Actors Injured By Painful Costumes And Prosthetics

From an outsider's perspective, it's easy to assume that an actor's time on set is all sunshine and rainbows. They get to travel, make tons of money, and embody interesting characters that become beloved by the masses. However, creating a TV show or film isn't always as much fun as it seems. In reality, the process can be downright dangerous, with injuries occurring beyond a "stunt gone wrong" situation. Sometimes, actors are gravely hurt due to the painful costumes and/or prosthetics that they're required to wear.

Throughout the history of Hollywood, numerous reports have surfaced about actors being injured, or even falling severely ill, thanks to the props, costumes, makeup and other elements used on the set to transform them for the screen. From fused ribs and torn-off skin to near-paralysis and lengthy hospital stints, they have endured it all. Read on to see which well-known stars suffered some rather intense injuries while bringing their characters in popular movies and series to life.

In 1992, Michelle Pfeiffer took on a role that fans would come to associate her with for the entirety of her career: Catwoman in Tim Burton's "Batman Returns." Despite leading man Michael Keaton objecting to the casting of Pfeiffer, as the two shared a romantic past, no one else could embody Catwoman — and wield her iconic whip — quite like Pfeiffer.

Yet behind the scenes, Pfeiffer wasn't always so smooth with the weapon, and had a few accidents while training. She said in an interview with Dominic Wells, "There was a beauty, an elegance and a sexuality to it — an almost graceful, dance-like quality which at any moment could turn violent, which was much more threatening and certainly much more feline and more feminine. It's really lethal, though. I injured myself a couple of times, and accidentally drew blood on my teacher."

Despite some painful moments, Pfeiffer doesn't hold any animosity toward the prop. In fact, she revealed on Instagram in 2019 that she still has the iconic whip in her possession, though, as she said, it needs some TLC. The actress even showed off in a separate post her whip-swinging skills — which seem just as strong as in 1992, injuries aside. 

Many intricate details went into creating the ambience of 1950s New York seen in "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel." From period cars to the hustle and bustle of department stores, the production team captured it all. The process of immersing audiences in the city's mid-20th century culture also required ensuring that the characters looked the part. For leading lady Rachel Brosnahan, as wife-turned-comedian Miriam Maisel, her dresses needed to showcase the era's popular silhouette: a tiny waist and flowing skirt.

This was achieved by Brosnahan wearing corsets, just as women used to do in that era. Though flattering, this aspect of Brosnahan's wardrobe — mixed with creator Amy Sherman-Palladino's wicked fast dialogue that first became a staple on "Gilmore Girls" — left her with a lasting injury.

She explained on "The Late Late Show with James Corden," "I actually kind of got a corset-related injury. We talk so fast on the show that just to get all the words out, you can't really take very many breaths. And I think I wasn't breathing a lot and I was a little bit constrained, and apparently some of my ribs are sort of fused together a little bit, and I can't take super deep breaths anymore." As Corden and fellow guest star RuPaul expressed their shock and concern, Brosnahan assured them, "It's really fine, guys. Champagne problems."

From "Harry Potter" to "The Hunger Games," the conclusion of any fantasy film series isn't complete without an epic final battle. Just like its competitors, 2012's "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2" doesn't disappoint. The Volturi are not pleased about a vampire and human producing offspring, and set out to kill Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart), Renesmee (Mackenzie Foy), and all who stand in their way during a bloody fight on snowy grounds.

While their on-screen characters are mostly concerned with staying alive, the "Twilight" actors had a different hurdle to overcome while shooting this scene: keeping their eyesight intact. Everyone portraying a vampire had to wear colored contact lenses, which were far from comfortable. Elizabeth Reaser, who plays Esme Cullen, told Vanity Fair, "Oh, my God, they were beyond annoying. They are excruciating."

For Reaser, the artificial snow used in the battle scene didn't help her already-irritated eyes. Peter Facinelli, who portrayed Carlisle Cullen, revealed to Vanity Fair that sometimes the paper snow would make its way underneath the painful contacts: "I remember Elizabeth woke up one day and her eyes were swollen shut," he said. "I was like, 'I play a doctor, but I can't help you, Elizabeth.'"

From the very beginning of the "Indiana Jones" franchise, Harrison Ford has preferred to rely on stunt doubles as little as possible. Since the release of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" in 1981, Ford has been dragged by a truck, sprinted away from a massive boulder, and flown around a warehouse on wires, just to name a few of his daredevil actions.

