Have you ever watched a scary movie and been so scared that you wondered how the actors and actresses were able to film the movie without getting scared themselves? Well, it turns out that there have been plenty of celebrities who have gotten so scared while filming horror movies that it affected them in real life, as many of them were traumatized while they were filming.
Because many actors actually got scared while filming these horror moves, their reactions and pure terror we so authentic on screen. When reactions are so authentic, it makes the film that much more believable as well as enjoyable. From Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory to Texas Chainsaw Massacre, many of these actors were actually terrified, just like the fans of the movies.
10 'Alien'
One of the most iconic scenes in the 1979 movie Alien is why a live alien explodes from John Hurt's chest. Prior to filming the terrifying scene, the cast wasn't told much, just that they were going to be sprayed with animal blood and animal organs to make it look authentic. They also didn't know that the alien would literally burst through his chest, so when it actually happened they were terrified.
Sigourney Weaver was so scared that she actually thought John Hurt was dying. They were so surprised that Veronica Cartwright legitimately passed out, and Yaphet Kotto was so traumatized that when he got home he locked himself in his room for hours. This was all intentional, as the director wanted to get real reactions, and it's safe to say he did.
9 'Silence Of The Lambs'
Jodie Foster admitted that when she was filming Silence of the Lambs, Anthony Hopkins absolutely terrified her. For the majority of the movie, Hannibal Lecter spent a lot of the time in his jail cell, meaning when Jodie filmed her scenes with him, there was always something separating the two. However, whenever they weren't filming, Jodie avoided him completely. He scared her so much that she didn't even want to be near him, so she kept her distance for as long as she possibly could.
8 'Close Encounters Of The Third Kind'
The movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind focused on aliens. To get three-year-old Cary Guffey to react to said aliens, director Steven Spielberg had to come up with a way to get him to show fear. As a result, he had two crewmembers dress up as a gorilla and a clown and made them stand behind the fake window on set. During the scene, Cary walked into the kitchen, and the fake blind on the window was dropped to show the crewmembers that were dressed in costume. Naturally, Cary was genuinely scared and Steven Spielberg was able to capture that on camera.
7 'Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory'
We all remember watching Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory when we were younger, and even though it wasn't a scary movie, we can all admit that the boat scene really freaked us out. Some of the kids in the movie admitted that they were actually a little afraid of Gene Wilder in that scene. They weren't really told what was going to happen, so their fear on their faces was pretty genuine. It's good to know that we weren't the only ones scared as kids watching this movie!
6 'The Exorcist'
The Exorcist is one of the most iconic classic horror movies to this day. It's a movie that has terrified many over the years, including the cast of the movie. In the scene in which Linda Blair's character vomited on Jason Miller, Jason's terrified and his grossed-out reaction were totally real. Originally, Jason was told that the "vomit" which was actually just pea soup would be shot at his chest. However, when they went to actually film, they shot it at his face instead. Considering his fear of vomit and hatred for pea soup, Jason's horrified expression was totally real which made it that more convincing.
5 'Poltergeist'
Poltergeist is by far, one of the most terrifying horror movies, with so many moments that make you want to scream. One of the most iconic scenes in the movie is when JoBeth Williams has to swim in a dirty, muddy swimming pool that's filled with rotting corpses. When filming that scene, JoBeth was actually terrified, but not for reasons that you'd think.
The pool was filmed with actual human skeletons and cadavers from a medical supply company (she didn't know that at the time, though) but that wasn't what scared her. Instead, she was more terrified of being electrocuted by the filming equipment around the pool. Steven Spielberg helped ease her fear, though, standing in the water with her and assuring her that it wouldn't happen.
4 'The Shining'
The Shining is another iconic horror film that still scares viewers today. Throughout the film actress Shelley Duvall is very anxious, and always on edge. Even outside of filming, the director wanted to keep Shelley in that state to make her fear and anxiety that much more real. He would put a lot of pressure on her, in order to keep her paranoia real. As a result, the iconic baseball bat scene was real. The scene took 127 takes, and Shelley's hysteria and crying were real as a result of the abuse on and off-camera. The intent was to make it seem real, and they succeeded, as it was.
3 'The Monster Squad'
Ashley Banks was just five years old when she was filming the movie The Monster Squad. They didn't prepare her for her first encounter with Dracula, and that was on purpose, as they wanted to catch her reaction to seeing him for the first time. As a result, when Ashley was face to face with Dracula and his fangs and red eyes for the first time, she was absolutely terrified. In the movie, her reaction and pure terror were real, which definitely made it that much more authentic.
2 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre'
The cast of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre really went through a lot when they were filming. Some of them were forced to not get changed out of their clothes or bathe in five weeks for continuity. The set was gross, and smelled even worse, as it was littered with dead animal parts, not to mention the heat and humidity didn't help. The smell was so bad, apparently, that actors would often get sick on set. Marilyn Burns, who played Sally, was actually injured on set when her finger was actually cut. Her terror was real, most of the time, as she was so scared of actually getting hurt and, of course, the chainsaws.
1 'The Departed'
Although The Departed is a gangster movie rather than a horror movie, that didn't stop Leonardo DiCaprio from being terrified of Jack Nicholson. During one scene, Leo's character, who is an undercover cop, is confronted by Jack's character, a mob boss. Jack felt like Leo wasn't scared enough for the intense moment. As a result, he pulled out a handgun and shoved it in Leo's face without him knowing that he was going to do it. As a result, Leo's reaction of being surprised and terrified was genuine. It was a good call, to scare Leo like that, as it changed the dynamic of the scene and made it more of what it was intended to be.