Sci-Fi Roles That Made Actors Physically Ill
How much sympathy do average working people have for Hollywood actors? Not much, I suspect. Fancy trailers, high-end catering, and eye-watering salaries are not the hallmarks of a tough gig. However, it's not all luxury and dollar signs, especially in the extravagant science fiction genre. On-set accidents have injured performers such as Charlize Theron, who was nearly paralyzed while making "Æon Flux," and Carrie-Ann Moss, whose botched cartwheel in "The Matrix" caused a nasty ankle injury
Such incidents remind us of why stunt people are needed to protect a production's cast and crew from accidents and injuries. But what about the threat of illness? Who is responsible for that and what danger does it pose to a multi-million dollar project with a tight schedule and a tighter budget? Well, a lesser danger than injury, it seems, but there is still a precedent for actorly illnesses — and the causes range from bad water and bad kidneys to explosions, makeup, and Native American rituals.
Arnold Schwarzenegger and cast - Predator
In the spring of 1986, Arnold Schwarzenegger arrived in Puerto Vallarta, a resort city on Mexico's west coast. He was there to shoot "Predator" with director John McTiernan and a brawny ensemble cast including Carl Weathers, Jesse Ventura, Bill Duke, and Sonny Landham. They may have been the meanest crew since "The Wild Bunch," but their mucous membranes proved to be as vulnerable as anyone else's.
"We got a notice in our hotel room telling us that the water was not potable," explained actor Shane Black in a behind-the-scenes featurette. " ... But we got the note seven days after it happened." Black and Carl Weathers somehow avoided the bug, but a majority weren't so lucky. Bill Duke was contaminated by a long, hot shower, infecting him so badly that he was bedridden and shaking under four thick layers. Sonny Landham was also hit, suffering through production with intense diarrhea. Black recalled how Landham and other actors would say their lines with a gruff, military tone, only for them to dash to the nearest bathroom when the director yelled, "Cut!"
Maybe the sickest of them was Schwarzenegger, who, according to Black, was almost hospitalized for dehydration and stomach cramps. "I will spare you the details," wrote Schwarzenegger in a Reddit AMA, "but while I was on a run, the runs hit ... I ran to the side of the road and some cars driving by got quite the show."
Jennifer Lawrence - The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Jennifer Lawrence undertook an extensive training regimen for the original "Hunger Games" film, strengthening her body with sprinting, skipping, circuit workouts, and both tree and rock climbing. She also received a crash course in archery from Khatuna Lorig, an Olympic archer with a "very, very strict" attitude who pinched Lawrence's ear to adjust bad form (via NPR).
It would not be the last time that Lawrence's ears suffered for the franchise; in "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire," the actress developed a bad case of swimmer's ear. "I went deaf in one ear for months," Lawrence told Vanity Fair, "I got all of these ear infections from the diving and the water and all of that stuff." Lawrence's earache was compounded when a jet punctured her eardrum during one of the cornucopia scenes.
Watersports and scuba diving often cause ear issues. Otitis externa, better known as the aforementioned swimmer's ear, can occur when the outer ear canal is saturated with water, creating a moist, bacteria-prone environment (via Mayo Clinic).
Dylan O'Brien and cast - Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials
The cast of "Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials" were given simple instructions when they arrived at the Diamond Tail Ranch in New Mexico: don't litter or take anything from the Native American burial grounds. However, these instructions were ignored by a portion of the cast who "took stuff," lead actor Dylan O'Brien said in an interview on "Live with Kelly & Michael."
You may scoff at superstition, but what happened next is curious. Five actors fell ill within a week, suffering a range of maladies including fever, appendicitis, and a broken ankle. O'Brien was among the sick and had to be sent home early two nights in a row. Is that an admission of guilt? Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan didn't press him on it.
O'Brien's anecdote caused widespread outrage and even a petition — which garnered some 54,000 signatures – calling for the return of any stolen items. However, an investigation by Roch Hart, the property manager of Diamond Tail Ranch, found that the area was not a known Native American burial ground and that nothing was missing from the site, either.