However, with so much movement, Ford found it difficult to keep Indy's famous fedora in place. To rectify the situation on the set of "Raiders of the Lost Ark," he took a staple gun and, without hesitation, stapled the hat directly onto his forehead, saying, "That should do it." In an interview with GQ, Ford revealed that, decades later, he still has scars from the numerous staples that went into his skin. Still, he has no regrets about not seeking a less painful solution: "You do what you need to do."

When taking into consideration the fact that Ford was never a huge fan of Indiana's ensemble, his frustration with the hat is understandable. He questioned the filmmakers about the practicality of the look, from the leather jacket in a hot jungle to the randomness of the whip. Ford recalled the conversation that took place about the fedora: "'And the hat?' 'Well, it's an evocation of a time, a period, you know, a reflection of movies past.' 'Oh, OK.'"

The 1985 fantasy film "Legend" may not have been acclaimed right out of the gate, but there's one aspect of the film that has rarely been criticized, even before it achieved cult classic status: Tim Curry as the Lord of Darkness. From his fire-red skin and three-foot-long horns to stilts that gave him an additional 18 inches of height, Curry was quite the sight to behold on set. In fact, his entire transformation took five-and-a-half hours for makeup artists to complete every time.

Understandably, Curry couldn't wait to shed his devil skin once filming wrapped up for the day, but this was easier said than done. Spirit gum — an extremely strong adhesive — was applied all over his body to keep the makeup and prosthetics secured. This meant that he was forced to soak in water for an hour after a long day on set to loosen the adhesive before he could fully take off the makeup. Otherwise, the removal process would have been insanely painful.

However, Curry became so fed up with the lengthy process of shedding his Darkness look that he stopped caring about the guaranteed pain and went sans-soak, impatiently ripping everything off ... and taking much of his skin with it.

Jack Haley may be synonymous with the hollow-chested Tin Man in "The Wizard of Oz," but originally, another actor was supposed to assist Dorothy Gale (Judy Garland) on her quest to the Emerald City. Buddy Ebsen, of "The Beverly Hillbillies" fame, was initially cast, but a major health scare forced filmmakers to look elsewhere.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Ebsen's daughter Kiki shared how real aluminum powder was dusted onto her father's face and hands several times a day. "And he inhaled it over time," she said. "It coated the inside of his lungs like paint. He could not get oxygen to his blood, but he didn't know this was happening. He just knew that he was cramping up [on] set and during shooting."

A little over a week into filming, Buddy was having so much trouble breathing that he was rushed to the hospital, where he remained for two weeks on oxygen. "He actually couldn't get oxygen to the blood and his blood fermented," said Kiki. "The doctor described it as ... a breakdown of the nervous system. He had taken as much as he could in his body, and it just broke down." Upon recovering six weeks later, Buddy learned that he'd been replaced. Though Haley wasn't forced to breath in the toxic powder (it was transformed into a paste), the aluminum makeup still wasn't entirely safe, with the new Tin Man actor getting an eye infection. 

It's never a dull moment in Hawkins, Indiana for Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and her friends. In "Stranger Things 3," the gang has a brand new threat to contend with: the Mind Flayer, which controls Demogorgons, flayed/possessed humans, and more as part of a hive mind.

Billy Hargrove (Dacre Montgomery), older brother of Max Mayfield (Sadie Sink), isn't that enjoyable to be around on a normal day, let alone when he's controlled by an evil entity of the Upside Down. Yet in the show's third season, that's exactly what the protagonists must face. In Episode 4 ("The Sauna Test"), Billy's mind and body are completely taken over by the Mind Flayer in what's shown as a painful transformation.

In order to make this "Stranger Things" scene as chilling as possible, Montgomery gave it his all, which resulted in some nasty injuries that, ironically, were concealed underneath his bruise prosthetics. He told EW, "I have photos from the final day when I left set and I got all of my prosthetics, my wig, my makeup, everything taken off and my body is covered in bruises and cuts, head to toe, because I absolutely did everything that I could. I peeled all the skin off the top of my toes in real life from dragging myself across the tile floor."

