10 Actors Who Went Through Hell (For Films No-One Saw)
The only thing worse than going through hell is going through hell without anybody noticing.
There are some performers who took"suffering for their art" to a whole new level. Buster Keaton fractured his vertebrae while filming Sherlock Jr. Linda Hamilton suffered permanent hearing loss while making Terminator 2. Bob Hoskins experienced hallucinations after Who Framed Roger Rabbit which were so severe, he stopped acting for a year.
Since these movies are hailed as masterpieces, you could argue the actors' suffering was worth it. No pain, no gain, right? But what if you suffer for your art... and nobody sees it? Imagine physically pushing yourself for a film so badly, you suffer chronic injuries. Now imagine that film is considered one of the worst things in the history of celluloid.
How embarrassing would it be to fund and star in a movie that you think will bag you an Oscar and it turns you into a laughing stock? How depressing would it be to think a movie will make your career only to watch it tank so spectacularly, most people never heard of it?
Here are ten times actors suffered horrifically for a movie that no one saw.
10. Channing Tatum Burned His You-Know-What - The Eagle
If an actor is shooting action sequences, they should expect to suffer the odd injury here and there. But there is one injury no human being is ever prepared for; scalding the penis.
For the final scene of the Roman epic, The Eagle, Channing Tatum had to perform a battle sequence in a freezing river. Since Tatum had to wade in cold water all day, the crew had to take precautions to ensure he didn't suffer hypothermia. Under his centurion armour, Tatum wore a wetsuit that was designed so the crew could pour warm kettle-water into it.
One day, one crew member forgot to cool the kettle and so, poured boiling water into Tatum's wetsuit, which burned his lower body including his private parts. In Tatum's own words, it "pretty much burned the skin off the head of my d*&k". (How graceful.) Ironically, the director believes Tatum's scrotal mishap helped with his performance since it made his character appear more vulnerable.
The Eagle only made $38 million at the box office, making it one of the least successful films Tatum ever starred in.