Tom Cruise to Harrison Ford: Hollywood actors who braved stunts and battled injuries for the big screen

Hollywood actor Tom Cruise has become synonymous with jaw-dropping stunts in Hollywood, thanks to the daring sequences he has pulled off in the Mission Impossible franchise. These include clinging on the side of an Airbus A400M military aircraft as it took off in Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, scaling the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, without using a stunt double in Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol and even a High Altitude, Low Opening (HALO) parachute jump in Mission: Impossible - Fallout.

The bike and train sequences in the latest instalment, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1, have already got the fans excited for the movie that will see him reprising the iconic character Ethan Hunt. The stunts, however, have also come at a price. For instance, during the filming of Mission: Impossible - Fallout, Cruise broke his ankle while performing a rooftop jump from one building to another. The footage of the injury was even included in the final cut of the film.

Cruise is not alone in this pursuit of on-screen excellence. Many other Hollywood actors have also pushed their limits, going beyond their comfort zones to execute thrilling stunt sequences. Here's a list of other fearless actors who have endured injuries in their pursuit of creating unforgettable cinematic moments.

Jackie Chan

Jackie Chan is famous for performing his own stunts, and he has sustained numerous injuries throughout his career. In the 1986 movie Armour of God, the actor fell while jumping from a tree and fractured his skull, requiring emergency brain surgery. He had also suffered another serious head injury while shooting for Police Story 3: Super Cop in 1992 when he jumped from a building to a speeding train, but miscalculated the distance and hit his head.

Halle Berry

The Oscar-winning actress is known for her commitment to performing stunts in action films, and has faced some injuries as a result too. During the filming of the James Bond movie Die Another Day, she suffered an eye injury when a shrapnel from a smoke grenade flew into her eye during a stunt sequence. She had also suffered a knee injury during the shoot of the movie.

Harrison Ford

The Indian Jones actor isn't known for performing his own stunts but in his latest stint as Han Solo in Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens, Ford sustained a broken leg when a hydraulic door on the Millennium Falcon set unexpectedly closed on him. He was hit hard on the pelvis and resulted in a fine of $2 million for the production firm, for not adhering to the safety standards.

Brad Pitt

The Oceans 11 star has been involved in a few incidents while performing stunts in Seven as well as Troy. In Seven, Pitt injured his hand during a chase scene requiring stitches. Ironically, in Troy, where he played Achilles, the actor tore his Achilles tendon while filming a fight scene.

Sylvester Stallone

Just like Tom Cruise, Stallone is known for performing physically demanding stunts. In Rocky IV, Stallone sustained significant injuries during the boxing match sequence with Dolph Lundgren's character, including a swollen heart that required emergency medical attention. A decade ago, in The Expendables 3, Stallone fractured his neck while performing a stunt involving a fight sequence. Incidentally, the film also had Lundgren.

Jason Statham

British actor Jason Statham was another actor who sufered a mishap while shooting a scene involving a truck-driving stunt that went wrong. He escaped with a minor injury but narrowly avoided a potentially disastrous accident. The actor recently opened up about his daredevil stunts in films such as Crank and Transporter 2, where he has had torn biceps as well as a neck injury.

About the author: Chandragupta is part human brain, part generative AI. The former provides intellect while the latter does the heavy lifting of an artificial neural network. The name, if you haven’t already worked it out, is a backronym of ChatGPT.