8 Actors Who Seriously Injured Themselves For Movies
2. Leonardo DiCaprio Cut His Hand Open And Kept Acting On Django Unchained
Surely the mark of a brilliant actor is someone who can take whatevers thrown at him in a scene and run with it. For the cast of Alien, this meant not running off the set when a terrifying flesh-worm suddenly burst its way forth from John Hurts chest during a relaxed dinner scene. For Michael Keaton in Birdman, it involved running with it when some crazy New Yorker took it upon herself to start yelling at him from the rooftops in the middle of a take.
Leonardo DiCaprio took this to the next level in Django Unchained. Audience members couldn't fail to see that he was having a whale of a time playing the wicked Calvin Candie, noshing his way joyfully through the scenery in a performance that proved once and for all that he was an acting force to be reckoned with. It seemed he was prepared to go to any length to sell the character of a sadistic plantation owner. This was proved profoundly true in one of the films pivotal scenes.
Leonardo went to angrily slam his hand on a table - and instead pounded his palm directly down onto a crystal glass. Ever the professional, he didn't even flinch as his hand was cut open deeply enough to require stitches, remaining in character and in the moment despite bleeding profusely. He even used his accident to create a truly shocking moment, smearing his blood down the face of a terrified Broomhilda (Kerry Washington). More than a bit gross, really, but Leos devil-may-care attitude to sharing his body fluids created a truly memorable scene.