Actors Who Farted On Set
A popular section in every issue of Us Weekly is the "Stars — They're Just Like Us!" segment. There, famous celebrities are photographed doing things everyday people might do, such as walking their dogs, waiting for luggage, shopping, or reading the news. It's a very humanizing feature, reminding us that even the most famous human beings can have average human traits. In fact, some of these traits aren't always all too flattering... like breaking wind at work!
Although it may shock you, it actually isn't all that uncommon for actors and actresses to pass gas while on set. Some even do it during live takes of shooting scenes, prompting genuine, oftentimes improvised responses from their fellow performers. Whether you do it to be funny or simply because you need to, the unavoidable fact is that farting is a natural bodily function that everyone does, from celebrities to average Joes. Need more proof? Here are some examples of famous actors and actresses who farted on set.
You might be pushing a little too hard
There's no denying that the beautiful Swedish actress Alicia Vikander is one of the most talented performers in Hollywood. She has been nominated for both Golden Globes and BAFTAs, and even took home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her part in The Danish Girl. With such prestigious honors on her resume, it's fair to assume that Vikander goes all-in on every role she takes.
In a 2016 interview with British Vogue, Vikander shed some light on some of the possible repercussions of her impressive work ethic. When asked about her most embarrassing moment, she admitted that she once broke wind while shooting a scene. "I was going to give birth in this scene... we went for take, and I just went for it, and I farted in take because I pushed so hard!" Although she doesn't disclose what film this was shot for, one can imagine that it must have been quite the traumatic experience.
That's some ghostly gas
As one of Saturday Night Live's resident funny women, Kate McKinnon has really made a name for herself in the comedy genre over the past five years. Her unforgettable portrayal of Hillary Clinton alongside Alec Baldwin's Donald Trump gave SNL a much-needed jolt of relevance, launching McKinnon's career to another level and landing her roles in big-time comedy movies. One of those comedies 2016's all-female reboot of Ghostbusters. Although the film failed to excel in the box office, reportedly losing $70 million for Sony, it still allowed McKinnon to humorously chew scenery with fellow SNL alums Leslie Jones and Kristen Wiig.
It should come as no surprise that the trio, along with gal pal Melissa McCarthy, brought a whole lot of laughs to the Ghostbusters set. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, McKinnon owned up to being a tad gassy while shooting. "Alright, whatever. I farted on camera," she said. "I'm starting to think something is wrong with me... I've never been to a gastroenterologist because to me it's always been normal, but I'm starting to feel like it's too much and I ought to get it checked out." Hey, at least she admitted it! Loud and proud!
Extra gassy
Ricky Gervais is one of the most celebrated comedians of his generation. At age 57, the man has been awarded a Golden Globe, two Primetime Emmys, a few BAFTAs, and a couple of British Comedy Awards, not to mention the countless other nominations garnered throughout his storied career. It's good to hear that even with such a lofty resume, the one-time "funniest man alive" is a still a childish jokester behind the scenes.
During an episode of his award-winning series Extras, Gervais shared screen time with Kate Winslet. According to Winslet, Gervais did his best to make her break character by breaking wind. "Ricky Gervais is dreadful because he tries to f**k you up," she revealed. "He'll fart in the middle of a scene and he won't crack a smile." The gas must not have been too bad, however, because Winslet still looks back at her time on Extras with high regard. "I don't think I ever got through a take without peeing myself laughing."
Parks & Flatulation
NBC's Parks & Recreation may have experienced a shaky start, plagued by low ratings and cancellation questions, but after seven seasons and a prestigious Golden Globe win, it's safe to say that the show ended up being a massive success. With a cast including comedic geniuses like Chris Pratt, Amy Poehler, Aubrey Plaza, Aziz Ansari, and Nick Offerman, how could it not be? Even years after its final episode aired, the show is still wildly popular, and one of the most-streamed shows on Netflix.
In March of 2019, the Parks & Rec cast reunited in Hollywood for PaleyFest to celebrate the show's ten-year anniversary. While answering questions, Aubrey Plaza disclosed which cast member made her "favorite" noises. "That is so annoying because Nick and Pratt used to fart all the time... and it would make Amy and I really angry!" It may seem odd to hear that Chris Pratt, one of People's 2014 Sexiest Men Alive, would be so open about his flatulence, but it sounds just about right for Andy Dwyer!
Even Tom Hanks passes gas
Tom Hanks, a.k.a. "America's Dad," is one of the most well-respected actors of the past 30 years. The two-time Oscar winner just carries himself in a way that makes him nearly impossible to dislike, and for the most part, his movies are very successful. One of his top-grossing films, 2006's The Da Vinci Code, grossed over $217 million worldwide, but the real "Holy Grail" of that movie was a pretty humorous behind-the-scenes story that happened during production.
In an interview with Yahoo!, Paul Bettany, who plays the film's main antagonist, shed some light on what can happen if you punch Tom Hanks too hard on camera. "The first time I punched him — during the first scene I was on set for doing The Da Vinci Code — I punched him and he farted... [Hanks] just looked at me and said, 'You just made me fart. Isn't that funny?'... I loved him for that."
A giant-sized fart
The late André the Giant, who sadly passed away in 1993, truly lived up to his name. The French wrestler was a mountain of a man, standing 7' 4" and weighing in at an astounding 500 pounds. Although he was best known for his work in the ring, André did also play parts in a few movies and television shows. Perhaps his most recognized role was that of Fezzik in 1987's The Princess Bride. Starring alongside the likes of Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, and Mandy Patinkin, André gave his co-stars copious stories from their time shared on set, such as reportedly racking up a $40,000 bar tab at his hotel.
