Movie Scenes That Actually Killed Stunt Actors

Being a Hollywood stunt person might seem like a great chance to rub elbows with A-listers and perform some risky on-camera maneuvers for money. But there's a reason those A-listers use stunt doubles in the first place — specifically the fact that the stuff they do to entertain us is incredibly dangerous even under the relatively safe environs of a major movie set. Doing stunt work means you get to contribute to millions of filmgoers' fondest viewing memories; the downside of the job, however, is that it can be very dangerous for even the most skilled and cautious of the craft. 

No matter how much training you have or how many safeguards a production might have in place to try and minimize the risk, there's always a chance that something will go horribly — and irrevocably — awry. For these stunt actors, the productions turned lethal, and they lost their lives in the line of duty.

Stunt pilot Art Scholl had become internationally renowned for his aerial stunt work in films like "Blue Thunder" and "The Right Stuff" before he was selected to complete an inverted air stunt that would become a big part of the storyline in "Top Gun." According to The Los Angeles Times, Scholl was heard relaying his in-air troubles during production on the scene, saying on his radio, "I've got a problem here." Scholl was highly skilled at the maneuver, so colleagues concluded that there must have been a mechanical failure that caused his vessel to crash. However, neither he nor his plane were recovered from the debris, despite a search effort, so the details leading up to his death are unknown.

The mystery that surrounds the failure that cost him his life still lingers with his widow, Judy Scholl, who told The Daily Mail, "Art didn't say what the problem was. This is the one thing I'm not happy about with him. So I don't know if he had a control failure, where maybe the camera jammed into the flight controls. Or whether he had an issue with the flight controls where he wasn't able to get the airplane out of the flat spin or whether he was disorientated. He didn't say." Scholl was 53.

The Vancouver, Canada set of "Deadpool 2" became the site of a tragedy in August 2017 when a stunt woman named Joi "SJ" Harris was killed while attempting to complete a motorcycle sequence for the film. Harris was substituting for actress Zazie Beetz as the character Domino and was not wearing a helmet during the scene in question to match the character. Harris had successfully completed the stunt four times in a row, but on the fifth attempt, she lost control of the vehicle and went airborne before careening into a glass building. Local news crews reported that she was treated on site by paramedics after the incident, but was later taken to the hospital and ultimately declared dead.

In a statement, a rep for 20th Century Fox said of the incident, "We are deeply saddened by the accident that occurred on the set of 'Deadpool 2' this morning. Our hearts and prayers are with the family, friends and colleagues of our crew member during this difficult time." Lead actor Ryan Reynolds echoed that sentiment, writing on Twitter, "We are heartbroken, shocked and devastated ... but recognize nothing can come close to the grief and inexplicable pain her family and loved ones must feel at this moment. My heart pours out to them — along with each and every person she touched in this world."

The "Expendables" movies were envisioned as a vehicle for pure action-driven spectacle, bringing together the biggest stars in the genre. Led by Sylvester Stallone, the films have featured such heavyweight action heroes as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Chuck Norris, Jet Li, Wesley Snipes, and many more. But with all that action comes the increased risk of disaster, and tragically that's just what happened on the set of "The Expendables 2." 

During production of a second unit water scene on Lake Ognyanova, Bulgaria, stunt actor Kun Liu was killed and fellow double Nuo Sun was severely injured when a planned explosion went awry. The pair were riding on an inflatable rubber raft at the time. Liu was reportedly doubling for Stallone himself, while Sun was subbing for Jet Li in the second unit shot. Liu was just 26 at the time of his death and the film was dedicated to his memory.

Sun managed to survive his serious injuries and filed suit against Sylvester Stallone and Millennium Films for damages. The family of Liu, meanwhile, also pursued wrongful death damages against the parties responsible for the movie (including stunt coordinator Chad Stahelski, who went on to direct the "John Wick" films). In 2017 it was reported that the plaintiffs were awarded $195,000 HKD, while Jet Li himself gave $5.8 million HKD to the stuntman's family.

In the early '90s, Steven Seagal was a bona fide action superstar. He was also no stranger to controversy, often getting into on-set fights with cast and crew, which may have contributed to his career decline after the turn of the millennium. The incident on the Toronto set of his 2001 film "Exit Wounds," however, wasn't just a case of frayed nerves or inflated ego, but a workplace tragedy that saw the death of a stuntman. 

Canadian stuntman Chris Lamon lost his life in a bizarre accident during production, which occurred when he and another stuntman were supposed to jump from an upside-down van while it was being towed by a truck. Instead of leaping feet first from the vehicle during the maneuver, Lamon mistakenly fell right on his head, leading to injuries that ultimately proved fatal. As a representative of Warner Bros. would later explain to ABC News, he "made an error with his footing ... he landed badly and hit his head on the pavement. We are very sad about this. It doesn't happen very often."

In addition to suffering multiple skull fractures, Lamon suffered from severe swelling of the brain and died a few days after the incident. Lamon's fiancée campaigned to have the film pulled from its release schedule out of respect for his death, but her efforts were unsuccessful and the movie was released in March 2001, to poor reviews. Lamon was 35.

