The Craziest Stunts Actors Insisted On Doing Themselves

Movies have always featured people doing extraordinary things, and thanks to a myriad of safety rules and regulations, stunt performers are capable of pulling off amazing action sequences. These professionals put their bodies on the line whenever they make it look like Ben Affleck jumps off a building as Batman, or Margot Robbie pulls off an amazing fight sequence as Harley Quinn. Most of the time, the actors aren't actually performing the stunts — their stunt doubles are.

Aside from the fact that a stunt performer is a professional, often with years of training and experience, it's impractical for an actor to do all of their own stunts. After all, a movie often hinges on their participation, and if they injure themselves and cannot perform, it can put hundreds of people out of work as production shuts down. Of course, there are exceptions, and some actors prefer to do their own stunts, often in defiance of studios and the insurance companies covering them.

When a high-profile actor takes on a dangerous stunt, everyone likely holds their breaths, hoping for the best. Few actors are willing to tackle dangerous stunts, and many prefer to leave it to the professionals. Still, every once in a while, an actor puts their foot down and chooses to pull off a crazy stunt some stunt performers might think twice about. All of these actors had other options, but decided instead to perform their own insane stunts, and some paid the price with broken bones and bruised egos.

Most people know Jeremy Renner as one of the Avengers, so it's easy to picture him running around doing all sorts of crazy stunts. Because of this, it wouldn't be unreasonable to assume he did his craziest stunt in one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's films. As it happens, that assumption would be wrong, because Renner didn't attempt his biggest and most daring stunt in the MCU; he did it in a little-known comedy film called "Tag."

"Tag" tells the real-life story of a group of adults who've played a continuous game of tag for 30 years, and Renner plays Jerry Pierce, the undisputed champion. Only three days into filming "Tag," Renner attempted a crazy stunt that left him severely injured. Renner had to jump off a stack of chairs about 20 feet high, but the rigging holding the chairs broke, sending him straight to the ground, where he broke both of his arms. Of course, being the consummate professional he is, Renner went right back and did the scene once more to get it right.

Renner had a cast put on so his bones could set properly, and he continued shooting the movie. His arms had to be replaced with CGI in one scene, but throughout nearly all of his scenes in "Tag," Renner is sporting special sleeves on his arms to hide the casts. Renner continues to do his own stunts, and he was only ever injured while filming "Tag," so he's unlikely to stop anytime soon.

Christian Bale is a dedicated actor willing to alter his physique for a role. He famously lost nearly 60 lbs. for "The Machinist" and put on 100 lbs. to play the Dark Knight in "Batman Begins." The man puts his body through hell, so it shouldn't come as a surprise to learn that he often does his own stunts. Over the years, Bale has done some absolutely incredible stunts, many of which were dangerous. One somewhat risky stunt involved nothing but standing in one place and looking down at the street.

While that doesn't inherently sound dangerous, he did it atop the Sears Tower in Chicago, Illinois, which he explained on the "Early Show:" "How often do you get a chance to do that in a Batman costume looking out on Chicago? One hundred and ten stories up looking over the edge straight down on the street? I'm not letting anybody else do that. I'll tell you, the thing that was kind of disturbing but enjoyable was how comfortable I felt" (via CBS News).

Bale took advantage of the opportunity and leaned as far over the edge as he dared, making the producers incredibly nervous. While standing atop a building isn't necessarily dangerous, plenty could have gone wrong. Fortunately, nothing did, and as he's matured, Bale has moved away from doing stunt work, telling GQ in 2019, "I don't want to be doing that sort of thing when I'm in my sixties."

Burt Reynolds was known as a man's man — a guy who didn't let others do his stunt work because he was ready, willing, and able to do it himself. Throughout his decades-long career, Reynolds stuck to this, doing all of his own stunts. Of his many films, "Deliverance" stands as the one that nearly killed him, and as Reynolds put it, "[Deliverance was] by far the most dangerous thing I'd ever done, or that any of us have done" (via The Palm Beach Post).

The film is famous for the many injuries and accidents people had making it, and Reynolds may have gotten the worst of it with a broken tailbone. The one stunt he comes close to regretting? As Reynolds said, "[It was] going over the falls. It was pretty stupid. I thought it would just shoot me out, but it was like being shot out of a torpedo ... I got into the canoe a fit 30-year-old and came back as a stumbling old nude man [because] the water ripped every bit of my clothing off."

