Sydney Lassick – One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest
It was not easy for the cast of “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest.” Sydney Lassick had a mental breakdown during the last scene. While the set psychologist had no real concern for Dany Devito and his imaginary friend, he did worry for Lassic who displayed some terribly erratic behavior.
The actor became increasingly unpredictable and exploded during the last scene. He even had to be removed from the set and brought back later after he calmed down.
Rooney Mara – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Rooney Mara worked extensively with director David Fincher and Pat McGrath the renowned makeup artist to create the 26 different looks that made up the character Lisbeth Salander. In addition to the jet black hair and piercings, Mara also got her eyebrows bleached.
Mara felt like the piercings and the tattoos she got for the role were just the right choice.
Danny DeVito – One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest
We are sure that everyone had a tough time portraying psychiatric patients in the iconic film "One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest", but Danny Devito had a particularly troubling time on set. The actor even created an imaginary friend for himself.
The production was shot in an actual mental asylum and many of the actors suffered mental breakdowns throughout filming.
Nicolas Cage – Birdy
Nicolas Cage didn't get the title of the craziest actor in Hollywood for nothing. During the shooting of the film "Birdy", the actor went a little off the rails and got his teeth pulled in order to play the role of mutated Vietnam war vet.
For 5 weeks Cage did not remove the bandages from his face. People started to actually believe that the actor was truly disfigured.
Shelley Duvall – The Shining
Shelly Duvall was not messing around in "The Shining" when she portrayed Wendy Torrance. Her jaw-dropping performance in the infamous baseball scene earned her instant recognition. They did that scene 127 times and Duvall could just spend hours a day just screaming.
Director Stanley Kubrick apparently really destroyed the actress. After 13 months of shooting, Duvall said that her time on that set was “almost unbearable."