While speaking to Sports Talk Florida in 2014, Elwes shared another André story that surely had fans in stitches. "My first day working with André the Giant... I have to come to from being mostly dead... he didn't finish his line, he barely got through when he let out the most extraordinary, giant, mammoth fart that you've ever heard in your whole life. I mean a 15-second emission of gas... the set rumbled! Everyone thought it was like an earthquake." Apparently, a giant-sized man has some giant-sized farts.
Farts of Fury
Samuel L. Jackson and Brie Larson evidently developed quite a bond during their time together on the sets of various movies. The duo, who first worked together on the set of Kong: Skull Island back in late 2015, co-starred in Captain Marvel and in Larson's directorial debut, Unicorn Store, on Netflix. According to CheatSheet, Jackson is never too shy to dish about his relationship with the Oscar winner: "We're very good friends. We work well together... It's fun to be on the saddle with her."
After singing along to Ariana Grande's "7 Rings" on James Cordon's Carpool Karaoke, Jackson and Larson each took turns taking a polygraph test. Although you might expect that these two know everything about each other, Larson received a shocking answer after asking Jackson if he ever farted while filming a scene. "All the time." Digging in, Larson followed up by asking if he farted while they were doing the lie detector test. Jackson responded that he did not, but the polygraph declared otherwise.
The unfortunate side effect of beefing up
It's got to be intimidating for a young, unproven actor to share the screen with one of the world's biggest stars, especially if she's also one of the most attractive actresses on the planet. Such is the conundrum that James McAvoy found himself in 2008 while shooting the bullet-bending action flick, Wanted. His co-star, Angelina Jolie, was fresh off of being named People Magazine's Sexiest Woman Alive in 2005, and had already taken home an Oscar for her role in 2000's Girl, Interrupted. By contrast, McAvoy had only a few memorable roles under his belt at that time, including 2006's The Last King of Scotland and 2007's Atonement.
In order to beef up and look the part of an action hero, Wanted's producers had McAvoy take muscle gain supplements. According to Cosmopolitan, the supplements had quite a nasty downside. "To be fair, it really helped but it came with a massive side effect of me violently farting... It was so often and so vigorous, I couldn't stop. When I was filming I was by far the biggest farter in Hollywood." That's probably not the impression you want to make when shooting intimate scenes with one of the sexiest women alive.
Fartin' on Forte
Kristen Schaal, the side-splitting Emmy nominee who voices Louise Belcher in Bob's Burgers, is no stranger to funny business. With a resume chock full of small roles in some of the world's most prestigious comedies, including 30 Rock, The Simpsons, Archer, and BoJack Horseman, Schaal has really made a name for herself in Hollywood over the past decade. In Fox's The Last Man on Earth, she and fellow comic Will Forte play two of the last humans in a post-Apocalyptic world. Naturally, hilarity ensues.
It's not hard to imagine that if you're two of the last people on Earth, you might be inclined to... get familiar. While on the page, a sex scene between the two characters seemed logical, what happened while shooting was anything but. On Late Night with Seth Meyers, Schaal admitted that all the movement — coupled with a scene that required her to eat a copious amount of beans — had an unplanned result. "Carol [Schaal's character] is aggressively and sexually talking to Phil — that's a lot of diaphragm work, which is also in the danger zone of where the beans are... Finally I just looked at Will and I was like, 'I'm gonna fart on you.' And I did." Showing no shame whatsoever, Schaal only backed up her stinky action with pride: "If you fart on your scene partner it's the most intimate you can get."
A motion capture experience to remember
Before he became a teenage heartthrob for his portrayal of Peeta Mellark in the Hunger Games series, Josh Hutcherson was just a talented young actor taking any small role he could get his hands on. In 2004, he nabbed a small part in Robert Zemeckis' imaginative Christmas film, The Polar Express, starring Tom Hanks. Via motion capture, Hutcherson played young boy who was struggling to recover his belief in Santa Claus.
Hanks played a slew of parts in the movie, including that of a hobo. At one point in the film, Hutcherson's character skis down the top of the train with the hobo, meaning that Hutcherson, fully garbed in the necessary mo-cap dots, basically sat on Hanks' lap to shoot the scene. In late 2017, over a decade after the film's theatrical release, Hutcherson went on The Late Late Show with James Corden to share a behind-the-scenes tidbit about the production that no one knew. "I farted in the scene... That was my first big movie... and I was working with Robert Zemeckis and Tom Hanks... and I just farted in his face!" Although Hanks was apparently playful about it, you have to imagine that farting on Forrest Gump was quite traumatizing for a nine-year-old.
"Did you fart, Ray?"
1988's Rain Man cleaned up at the Oscars, taking home four awards including Best Picture. For his portrayal of Raymond Babbitt, the savant brother to Tom Cruise's Charlie, Dustin Hoffman took home the Best Actor in a Leading Role trophy, his second time winning the award. While you might think actors on the set of such a high-profile film were entirely professional and formal on camera, there's one story that lends evidence to the contrary.
In an interview with Esquire, Dustin Hoffman shared his thoughts on why Rain Man was such a hit, using one particular scene as an example. "You take the laughs out of Rain Man and it's not the same movie. When we're in the phone booth and I fart, that was a fart. That wasn't written in the script. We were waiting to do the shot and [director] Barry Levinson had the earphones on. The door closed and I snuck one out. We're tight in there, you know. And Cruise looked at me and said, "Did you fart?" And I said, "Yeah." But I stayed in character. "Fart." Barry heard it and he came running over in hysterics and said, "That's in the scene. Put it in, wherever you want." That's a good director: someone who takes advantage of accidents." It's not often that an actor views an on-camera toot as such an artful moment, but it undeniably worked out pretty well for Hoffman and Rain Man.