10 Actors Whose Worst Fears Came True

Those times when a real-life fear became an actor's unfortunate reality.

Batman Daredevil
20th Century Fox/Warner Bros.

No matter how special, unique, or one-of-a-kind you think you truly are, one thing binds just about every single person on the massive spinning ball of craziness: Everyone is afraid of something.

Those fears can range from the understandable, such as being wary of a dangerous animal or vast open water (who in the hell doesn't get shivers when something nudges their foot in the ocean?), to the more, let's say, irrational. However, for the most part, the average human doesn't routinely find themselves being faced with the potential of tackling said crippling fear in order to earn a living.

The occupation of acting isn't your everyday job, though. As this list will reveal, this industry has a sadistic habit of launching a thespian head-first into a scenario which can only be described as a living nightmare for the poor soul involved.

Forcing a star to quite literally jump in the deep end and power through some childhood trauma to get the perfect take, suspending a height-dreading actor up high for multiple films in a row, and nudging a performer down a path they swore to stay clear of are just a few examples of legit fears becoming unfortunate realities for these talented folks.

10. Childhood Trauma Makes Jennifer Aniston Think Twice Before Submerging

Batman Daredevil
Cinelou Releasing/Freestyle Releasing

The events of our youth can have a monumental effect on the way we approach and view the world as we continue to grow.

In the case of Jennifer Aniston one of these life-altering moments came in the form of a traumatic accidental tumble into a pool whilst riding a tricycle at the age of five. Refusing to let go of said tricycle, the star sunk straight to the bottom before her brother fished her out of the water.

Needless to say, the whole ordeal scarred her for life and Aniston now has a very real fear of being submerged underwater.

Cue the star being asked to perform a scene in the film Cake years later which saw her character having to take hold of some weights and see if she could take her own life via sinking to the bottom of a pool.

As you'd expect, this was very much a nightmare situation for the actor. The fact it took her 30+ takes to get the shot they were looking only reaffirms this, and her comments afterwards suggest she's still far from over this fear.

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Contributor

Lifts rubber and metal. Watches people flip in spandex and pretends to be other individuals from time to time...