When he asked the director, John Boorman, how it looked, he told him it looked like a dummy shot out over the falls. That's the opposite of what they were hoping to get, so the stunt was probably best left to the professionals. On the film's 40th anniversary, Reynolds was honored with the Richard Farnsworth Diamond Lifetime Achievement Award by the Stuntman's Association of Motion Pictures.

These days, it's easy to forget that in the early days of filmmaking, filmmakers had to come up with everything we now take for granted. This is especially true of stunt work, and many actors during the silent era did everything themselves. People like Buster Keaton came out of Vaudeville, where they were used to overtly visual displays.

Keaton's stunts are legendary, but one stands out as his most dangerous. In "Steamboat Bill Jr.," Keaton's character, William Canfield, Jr., finds himself in the midst of a tornado. As he makes his way through town, he happens to stand in front of a building, when the facade literally tears off in one single piece. It falls down on top of him, but he's standing precisely where the open window is, ensuring his safety. This stunt could have gone horribly wrong, which is one of the reasons it's so impressive.

The facade wasn't made of foam or anything like it; it could have killed Keaton had he missed his mark. Keaton later called the stunt one of his "greatest thrills," adding, "I was mad at the time, or I would never have done the thing" (via Vintage Everyday). When the film was made, Keaton wasn't in a good place emotionally, which likely contributed to his willingness to stand there and let a house fall on top of him. Ultimately, the stunt became Keaton's most famous, and it's been redone via homages ever since.

Henry Cavill did many of his stunts in "Mission: Impossible – Fallout," but there was one Tom Cruise wouldn't let him do. Cavill explained on "Good Morning America" that the HALO jump was something Cruise trained for, and despite Cavill's desire to do the stunt himself, Cruise told him he couldn't do it because it would likely be fatal for all involved. Nonetheless, Cavill still managed to knock out most of the stunts required for the rest of the film, many of which were not entirely safe.

During the film's climax, Cavill's John Lark is chased by Cruise's Ethan Hunt in a very close chase that ends with Hunt knocking Lark's chopper out of the sky. Cruise described the stunt during an appearance alongside Cavill on "The Graham Norton Show," saying, "There is one big set piece ... which has been two years in the planning ... We do an aerial helicopter sequence, which in terms of action, is the largest we have ever done ... We were flying very low near rock faces, and I was literally on Henry's tail ... [It was] exhilarating and dangerous."

Cruise piloted his helicopter himself, and the two aircraft came dangerously close to one another. Cavill added, "There were times when I genuinely thought, 'Ah, this is how I go, but at least I will have been killed by Tom Cruise, it'll make the papers!" Fortunately, the stunt was done safely, and despite the destruction on screen, Cavill and Cruise weren't harmed.

"Conan The Barbarian" wasn't Arnold Schwarzenegger's first movie, but it is the one that made him a star. Schwarzenegger performed most of his stunts throughout the film, including numerous fights, tumbles, and swordwork. To prepare, Schwarzenegger trained in martial arts and swordplay, picking up a skill he retained decades later. During one pivotal scene in the film, Conan is chased by a pack of wild dogs, forcing him up a rocky outcropping. He falls into a cave and finds the throne of a long-dead king holding a sword.

You'd think tumbling into the cave was the most daring stunt work in the scene, but it wasn't. According to Schwarzenegger's autobiography "Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story," the real danger came when Conan ran from the pack of dogs. Director John Milius arranged to have a group of German Shepherds that "had some wolf in them." Schwarzenegger wasn't excited about working with the dogs, so he spent a little time with them daily to overcome his apprehension. When the day came to shoot the scene, Schwarzenegger was assured of his safety.

They sewed raw meat into the man's clothes and set him loose. Unfortunately, the trainer let the dogs go too soon, and they had no trouble running Schwarzenegger down. He later wrote: "They bit at my pants and dragged me down off the rock, and I fell ten feet onto my back." Schwarzenegger required 12 stitches to close up a wound on his back, and he went right back to work.

"Raiders of the Lost Ark" features some awe-inspiring stunts, but the one most people remember involves a 12-foot boulder chasing Indiana Jones through a tunnel. The iconic scene has been redone through homages ever since, and it's easily one of the most recognizable moments from the "Indiana Jones" franchise. The scene could have been shot in several ways, including using miniatures and superimposing Harrison Ford, who did around 90% of his stunts throughout the film.

