Sci-Fi Scenes That Scared Actors In Real Life

Hollywood's fascination with science fiction has produced some of the greatest thrills in movie history. "Star Wars," "Blade Runner," "The Matrix," "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," and "The Day the Earth Stood Still" are but a handful of films that rank high amongst genre enthusiasts for their audacious ideas, innovative visuals, originality, colorful characters, and timeless appeal. Crafting these timeless masterpieces requires significant effort and unwavering commitment, and should not be underestimated. Many production stories showcase the extent to which producers and directors are willing to go to realize their vision — even if it comes at the cost of the actors' well-being.

Borrowing a cue from the article "12 Horror Movie Scenes That Scared Actors in Real Life," we decided to dive into the world of sci-fi and explore a handful of movie scenes that similarly induced screams from the cast. Not in a negative way, mind you. Indeed, many directors deploy a variety of tricks to capture an authentic look from their stars to ensure the right amount of realism for the audience. That's entertainment, folks!

So, sit back, relax, and try not to freak out when you read this list of sci-fi scenes that scared actors in real life.

Steven Spielberg's sci-fi classic about a man's obsession with aliens boasts some of the director's most iconic moments. From the intense UFO chase across the countryside to the magical finale set at Devil's Tower, "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" remains the definitive cinematic extraterrestrial experience, replete with astonishing performances from Richard Dreyfuss and the late Melinda Dillon.

Surprisingly, the most remarkable performance comes from an unlikely source, child actor Cary Guffey. As the precocious Barry, son of Jillian Guiler (Dillon), Guffey believably conveys various emotions across his young face. In one particularly memorable sequence, he stumbles across a kitchen splattered with remnants of food and broken dishes. The camera lingers on his face in one long, unbroken take as the boy gazes at the unseen aliens offscreen. At first, he looks frightened and confused. Then, his face morphs into a smile. It's wondrous to behold.

To achieve this effect, Spielberg deployed an assortment of tricks. In the making-of documentary, Guffey recalls seeing a man in a gorilla suit and another in a clown outfit when he ran into the kitchen, causing his terrified reactions. Spielberg then had the man in the gorilla costume take off his mask; Guffey recognized him as a friend and smiled. "That's one take, you can't do that twice," Spielberg said.

Other scenes with Barry involved similar tactics, but this is the moment where Spielberg's methods work best.

James Cameron's demanding nature and the director's relentless pursuit of perfection can create tension on set but they've also led to blockbusters like "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," "Aliens," "Titanic," "True Lies," and "Avatar."

However, "The Abyss" (1989) pushed the limits of everyone involved. This production ranks among the most challenging in cinema history, worthy of its own unique film adaptation. Crew members even crafted t-shirts with the slogan "Life's Abyss, and then you dive."

A behind-the-scenes documentary from 2000 details the tumultuous filmmaking process and reveals that actor Ed Harris nearly drowned during a crucial scene. In the film, characters wear helmets filled with oxygenated perfluorocarbon, allowing them to dive deep underwater. In a space suit, Harris had to hold his breath while being pulled by cables. On the third take, he almost drowned due to an upside-down regulator. Fortunately, a nearby diver intervened, saving him.

This incident left Harris understandably shaken, reflecting on his performance during the sequence. Luckily, everyone made it through the grueling shoot and crafted an astonishing piece of science fiction. Despite not matching Cameron's other blockbusters at the box office, "The Abyss" remains a remarkable sci-fi, action, and romance blend with top-notch effects and a timely message about preserving the Earth that feels all the more relevant today.

"The Fifth Element" offers the kind of eccentric, visually stunning, quirky entertainment typical of a Luc Besson production and has gone on to enjoy cult status among genre enthusiasts. Centered around the quest to find and protect a mysterious element that holds the key to saving Earth from an impending cosmic threat, "Fifth Element" follows a cab driver named Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis), who becomes the unlikely hero tasked with safeguarding the element and the enigmatic "Fifth Element," Leeloo (Milla Jovovich), from a group of malevolent beings known as the Mangalores, led by Zorg (Gary Oldman).

Action-packed and epic in scope, the 1997 sci-fi extravaganza contains plenty of memorable moments, notably a significant bit in which Zorg walks away from a massive explosion, his face non-reactionary, while his henchman (played by Tricky) ducks in alarm behind him. Well, Tricky's reaction was quite natural, according to Oldman.