Daisy Ridley and cast - Star Wars: The Force Awakens
There's a reason Daisy Ridley looks so exhausted at the end of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens." The actress had summited Sceilg Mhichíl, a 715-foot outcrop off Ireland's Kerry coast, and forced herself through sickness to do so. "I had just vomited," Ridley told Vanity Fair, "I had adrenal exhaustion and I was very, very sick." She was in better health when she scaled the rock for a second time during "The Last Jedi," but Rian Johnson's sequel came with greater pressure for the actress. "When I was doing 'Episode VII,' I was kind of being washed along in a torrent of excitement and unexpectedness." Now, she was a star, a bit of a veteran, and fans had expectations.
Ridley wasn't the only one to suffer during "The Force Awakens." Numerous actors had to board plane rigs that lifted them 20 feet in the air and rocked in every direction, churning their stomachs as they tried to remember their lines and stay in character. Jessica Henwick, who played X-wing pilot Jessika Pava, recalled to The Hollywood Reporter how her colleagues bailed from the rig after 10 to 15 minutes while she, a rollercoaster fan, told the crew, "'No, keep rolling! I'll just start riffing.'"
Jake Busey - Starship Troopers
In "Starship Troopers," Paul Verhoeven's satirical sci-fi war film from 1997, Sergeant Zim (Clancy Brown) is a fierce taskmaster who does not suffer fools gladly, especially when the fool is as obnoxious as Ace Levy (Jake Busey), a jock caricature prone to lip and bravado. As you may remember, Zim pins Levy's hand to a wall with a throwing knife, but the punishment did not end within the movie's fictional confines.
The crew shot on location in the American desert, requiring its cast to endure scorching temperatures in heavy, constrictive battle gear. As the mercury rose to 115 degrees, Busey was overwhelmed by sunstroke, causing the production to close for a week at a cost of $1.5 million a day. "I'm from a pretty fair-skinned white Nordic bloodline," Busey told Esquire, " ... I can't handle the sun like that."
"Starship Troopers" ended up costing $105 million, joining a league of expensive sci-fi blockbusters such as "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" and Verhoeven's earlier film "Total Recall." However, while those films earned box office revenues of $520 million and $261 million, respectively, "Starship Troopers" tallied only $121 million – making Busey's illness an even costlier matter.
Virginia Hey - Farscape
Australian actress Virginia Hey played the role of Pa'u Zotoh Zhaan for three seasons of "Farscape," a sci-fi series that ran for 88 episodes from 1999 to 2003. Rumors abounded about the reason for Hey's early departure from the show, and the actress was keen to debunk claims of being "written out" or suffering from cancer.
Describing the Zhaan as "a glorious gift, a lesson, and a challenge," Hey wrote on her website that the extensive makeup and a chronic lack of sleep caused her kidneys to bleed every day for those three years, and "I simply had to go ... I was soo sick." The actress also struggled with the role's intensity, recalling that she could not escape the character and that it suppressed her femininity. There were no hard feelings, though. Hey had nothing but praise for the show's "beautiful writers and producers" and was grateful to them for casting her.
William Shatner - Star Trek
In "Arena," the 18th episode of the original "Star Trek" series, Captain Kirk (William Shatner) is transported to an arid, rocky planet inhabited by the Gorn, a reptilian creature who engages Kirk in a trial by combat. The costumes and effects may seem quaint to a contemporary audience, and fans are always amused by the lumbering Gorn. But a pyrotechnic explosion on set was no laughing matter, as it caused lasting damage to Shatner's hearing.
"I was standing too close to a special effects explosion and it resulted in tinnitus," Shatner told the American Tinnitus Association (ATA), "There were days where I didn't know if I would survive the agony I was so tormented by the screeching in my head."
Tinnitus, which comes from the Latin word "tinnere" (to ring), refers to sounds heard that have no external source. Sufferers complain of piercing noises in one ear, both ears, or in their head, and these noises include ringing, buzzing, whooshing, humming, and even music or singing. It is estimated that 12 million Americans suffer from some form of tinnitus.