While the stunt was performed safely, it was nonetheless dangerous. The production team didn't get an 80-ton boulder for the shot; they made one out of wood, plaster, and fiberglass. It couldn't flatten a person like a pancake, but it weighed some 300 to 800 lbs., so you wouldn't want it smashing into you. Steven Spielberg gave a detailed account of the way the scene was shot during an interview with American Cinematographer:

"Harrison was not doubled in those scenes. Not only that but the sequence was shot in the second week of principal photography in London. I mean, the absolute worst time to eliminate your leading man is in the second week, but because the rock was more effective chasing Harrison with Harrison running toward [the] camera, it just didn't work as well having him doubled. ... Harrison volunteered to do it himself. ... Harrison had to race the rock ten times." Fortunately, Ford wasn't flattened and instead wove himself permanently into the zeitgeist of 20th-century cinema.

Even for a James Bond film, "Quantum of Solace" has a lot of action, which is saying something. The film effectively ups the ante from its predecessor, and features a stunt where Bond jumps from a three-story building on top of a moving bus. Daniel Craig performed most of his own stunts throughout the film, including that one. Gary Powell, the chief stunt coordinator on the film, told The Guardian that "Daniel puts the work in, even if it's something he's not keen on."

According to Powell, Craig isn't too keen on working with heights, but he pushed himself to do so anyway. The scene in question sees Bond running through the streets and onto the rooftops, jumping from one building to another. That alone is pretty risky, and every time he comes in, he hits something hard — it's clearly painful. When he gets to a building with an iron covering on the window he needs to jump through, he turns around and leaps toward the street.

He's three stories up and has to drop on a moving bus, and Craig did it all. To do it properly, he had to jump precisely at the right time, or he would miss the bus and hit the street. As Powell put it, "You've actually got to jump before the bus is under you." Bond slams into the bus and nearly falls off but is right back in pursuit of his quarry without hesitation, leading to a beautifully choreographed fight scene.

Everything about "Crank" is over the top, and that's by design. After Chev Chelios (Jason Statham) is injected with a drug that inhibits his body's production of adrenaline, he must overdo everything just to stay alive. This includes electrocuting himself, getting into fights with the police, and having sex in public with his girlfriend. The slightest drop in adrenaline will result in his death, so he keeps at it throughout the film. Statham does most of his stunts throughout the movie, including the most dangerous one.

There are plenty of motorcycle chases, complex fight scenes, and more, but the real danger came when Statham dangled out the side of a helicopter 3,000 feet above the streets of Los Angeles, California. Statham told the Los Angeles Times, "The stuntmen asked me a hundred times, 'Are you sure you want to do this?'" Hardly anyone on the set wanted Statham to put his life on the line, but he insisted, strapped himself to a safety line, and dangled outside a helicopter.

Statham has been doing most of his own stunt work since breaking into the business. In an interview with IGN, he explained that he'd do more stunts if he were allowed to, and he was never frightened to do anything. Ultimately, safety concerns are the only limitation imposed on him, as a studio has limits on what it is willing to let its lead in a major motion picture do during filming.

Harold Lloyd is another actor from the silent era whose work impacted the entire filmmaking industry. Unlike his contemporaries, Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton, Lloyd wasn't a product of Vaudeville, and came into filmmaking through experimentation. Before long, he became one of the most influential filmmakers of his generation, and like many during his era of filmmaking, he did most of his own stunt work. There's one stunt he's best known for, and you've probably seen it somewhere, even if you never watched "Safety Last!"

Lloyd plays The Boy, and at one point, he climbs up the side of a building, getting higher and higher, moving through a gauntlet of buffoonery. At one point, he grasps a board and dangles outside a window but manages to right himself before proceeding. Eventually, he comes to a giant clock, grabbing the minute hand. As he tries to climb higher, the clock face pulls out and he dangles over the street several stories below, before his pal rescues him with a rope.

The scene is iconic and one of the most indelible of the era. The stunt was dangerous, though the appearance of height was managed by shooting in several locations. Additionally, a safety net was placed about one floor below the clock. The scene was so frightening to moviegoers at the time, many viewers fainted, and ambulances were parked outside some theaters. Many have paid homage to this scene, including Jackie Chan in "Project A."

These days, Keanu Reeves is well known for his knowledge of martial arts, expertise with firearms, and more. Reeves is very much a man of action now, but wasn't always comfortable in that genre: Initially, he worked primarily in drama and comedy, but that changed in 1991 with "Point Break." Reeves was clearly an action star, so in 1994, he absolutely killed it in "Speed." Reeves plays Officer Jack Traven, and he has one mission: to prevent a bus from exploding.

