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Robert De Niro nearly died on the set of The Deer Hunter
The Oscar-winning actor, who appeared in the 1978 war drama alongside Christopher Walken and Meryl Streep , recalled the moment in behind-the-scenes compendium One Shot: The Making of The Deer Hunter .
“The helicopter scene let me tell you was hairy,” De Niro said. “There was me and John [Savage], and Chris had gotten off by this time and the chopper had got caught in the railings and twisted the whole bridge around.”
He continued: “I looked at John and shouted, ‘Drop!’ We had no choice and we just dropped in the water. When we landed, there were two motorboats, which were stationary with a rope between them. We crashed through the water and came up underneath the rope and caught hold.”
De Niro explained that this wasn’t the end of his near-brush, saying: “As I came out of the water, my thought was that the helicopter could conceivably come crashing down. But I saw the co-pilot stepping out of the chopper and lowing himself out – he picked up the cable and slipped it over the runner.
Show all 21 1 /2121 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand 21 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand Nicolas Cage Nicolas Cage has a history of taking his roles too far, but the peak arrived with the Ghost Rider sequel, Spirit of Vengeance (2011). Knowing his head was to be replaced with CGI, he covered his face in corpse paint and shrouded himself in a costume covered with Egyptian symbols and magical amulets, terrifying his co-stars in the process. Decades earlier, Cage had pulled out 12 of his own teeth in preparation for the lead role in Birdy (1984).
21 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand Hilary Swank Hilary Swank's exercise regime for drama Million Dollar Baby was so intense that it almost killed her. She spent so long in the gym (six days a week for three months) that a doctor told her a staph infection – caused by a burst blister on her foot – was hours away from reaching her heart.
Warner Bros
21 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand Heath Ledger Such was the extent of Heath Ledger's commitment to the role of Joker in The Dark Knight (2008) that he ended up sleeping just two hours a night after locking himself away in a hotel room for an entire month to make a diary comprised of his villainous character's ramblings.
21 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand Val Kilmer Having lived an entire year in the life of late Doors frontman Jim Morrison, Val Kilmer had to go to therapy after struggling to get his life back on track. The actor had become so obsessed with the role that he ended up learning fifty of Morrison's songs and had everyone call him "Jim" on set of the 1991 biopic.
21 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand Johnny Depp Johnny Depp risked his life while preparing for the role of Hunter Thompson in Terry Gilliam's 1998 film Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas; he took hard drugs and spent his nights sleeping next to extremely dangerous containers of gunpowder and nitroglycerin.
21 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand Shia LaBeouf For war thriller Fury (2014), Shia LaBeouf slashed his own cheek and pulled a tooth out during filming. He also didn't wash for an entire month forcing the crew to arrange a separate room for him during night-time shoots.
21 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand Rooney Mara Rooney Mara completely changed her image to play the role of Lisbeth Salander in David Fincher's 2011 adaptation of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. She cut her hair, bleached her eyebrows and pierced her nipples to get into the mindset of the cyber hacker at the heart of Stieg Larrson's novels.
21 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand Natalie Portman Natalie Portman certainly worked for the Best Actress Oscar she received for 2010 film Black Swan. She shunned any suggestion of a body double for the film's extremely challenging dance scenes.
21 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand Joaquin Phoenix In 2008, Joaquin Phoenix displayed some bizarre behaviour after he quit acting to become a hip-hop artist. It was later revealed that his life upheaval – strange interviews included – was, in fact, a giant hoax for mockumentary I'm Still here
21 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand Ashton Kutcher After hearing that Apple co-founder Steve Jobs had a diet comprised of just fruit, Ashton Kutcher thought he'd do the same in preparation for his role in biopic Jobs (2013). He ended up hospitalised for severe vitamin deficiencies as well as a reduction in bone density. But for the role of Steve Jobs, Kutcher went on a complete fruit diet, just like real-life Steve Jobs. And two days before the filming Kutcher ended up in the hospital with severe Vitamin deficiencies and reduction in bone density.
21 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand Halle Berry After "begging" Spike Lee to let her play the role of crack addict Vivian in his 1991 film Jungle Fever, Halle Berry proved her dedication to the role by refusing to bathe for two whole weeks.
21 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand Dustin Hoffman Meryl Streep has recounted the time Dustin Hoffman slapped her on their first take filming 1979 divorce drama Kramer vs Kramer, something everyone can agree was an unacceptable step too far.
21 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand Daniel Day-Lewis Known to be one of the biggest method actors around, Daniel Day-Lewis spent six months alone in the wilderness in preparation for his role in The Last of the Mohicans (1992).
21 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand Anne Hathaway Anne Hathaway may have won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Les Misérables (2012), but the role of Fantine – which saw her cut off her hair and eat nothing but lettuce and oatmeal paste – left her in "a state of deprivation, both physically and emotionally".
21 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand Christian Bale Christian Bale has since vowed not to mess with his weight again following his Oscar win for Vice earlier this year but, back in 2004, he lost such an alarming amount of weight for the role of Trevor Reznik in The Machinist that he became virtually unrecognisable. "I was intrigued by a perverse nature of mine just to see if I can go beyond what I've been told is actually safe and okay, and see if I could push the limits," he went on to tell the BBC.
21 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand Charlize Theron While many would expect to see Charlize Theron here for her Oscar-winning turn as Aileen Wuornos in Monster, it's her role in spy film Atomic Blonde (2017) that saw her take things too far. Theron was so adamant she perform her own stunts that she bruised her ribs and clenched her teeth so hard she broke two of them.
Focus Features
21 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand Danny DeVito The entire cast of 1975 film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest stayed in a real mental asylum to prepare for the film. DeVito went so far as to dream up an imaginary friend, one he became convinced was real.
21 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand Adrien Brody To get into the lead role of Oscar-winning film The Pianist (2002), Adrien Brody upheaved his life so much that it took him over a year and a half to get things back on track; not only did he starve himself to a staggering degree, but sold his home and broke up with his long-term girlfriend.
21 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand Jared Leto The Oscar-winner got so into his role of Joker in 2016's Suicide Squad that he sent his co-stars, including Margot Robbie and Will Smith, stray bullets and used condoms in the post. He event circulated a video of himself with nothing but a dead pig for company to the entire crew.
21 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand Kate Winslet Kate Winslet took her role of the former Nazi concentration camp guard at the heart of drama The Reader (2008) so seriously that she spoke with a German accent while at home with her family. She compared leaving the character behind her to escaping a serious car crash.
21 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand Robert De Niro For Taxi Driver, most actors wouldn't have got themselves a fake license and cruised around New York City throughout the night to get into the role of the deranged Travis Bickle, but that's precisely what Robert De Niro ended up doing in 1976.
This experience prompted De Niro and Savage to shout, “We get this! No more!” He continued: “There was only going to be one take of that scene. That’s a pressured shot. That’s the shot that’s actually used that in the finished film. It’s not always the case. A huge moment like that can very often not be used.”
One Shot: The Making of The Deer Hunter , written by Jay Glennie, has been 15 years in the making. It features quotes from De Niro, Walken and Streep as well as unseen archival material relating to the film, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary. It’s available to buy now .
The Deer Hunter , directed by Michael Cimino, won five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor for Walken.
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