8. Malcolm McDowell
Film: A Clockwork Orange (1971) In fairness to Malcolm McDowell, when he signed on to appear in psychological thriller A Clockwork Orange, he would probably have been expected to suffer some form of injury throughout production. And the film did not disappoint in giving the actor a few bruises to remember it by. The film and book it is based upon is noted for its deprived acts surrounding the main characters Alex, Georgie, Dim and Pete right from the outset, with violence, rape and theft covered in the opening few scenes. But the reason behind McDowell's injuries following the production regards to the Ludovico technique that is offered to Alex in an attempt to rehabilitate him after his arrest for his acts of serious violence and sexual assault. For this scene, McDowell had to be strapped to a chair and have his eyelids pried open whilst he is subjected to watch acts of violence, and the screams and begs for it to stop were probably not a massive stretch to act, because they were likely serious. At the time the movie was produced, there was not the degree of special effects as today, so McDowell literally had to subject himself to this torture, and as a result he received a scratched cornea and went temporarily blind. Some may say that the pain was worth it to bring to life one of the weird and cringe-worthy scenes in cinematic history, but I would say that as a general lesson to actors it is a good idea to read the original novel to get an idea of what sort of lengths you will have to go to do it justice.