Young Actors Who Refused Stunt Doubles and Paid the Price

Many young male actors choose to perform their own stunts to add a layer of realism to their performances. While this dedication often results in more realistic action sequences it can also lead to serious physical consequences for the performers involved. Some actors have suffered broken bones or physical injuries that required surgery and extensive recovery time. These incidents often cause delays in production and have a lasting impact on the health of the actors. This list explores several instances where young actors skipped the stunt double and paid a physical price.

Dylan O’Brien

Dylan O’Brien was injured while he was filming ‘The Maze Runner The Death Cure’. He was performing a stunt on top of a moving vehicle when he was pulled off and hit by another car. This resulted in several broken bones in his face and a concussion that stopped the whole production for almost a year. He had to go through multiple surgeries and a long recovery period to get over those physical injuries. He finally came back to finish the film after his doctors said he was healthy enough to work again.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson

Aaron Taylor Johnson did many of his own fight scenes and stunts while he was the lead in ‘Kick Ass’. He ended up with a back injury that was severe enough that he needed a metal plate surgically put into his body. He also got a large cut on his leg during a stunt that required several stitches to close up. The actor had to spend a lot of time in physical therapy to recover from all those different injuries. Since then he has been a lot more careful about which physical tasks he tries to do without a professional.

Shia LaBeouf

Shia LaBeouf hurt his hand while he was filming ‘Transformers Revenge of the Fallen’. During a scene with a car stunt he was in a rollover accident that crushed his left hand. The injury was serious enough that his doctors were actually worried about him losing the use of his fingers. He had to go through surgeries to fix the damage and they even wrote the scar into the movie script. He still has trouble moving that hand correctly today because of what happened on that set.

Zac Efron

Zac Efron broke his hand while he was filming a fight scene for the movie ‘Neighbors’. He was in a scuffle with another actor and hit a hard surface that broke a bone in his hand. He needed surgery to have a plate put in so that he could get back to work quickly. This helped the production finish the movie without having to wait a long time for him to heal. He has a history of doing his own physical work which has led to a few other injuries over the years.

Taron Egerton

Taron Egerton did his own hand to hand combat scenes while he was filming ‘Kingsman The Secret Service’. During one of those fights he tore a muscle in his groin which made it really hard for him to walk. He kept working through the pain so the production could stay on schedule for the director. This injury was bad enough that he had to go to physical therapy after the movie was finally done. He has talked about how much these action roles can really wear down a lead actor.

Robert Pattinson

Robert Pattinson tore a muscle in his hip on the very first day of filming ‘The Twilight Saga New Moon’. He was doing a jump for a scene in the woods when he got hurt during the first take. He had to see a specialist and was in a lot of pain for several weeks after it happened. The injury made it hard for him to move and perform other physical scenes in the movie. He had to be extra careful with how he moved for the rest of the time they were filming.

Liam Hemsworth

Liam Hemsworth ended up with a hairline fracture in his knee while he was working on ‘The Hunger Games Catching Fire’. He was running through some woods for a scene and twisted his leg on some uneven ground. He had to use crutches when he was not on camera and got medical help right there on the set. The production kept going even though he was in a lot of physical pain. He finished up the rest of his action sequences while his knee was still trying to heal.

Jeremy Irvine

Jeremy Irvine stood in muddy and freezing trenches for many hours while he was filming ‘War Horse’. All that time in the wet and cold gave him a case of trench foot which was a common problem for soldiers in the First World War. He needed medical help to treat the condition so he would not have any permanent damage to his feet. He also got really tired and lost weight because the role was so physically demanding. His choice to work in those real environments led directly to these health issues.

KJ Apa

KJ Apa broke a bone in his hand while he was working on the set of ‘Riverdale’. He was filming a scene where his character had to punch through a sheet of ice. He thought the ice was a soft prop but it turned out to be much harder than he expected. He had to finish the rest of the season with a cast on his hand that they had to hide from the camera. The injury happened during a take that required him to use a lot of physical energy.

Daniel Radcliffe

Daniel Radcliffe did a lot of his own physical work during the years he was filming the ‘Harry Potter’ movies. While they were making ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’ he did a high fall for a dragon scene that strained his neck. He also spent a huge amount of time in a water tank which gave him ear infections and made him exhausted. He still took on many of those hard movements himself even though he had a stunt double for the dangerous stuff. All those small injuries added up and caused him discomfort during the long filming days.

Tom Holland

Tom Holland has had several injuries because he likes to do a lot of his own stunts. While he was working on ‘The Lost City of Z’ he actually broke his nose during a physical scene. He also broke his nose a second time while he was filming ‘Spider Man Homecoming’. He does his own flips and tumbles all the time which leads to plenty of bruises and small fractures. He takes on these challenges because he wants his action sequences to look as real as possible.

Miles Teller

Miles Teller got bleeding blisters on his hands because he practiced the drums so much for ‘Whiplash’. He spent many hours every day playing so that he could do the scenes without needing a double. He also ended up with a cracked rib during a scene where he had a physical fight with another actor. Later on he got some other minor injuries while he was filming the high speed flying scenes for ‘Top Gun Maverick’. He usually just pushes through the pain to finish a scene for the director.

Logan Lerman

Logan Lerman got a cut on his face while he was filming the war movie ‘Fury’. During a rehearsal for a fight he was hit in the face and needed stitches to close the wound. He also had to deal with some infections from all the mud and dirt that was on the set for months. Filming inside a cramped tank caused a lot of small bumps and scrapes for him and the rest of the actors. He stayed in character and dealt with these hardships for the whole time they were in production.

Taylor Lautner

Taylor Lautner did almost all of his own stunts for the action movie ‘Abduction’. During a scene where he had to slide down a glass roof he got a lot of cuts and bruises all over his body. He also had to deal with muscle strain from doing the same fight scenes and parkour moves over and over again. Even though he did not break any bones the constant physical impact really wore him down during the shoot. He chose to do the work himself because he wanted the action to feel authentic to the audience.

Josh Hutcherson

Josh Hutcherson got a concussion on the set of ‘The Hunger Games’ when a joke went wrong. He was playing around with another actor during a break when he was accidentally kicked in the head. He had to leave the set for a few days so he could follow a recovery plan from his doctors. They did a bunch of tests to make sure he would not have any long term brain issues from the hit. He was eventually allowed to come back to his role and finish the rest of the movie.

Dave Franco

Dave Franco practiced throwing playing cards for weeks so he would be ready for his role in ‘Now You See Me’. During one of his practice sessions he accidentally cut his hand pretty deep with the edge of a card. The wound needed medical attention to stop the bleeding and make sure it did not get infected. He had to wear a bandage on his hand for several days while he kept filming his other scenes. He has mentioned that doing those card tricks over and over again caused several small cuts on his fingers.

Which of these actors do you think showed the most dedication to their role despite the physical cost?