As his investigation develops, he identifies the bus and manages to pull alongside it in a Jaguar he commandeered, along with the driver. Initially, he yells to the bus driver through the door but ultimately decides he needs to jump from the car to the bus. It's an exceptionally well-done stunt, and Reeves got to do it himself, though he was initially apprehensive. It took some convincing to bring Reeves on board, but he did most of his stunt work throughout the film.

As Reeves explained to HuffPost, "The shot in the film is a stuntman, but I got to do it once." He went on to say, "The stunt coordinator Gary Hymes really took care of me and came up with inventive ways of putting me in those situations. Through harnessing, he got me under the bus at 30 mph." While initially apprehensive, Reeves doesn't seem to mind doing some stunt work, including much of his time in the "John Wick" and "The Matrix" franchises.

Angelina Jolie's career has been filled with action movies, requiring a myriad of stunts the actor has performed on her own. She spends time training for each stunt and goes to work on each one. Speaking to Cinema.com, "Tomb Raider" director Simon West described his star, saying, "Angelina was doing triple back flips on the set. She was doing the bungee jumps from 50 feet up in the air. She was laughing." Clearly, Jolie doesn't balk at dangerous stunt work, and she's been doing it for years.

In "Salt," Jolie plays Evelyn Salt, a woman accused of being a Russian sleeper agent intent on clearing her name. This leads to plenty of chase scenes and action sequences that put Salt to the test. Jolie performed most of her stunts, including the most dangerous. In one pivotal scene, Salt runs from her pursuers by jumping from a bridge onto a moving truck. She then jumps to another truck and another, before stealing a motorcycle (by pushing the rider off) and managing to escape.

Jolie did the stunt herself, despite having doubles on hand who rehearsed the whole sequence. She trained and practiced so Jolie was ready when the time came to shoot the scene. Stunt coordinator Simon Crane told the Los Angeles Times, "[Jolie is] absolutely fearless when it comes to high places. ... You can use her confidence with heights to put her in all kinds of dicey situations and know that she's going to be convincing pulling it off."

Tom Cruise is famous for doing his own stunts, and the man doesn't seem to have a limit on what he's willing to do. He learned how to pilot a helicopter so he could fly one in a movie, and he scaled the tallest building in the world. Cruise's only problem with doing stunts is enjoying them too much, and he's been told to stop smiling when performing them. Cruise has jumped motorcycles, scaled buildings, and jumped from airplanes, but his most daring stunt had him holding on tight to the side of a plane.

In "Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation," Ethan Hunt (Cruise) grips the side of a cargo plane, attempting to make his way inside. This doesn't work, and the plane takes off with Hunt clinging to the side. Cruise had to sweet talk Airbus into letting him use one of its planes, and the stunt had him holding on as the aircraft rose 5,000 feet at 184 mph. Cruise wore special contact lenses so he could keep his eyes open, and numerous risk factors made the stunt incredibly dangerous.

The safety lines holding Cruise in place are removed in the final cut, but even knowing he was latched on doesn't make the stunt any less insane. Cruise later confessed at CinemaCon, "I was scared s***less" (via The Hollywood Reporter). Still, Cruise did what he always does and pulled off the stunt, making for another memorable movie in his rather extensive filmography.

Jackie Chan is an actor, but in reality, he's more of a professional stuntman who occasionally acts. The man has done many insane stunts over the years; this article could have been entirely about him. Chan has been throwing himself around, jumping off things, and injuring himself for decades. Many of his films feature bloopers during the credits, showing the many ways he hurt himself during filming. Despite the damage, Chan does whatever he must to achieve a perfect shot.

Chan has done some insanely daring stunts over the years, including sliding down a steel pole through electrical lights down several stories, and through a glass ceiling in "Police Story." While those stunts are legendary, they're not Chan's craziest; that came in "Who Am I?" Chan plays a character called Jackie Chan, but amnesia has him constantly asking, "Who Am I?" There are several chase scenes, but only one ends with a spectacular stunt that leaves viewers wondering why Chan would try something so crazy.

Chan is chased to the top of a building, and lacking other options, he slides down the 21-story skyscraper. He slides down the building's angled side and even manages to get to his feet at one point, before tumbling the rest of the way. He stops at the bottom and saves himself from falling to the ground. In his book, "I Am Jackie Chan: My Life in Action," Chan described the stunt as one of his favorites.