The James Bond franchise has built a reputation for its impressive stunts and elaborate action sequences. Each film in the series seems to attempt to top the one before it, and to do that can sometimes mean making the stunts riskier and riskier. But by the time the franchise got to its 12th entry in 1981, "For Your Eyes Only," the risk-taking may have gone a little too far. 

To create one skiing and bobsledding chase that takes place amidst the wintery slopes of Italy, the film involved the use of a four-man bobsled, operated by the second unit director to better capture footage of the action. Unfortunately, 23-year-old Italian stunt driver Paolo Rigoni fell off the sleigh and was quickly killed after it overturned and dragged him underneath. It wasn't the first or last serious injury to happen on the set of a James Bond film, but it was the deadliest.

Still, Rigoni's loss wasn't for nothing: It's been reported that it was his death — along with the death of professional bobsledder James Morgan just a week earlier during the 1981 bobsled world championships — that prompted the decision to shorten the Cortina bobsledding track, where Rigoni was killed, to make it safer.

"Comes a Horseman" was a 1978 Western starring Jane Fonda, James Caan, and Jason Robards. Robards starred as Jacob "J.W." Ewing, a rancher who wants to protect his sprawling valley from big business tycoons who would try to exploit it for its natural resources (a spiritual precursor to "Yellowstone" in a way). Working as Robards' stunt double was stunt actor Jim Sheppard, who had a wealth of experience on Westerns like "The Wild Bunch" and "Hour of the Gun," and even sci-fi outings like "Star Trek" and "Planet of the Apes." 

In "Comes a Horseman," Sheppard was filming a scene in which he was supposed to be dragged behind a galloping horse through a fence to simulate the death and disappearance of Robards' character. However, the horse didn't stick to the straight path through a gate as planned, and the unexpected equine maneuvers caused Sheppard to be thrown off, with his head striking a fence post. While he survived the initial blunt head trauma, he died not long after being hospitalized. The incident sadly occurred on one of the last days of filming. Although the scene did cut away from the fatal collision, the 40-year-old Sheppard's last stunt was still included in the picture.

Though mostly known for his martial arts movies, Chuck Norris made plenty of military action flicks in the '80s, with "Delta Force" being one of his most memorable. A surprise cult hit that co-starred Lee Marvin, it got a sequel in 1990, "Delta Force II: The Colombian Connection." For the follow-up, it was Norris headlining the action alone as Major Scott McCoy, who leads the Delta Force team against a group of terrorists who have hijacked a plane. But like a number of other action films, "Delta Force II" also saw a deadly helicopter crash during filming that took the life of a stunt actor.

This time, it was in the Philippines, where the action sequel was shooting, and it sadly wasn't just stuntman Geoff Brewer who lost his life in the crash. Alongside him were pilots Don Marshall and Jojo Imperiale, cameraman Gadi Danzig, and key grip Mike Graham. All five died instantly when their helicopter collided with the side of a mountain. To make matters worse, the production company — notorious low-budget studio Cannon Films — had seen the deaths of at least 10 people while filming numerous projects over the course of four years. 

Jumping from great heights is obviously a dangerous stunt, and safety airbags are crucial in making sure that a stunt actor stays safe on the way down. We've seen from the death of Jack Tyree on "The Sword and the Sorcerer" what can happen when the stunt person misses the airbag meant to stop their fall, but sometimes even when they hit their mark it can still go wrong. Such was the case on the set of "Bikini Island" when stuntman Jay C. Curran was working on a jump from the Malibu cliffs.

It was just the first day of shooting and the scene required Currin to take a tumble of more than 60 feet off the seaside cliff. Though the actor did manage to hit the airbag, it wasn't dead center, and he instead landed on the edge. The resulting bounce didn't send him straight up as intended, but unexpectedly and violently off to the side and in the wrong direction. The force of the bounce sent him speeding directly into the adjacent rock face, and he died from his injuries. Currin, whose previous stunt work had included "The Exorcist III," "To Live and Die in L.A.," and "Smokey and the Bandit II," was just 34.

Before "Apollo 13" in 1995, it was 1983's "The Right Stuff" that held the title for best film about NASA's space flight program. Oddly enough, that movie also included "Apollo 13" actor Ed Harris, who plays astronaut John Glenn. It recounts the years that led up to the launching of the Mercury 7, beginning when Chuck Yeager (Sam Shepard) first broke the sound barrier, and includes all the incredibly dangerous exploits of test pilots like Yeager, Glenn, and Alan Shepard (Scott Glenn). The film features a number of incredible high-flying stunts, and one of them involves a pilot parachuting to safety from the confines of an experimental aircraft.

Unlike in the movie, though, the pilot never did make it home safely. Performing the scene was stunt actor and Houston native Joseph Svec, both a veteran of the profession and a qualified parachutist. But during the filming of the ejection, Svec inexplicably failed to pull his ripcord, the parachute never opened, and he plummeted to his death. According to a manager of the California City Airport where the scene was being filmed, an investigation revealed that nothing was wrong with Svec's chute, suggesting that it was either a simple error by Svec or that he somehow lost consciousness during the plunge. 

