluminum makeup still wasn't entirely safe, with Haley getting an eye infection.
05:19 There's never a dull moment in Hawkins, Indiana.
05:22 After the conclusion of the first season of Stranger Things, the gang quickly acquires
05:27 a brand new threat - the Mind Flayer, which controls Demogorgons, flayed-possessed humans,
05:33 and other terrifying upside-down things.
05:35 Billy Hargrove, played by Dacre Montgomery, isn't that enjoyable to be around on a normal
05:40 day, let alone when he's controlled by an evil entity.
05:43 But in the show's third season, that's exactly what the protagonists have to face.
05:47 In episode four, Billy's mind and body are completely taken over by the Mind Flayer in
05:53 a painful transformation.
05:54 In order to make this Stranger Things scene as chilling as possible, Montgomery gave it
05:58 his all, which resulted in some nasty injuries that, ironically, were concealed underneath
06:04 his bruised prosthetics.
06:05 He told Entertainment Weekly,
06:06 "I have photos from the final day, when I left set, and I got all of my prosthetics,
06:11 my wig, my makeup, everything taken off, and my body is covered in bruises and cuts, head
06:16 to toe, because I absolutely did everything that I could.
06:19 I peeled all the skin off the top of my toes in real life, from dragging myself across
06:23 the tile floor."
06:25 In the 2011 movie X-Men First Class, Jennifer Lawrence takes on the role of the shape-shifting
06:30 mutant Mystique with her head-to-toe blue scaly makeup.
06:34 But despite it being visually appealing for the screen, the body paint ruined Lawrence's
06:38 filming experience.
06:39 Not only did it take eight hours to apply each day, it also caused some serious skin
06:44 issues.
06:45 She told E! News,
06:46 "I got a couple of things from the paint, like weird boils, rashes, and blisters."
06:51 The situation became so dire that a doctor had to stop by the set and pop the protrusions
06:56 for her.
06:57 As a young actor, Lawrence didn't put up much of a fight about what materials were
07:00 going on her body or the negative effects beyond the bursting boils.
07:04 As she got older, her mindset changed.
07:06 She told E!W. in 2015, ahead of the release of X-Men Apocalypse,
07:10 "Now I'm almost 25, and I'm like, 'I can't even pronounce this, and that's going in my
07:15 nose?
07:16 I'm breathing that?'
07:17 It was time to shoot the next X-Men film.
07:19 The body paint was ditched in favor of a bodysuit, much to Lawrence's relief.
07:23 She told E! News at the time,
07:25 "It will be from neck down, so it will cut out time and the blisters."
07:29 The new costume wasn't without its problems, though.
07:31 "So I keep standing up out of a funnel."
07:37 Topher Grace may be mostly known for his nearly decade-long tenure playing Eric Foreman on
07:42 That '70s Show, but he's since proven that he's capable of more than just comedies.
07:47 2007's Spider-Man 3 sees Grace take on the role of Eddie Brock, Peter Parker's enemy
07:52 at the Daily Bugle who transforms into the villainous Venom.
07:56 Grace revealed in an interview with Superhero Hype that embodying Venom came with its share
08:01 of challenges.
08:02 Whether it was refraining from drinking liquids once in the suit, suffering a wedgie while
08:07 hoisted in the air on wires, or spending four hours getting prosthetics put on, Grace's
08:12 onset experience was tedious but survivable.
08:15 However, there was one aspect of his Venom transformation that he had a difficult time
08:20 coping with - the fangs.
08:22 Asked if he kept the fake teeth once filming wrapped, Grace was quick to say no.
08:26 "I don't want to see those again.
08:27 They were, like, really painful.
08:29 The fangs were actually bruising my gums.
08:31 It's good, though.
08:32 I guess it's kind of a method way to get into being mean."
08:35 It's hard to imagine the Star Wars universe without the endearingly fretful C-3PO, played
08:40 by Anthony Daniels.
08:42 However, the actor inside the iconic golden costume doesn't look back on his Star Wars
08:46 years with completely fond memories.
08:49 Rather, his tenure working for George Lucas was chalk full of mental turmoil, as well
08:54 as physical.
08:55 In his 2019 memoir, I Am C-3PO, Daniels gets candid about how despite the character being
09:00 a beloved figure in pop culture, he had a rather unenjoyable time bringing the droid
09:05 to life on set.
09:07 Weighing in at 60 pounds, the costume was heavy and tight, and due to its limited mobility,
09:12 shooting required Daniels to be on his feet for many hours at a time, unable to sit down.
09:17 After playing C-3PO for a while, Daniels began to notice changes in his body, including a
09:22 struggle to fully use his hands.
09:24 He says in the memoir, "I couldn't easily turn my own front door key.
09:28 His limbs were going numb, and doctors predicted that his hands and arms would be forever paralyzed
09:33 if he continued on in this fashion."
09:35 Eventually, the costume was altered to allow more movement, saving Daniels from an immobile
09:40 future.
09:41 Sometimes, special effects don't quite turn out as expected.
09:45 This was the case on the set of David Lynch's 1984 sci-fi film, Dune, in which Duke Leto
09:50 Atreides, played by Jurgen Prochnow, tries to protect his family and the planet Arrakis
09:55 from invaders.
09:57 After successfully completing most of his scenes, Prochnow had one final scene to shoot
10:01 before he was finished with Dune.
10:03 The scene is a nasty one that sees the Duke going in and out of consciousness on a stretcher,
10:07 as Baron Harkonnen roughly swipes a hand across his face.
10:11 Moments later, Leto opens his mouth to emit a green gas-like poison from a hidden capsule,
10:17 much to the shock of Harkonnen.
10:18 This required a special effects setup that pumped real smoke into a prosthetic on Prochnow's
10:23 cheek.
10:24 During several practice runs, everything went according to plan, but when the cameras started
10:28 rolling, things went haywire.
10:30 The prosthetic had filled with smoke from the numerous practice runs, causing it to
10:34 tear and inflict first- and second-degree burns on the actor's face, causing Prochnow
10:39 to jump from the stretcher, clearly in pain.
10:42 Sometimes an urban legend about an on-set injury is just too good to be true.
10:47 Harrison Ford has preferred to rely on stunt doubles as little as possible while filming
10:51 the Indiana Jones franchise.
10:53 Since the release of Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981, Ford has been dragged by a truck,
10:59 sprinted away from a massive boulder, and flown around a warehouse on wires, to name
11:03 just a few of his daredevil stunts.
11:06 With so much movement, Ford found it difficult to keep Indy's famous fedora in place.
11:11 A behind-the-scenes clip shows that in order to rectify the situation on the set of Raiders
11:16 of the Lost Ark, Ford took a staple gun and stapled the hat directly onto his forehead.
11:22 It's pretty clearly a joke, but that didn't stop multiple news outlets from treating it
11:27 like an actual thing that happened, despite the crew smiling in the background, Ford's
11:31 lack of reaction, and the sound of an empty staple gun.
11:34 In an interview with GQ, Ford leaned into the myth, stating that decades later, he still
11:39 has scars.
11:40 "You do what you need to do."
11:42 -Ford
11:43 "I'm not going to do it."
11:44 -Game of Thrones
11:45 "I'm not going to do it."
11:46 -Ford