8 Movies That Put Their Extras Through Hell
5. Many Extras Were Injured While Shooting The Sinking Scene - Titanic
Titanic was a gruelling shoot for almost everyone involved, whether you're talking about star Kate Winslet catching hypothermia and nearly drowning, or 60 of the cast and crew falling ill after eating chowder that was laced with PCP.
Most relevant to this list though, countless extras were put through the wringer when the time came to shoot the movie's climactic sinking scene. Spoilers.
Over 100 extras (and a further 100 stunt performers) were called in to bring this sequence to life, with director James Cameron wishing to capture the chaos of all those helpless passengers scrambling for safety. And when you have that many people on a moving set? There are bound to be a few accidents.
And sure enough, there were. Injuries sustained by extras ranged from a ruptured spleen to a fractured cheekbone - with broken ankles and cracked ribs thrown in for good measure. Fortunately, computer-generated people were used for a lot of the more dangerous work, but not before dozens of performers had battered their bodies in the name of Cameron's cause.