In the 2011 prequel "X-Men: First Class," Jennifer Lawrence perfectly embodies shapeshifting superhero Mystique with her head-to-toe blue, scaly makeup. However, despite it being visually appealing for the screen, the body paint dampened Lawrence's filming experience. Not only did it take eight hours to apply each day, it also caused some serious skin issues. She told E! News, "I got a couple of things from the paint. Like weird boils, rashes and blisters." In fact, the situation became so dire, that a doctor had to stop by the set and pop the protrusions for her. 

At 20 years old, Lawrence didn't put up much of a fight about what materials were going on her body or the potentially negative effects beyond the bursting boils. Yet as she got older, her mindset changed. She told EW in 2015, ahead of the release of "X-Men: Apocalypse," "Now I'm almost 25 and I'm like, 'I can't even pronounce this and that's going in my nose? I'm breathing that?'"

Given the near-death experience of Buddy Ebsen, her concerns were valid. That's why, when it came time to shoot the next "X-Men" film, the body paint was ditched in favor of a bodysuit, much to Lawrence's relief. She told E! News at the time, "It will be from neck down so it will cut out time and the blisters."

Topher Grace may be widely known for his nearly decade-long tenure playing Eric Forman on "That '70s Show," but as a versatile actor, he's capable of more than just comedies. Proof of this is seen in 2007's "Spider-Man 3," which sees Grace take on the role of Eddie Brock, Peter Parker's (Tobey Maguire) enemy at the Daily Bugle, who transforms into the villainous Venom.

Grace revealed in an interview with Superhero Hype that embodying Venom came with its share of challenges, though he was able to get through most of them with ease. Whether it was refraining from drinking liquids once in the suit, suffering a wedgie while hoisted in the air on wires, or spending four hours getting prosthetic makeup put on, Grace's on-set experience was tedious but survivable. However, there was one aspect of his Venom transformation that he had a difficult time coping with: the fangs.

Asked if he kept the fake teeth once filming wrapped, Grace was quick to say no. "I don't want to see those again. They were, like, really painful," he said, adding, "The fangs were actually bruising my gums." Still, he believes the pain may have positively influenced his performance: "It's good though. I guess it's kind of a Method way to get into being mean."

It's hard to imagine the "Star Wars" universe without the endearingly fretful C-3PO (Anthony Daniels), the droid bestie of R2-D2 (Kenny Baker) who, despite his fearful nature, can usually be counted on to save the day. However, the actor inside the iconic golden costume doesn't look back on his "Star Wars" years with fond memories. Rather, his tenure working for George Lucas was chock full of mental turmoil, as well as physical. 

In his 2019 memoir "I Am C-3PO," Daniels gets candid about how, despite the character being a beloved figure in pop culture, he had a rather unenjoyable time bringing the droid to life on set. Weighing in at 60 pounds, the costume was heavy and tight, and, due to its limited mobility, required Daniels to be on his feet for many consecutive hours, unable to sit down. 

After playing C-3PO for a while, Daniels began to notice changes in his body, including a struggle to fully use his hands. He says in the memoir (via Toronto Star), "I couldn't easily turn my own front door key." His limbs were going numb, and doctors predicted that his hands and arms would be forever paralyzed if he continued on in this fashion. Eventually, the costume was altered to allow more movement, saving Daniels from an immobile future. 

Even when much planning and preparation goes into a special effect, things sometimes don't quite turn out as expected. This was the case on the set of David Lynch's 1984's sci-fi film "Dune," in which Duke Leto Atreides (Jürgen Prochnow) tries to protect his family and the planet Arrakis, home to the valuable spice melange, from invaders.

After successfully completing most of his scenes, Prochnow had one final moment to shoot before he was finished with "Dune." However, it wasn't an easy wrap. The scene is a nasty one that sees Leto going in and out of consciousness on a stretcher as Baron Harkonnen (Kenneth McMillan) roughly swipes a hand across his face. Moments later, Leto opens his mouth to emit a green, gas-like poison from a hidden capsule, much to the shock of Harkonnen. 

This required a special effects set-up that pumped real smoke into a prosthetic on Prochnow's cheek. During several practice runs, everything went according to plan. Yet when the cameras started rolling, things went haywire. McMillan swiped his co-star's face as rehearsed, but Prochnow jumped from the stretcher, clearly in pain. The prosthetic had filled with smoke from the numerous practice runs, causing it to tear and inflict first and second degree burns on the actor's face.