"There's a story there," Oldman said in an interview with BBC Radio. "That explosion — as Luc would say — in the script he described it as 'radical, total.' That's what it said in the script. Tricky, he's the sort of henchman, we didn't tell him how big the explosion was going to be — how radical. But it whooshed out and the wind brought it back and that plastic thing on my head melted, and Tricky soiled in his costume."

In Neill Blomkamp's "District 9," a spaceship arrives over Johannesburg, South Africa, carrying a batch of sick aliens derogatorily called "Prawns" due to their insect-like appearance. These aliens cannot return to their home planet and must live in a government-established refugee camp, District 9. The film explores themes of prejudice, segregation, and the consequences of corporate greed, as seen through the eyes of Wikus van de Merwe (played by Sharlto Copley).

Intriguingly, Blomkamp's desire for realism went a little too far as he and a camera crew interviewed real people from Johannesburg about the illegal aliens in their city. He then altered the footage to make it seem like they were talking specifically about Prawns. So, when you see people discussing the situation in District 9, their fear (and prejudice) is accurate.

"I was not intentionally trying to deceive the people we interviewed," the director told Emanuel Levy. "I was just trying to get the most completely real and genuine answers. In essence, there is no difference except that in my film we had a group of intergalactic aliens as opposed to illegal aliens."

Thanks to Denis Villeneuve's efforts, Frank Herbert's classic sci-fi series "Dune" succeeded critically on the big screen. Previously, fans endured David Lynch's peculiar but entertaining 1984 version, complete with clunky special effects. Featuring a cast including Kyle MacLachlan, Francesca Annis, Patrick Stewart, Sean Young, Alicia Witt, and Sting, "Dune 84" is an ambitious, albeit outlandish, piece of pulpy sci-fi.

Lynch's vision left its fair share of scars for all involved, quite literally in the case of German actor Jürgen Prochnow. In a dramatic scene, Prochnow's character, Duke Leto Atreides I, meets his demise after a failed attempt to assassinate Baron Harkonnen using poisonous gas from a tooth in his mouth. According to Empire, Lynch attached a particular device to the side of Prochnow's face to produce green smoke for the shot. Several tests were carried out to guarantee the performer's safety. However, when filming commenced, the smoke caused first and second-degree burns on Prochnow's cheek, leaving visible scars for the rest of his career.

Shockingly, Lynch retained the shot featuring the accident, allowing viewers to briefly glimpse the actor's pain during the effect.

Stanley Kubrick unquestionably created remarkable movies, including "2001: A Space Odyssey," "The Shining," and "Eyes Wide Shut." He was also infamous for being a perfectionist who employed numerous takes to capture the ideal shot. One could create a movie about the innumerable modifications made to the poster of "The Shining!"

Invariably, these efforts paid off, especially from an artistic perspective. A notable example is the legendary scene in "A Clockwork Orange," where doctors at a rehabilitation clinic use lid-locks to keep Alex's (Malcolm McDowell) eyes open, subjecting him to a barrage of sex and violence to attempt to quell his destructive urges. As McDowell revealed in a 2019 essay, filming this scene was as painful as it appears on screen.

"When we shot it, the lid-locks kept sliding off my eyelids and scratching my cornea," the actor shared. "When the anesthetic wore off, I was in such pain I was banging my head against a wall. But Stanley was mainly concerned about when he would be able to get his next shot." It's fair to say that genuine pain infuses McDowell's performance as you witness Alex taped to a chair with his face contorted in terror.

While his efforts resulted in one of the most celebrated films in cinematic history, it does raise the question of how far is too far.

In terms of dystopian future dramas, you can't do much better than "The Hunger Games" saga. Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson, and Elizabeth Banks, among others, the story follows Katniss Everdeen's journey through the titular games in which members of various districts fight to the death for the amusement of elite society members housed in the Capitol. Based on Suzanne Collins' book series, "Games" produced four memorable films that became a global phenomenon and launched Lawrence into the A-list stratosphere. 

In the third chapter, "Mockingjay – Part 1," Katniss lays low in a fortified district and must endure an endless slog of Capitol-produced propaganda on television. The promotional material reveals that her dear friend Peeta (Hutcherson) is still alive, which shocks Katniss primarily due to his frail appearance.

As it turns out, Lawrence's horrified reaction was authentic. The two actors shared a tight bond during their time filming together. According to an interview with Variety, director Francis Lawrence used this to his advantage when it came time to keep them apart. He filmed Hutcherson's interview scenes early in production and unveiled them to Lawrence on set. "She was really missing Josh, and not having Josh around, and suddenly seeing him up on screen in pain and tortured — I think it worked well for her emotionally."