12 Actors Who Almost Walked Off Huge Movies (And Why)

Tippi Hedren made her full acting debut in this classic Alfred Hitchcock horror-thriller film. Loosely based off the book of the same name, it focuses on a series of sudden and increasingly violent bird attacks on the people of Bodega Bay, California.

Hedren’s performance in The Birds earned her the Golden Globe Award for Best New Star of the Year and she would later claim that she would not have had such an incredible career without Hitchcock’s early trust and investment in her.

But it was not all sunshine and rainbows on set, as Hedren would admit that there was one week of filming that was the worst of her entire life.

For five days, Hedren had prop men throw mechanical and real birds at her, such as ravens, gulls and crows. On the final day, one of the birds gouged her check and narrowly missed her eye. The constant stress and exhaustion from filming this scene over and over again caused Hedren to curl up into a ball on the ground and cry.

A physician ordered a week's rest for Hedren, much to Hitchcock’s displeasure. But after Hedren threatened to leave the film altogether, Hitchcock reluctantly agreed.