Actors seem to be taken more seriously when they perform their own stunts. Maybe it's part of throwing themselves into a role, or giving their all for a production. And when they do those stunts bravely and enthusiastically, well, injuries happen. Producers hate it when a shoot has to be delayed because a star is in the hospital, but it happens ...often enough to make an internet list. Harrison Ford has contributed to these stories on more than one occasion.
During the filming of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Ford had to take a break from the set and fly back to L.A. for surgery after a rupturing disc in his back. Ford didn’t say exactly what the stunt was that caused the injury, but he told The New York Times in 1984 that he blamed the elephants. Indiana Jones climbing off an elephant and yelling, “Oww! My Back!” isn’t the most exciting story, but hey, that’s Hollywood stunt work.
Ford’s worst on-set stunt, though, would come decades later when reprising his role as Han Solo for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. According to The Guardian, Ford walked under the door of his trusty old spaceship, the Millennium Falcon, when the hydraulic door — which weighed the same as a small car — pinned him to the ground and nearly crushed him to death.
Ford was lucky enough to get out with only two broken bones in his leg — had somebody not quickly hit the door’s emergency stop button, Han Solo could have been down for the count before ever reuniting with Kylo Ren.
Read about stunt injuries involving Charlize Theron, Bruce Willis, Tom Cruise, and others at Mel magazine.