Brad Pitt's 2004 ancient war movie "Troy," directed by Wolfgang Peterson, adapted Homer's "Iliad," the epic poem that depicted the historical Trojan War waged between the Greeks and the Spartans. Its filming was also a massive undertaking and a throwback to epics of the '50s and '60, which meant it had several large-scale action sequences involving hundreds of extras. It also led to the death of one of the many stunt actors involved in the production. 

Stuntman George Camilleri was admitted to a hospital during filming with "serious trauma" to his ankle, according to the Times of Malta, while also suffering chest pains and shortness of breath. He underwent surgery, but two days later he was dead. Though initially it wasn't realized that his death had been related to an on-set accident, a later inquiry actually traced the cause of Camilleri's death all back to injuries he'd sustained while filming an action scene on "Troy."

An autopsy revealed that Camilleri's death was caused by a pulmonary thromboembolism. "Pulmonary thromboembolism is not an uncommon complication following trauma, fracture of the lower leg, surgery to the lower limb and immobility," the report stated. According to the investigation, the initial injury occurred when Calmierri had been jumping over the side of a galleon. But mixed signals between extras led to him making an error and jumping from the wrong spot, which he hadn't been prepared for.

The 1965 film "The Flight of the Phoenix" starred James Stewart as a pilot whose plane crashes in the Sahara. Desperately trying to keep himself, his crew and his passengers alive in the remote desert, his only hope is a passenger whose experience as an aircraft designer has him convinced they can build a new plane out of spare parts from the wreck. It's a nail-biting tale of adventure and survival, but in the making of the movie, a famed stunt pilot who was hired to make risky aerial maneuvers lost his life.

An experienced racing pilot who'd worked in Hollywood since the 1930s, Paul Mantz was well-known for helping Amelia Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan prepare for their first attempt to circumnavigate the globe. He was practically pilot royalty in his day, but that didn't mean he was invincible: During filming of "The Flight of the Phoenix" he was flying low in a sequence meant to simulate a take-off when something went wrong and the plane crashed, killing him. Ironically, it wasn't even Mantz who was supposed to be behind the controls that day, but his partner Frank Tallman. At the last minute, though, Tallman injured his knee and Mantz filled in.

With Mantz's death, "The Flight of the Phoenix" may have been a cursed production: In 2004, Randy Quaid and Jared Padalecki starred in a remake that seriously injured cameraman Ciaran Barry. He received a million-dollar settlement, though no one was killed.

Movies involving high-flying aircraft action can be fraught with danger and typically require the skills of talented stunt pilots who can pull off death-defying maneuvers. That was the case with "Von Richthofen and Brown," a 1971 World War I epic about one of the greatest flying aces that history has ever known. A passion project for director Roger Corman, who put up much of the financing himself, the film was shot in Ireland and told the story of Manfred von Richthofen, aka "The Red Baron," and the pilot Roy Brown, who took him down. Filming the intense dogfights, though, led to a mid-air collision that killed stuntman Charles Boddington.

Following the incident, the Irish government decided to shut down the production's aerial scenes that Corman had scheduled for Weston Airfield, not far from Dublin. According to contemporary accounts, Boddington's disastrous crash in the sky wasn't even the last accident during filming: Just a day later, pilot Lynn Garrison and actor Don Stroud received injuries after an unscheduled crash landing in the Liffey River. 

It probably isn't much of a surprise to learn that there have been some mishaps on the sets of movies starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. After all, the overly-muscled body builder-turned-actor is known for his explosive action movies, from fantasy and science fiction to military thrillers. In 1988, filming on his buddy cop action-comedy "Red Heat" went a little too far even by Arnold's standards, resulting in the death of stunt actor Bennie Dobbins.

The film, which was dedicated to Dobbins, had Arnold in the role of a Russian military captain named Ivan Danko. He's sent to Chicago where he teams up with a local cop named Ridzic (Jim Belushi) after they realize they're both looking for the same criminal. Filled with guns-blazing shootouts and bare-knuckle brawls, "Red Heat" is an underrated Arnie classic. But filming one scene that involved the "Terminator" star duking it out hand-to-hand with a stunt man (not Dobbins) led to a death in an unexpected way.

During the scene, Dobbins was actually serving as the stunt coordinator, helping stage the scene with his two actors when he suddenly collapsed. Suffering a fatal heart attack, Dobbins was airlifted to a local hospital but didn't survive. He was 50 years old, and left behind work in a number of action classics like "First Blood," "Commando," and "The Running Man." 

Although it didn't technically take place on a movie set, the death of "The Walking Dead" stuntman John Bernecker rocked the Hollywood community in July 2017. The stuntman was filming a fight sequence with actor Austin Amelio on the set of the hit AMC series' eighth season during which he was supposed to fall from a balcony onto a padded landing mat below. Instead of falling straight onto the mat, he made an effort to grab onto the railing and missed the padded area by a matter of inches, landing on the concrete flooring instead.

Although Bernecker was still alive when he was transported to an Atlanta hospital, he was pronounced brain dead within hours as a result of his head injury and was taken off life support. Amelio later tweeted of the incident, "I have no words. My heart is absolutely broken from John Bernecker." Bernecker was 33.