Christian Bale – Terminator: Salvation
Christian Bale has been known to fully immerse himself in whatever role he gets. Even if he’s playing a robot. On the set of “The Terminator”, the actor went berserk on set and verbally attacked the director of photography. Supposedly it was ok because he was in character when doing so!
Thankfully Bale came to his senses and realized he shouldn’t be yelling at someone for trying to do his job. The poor cinematographer was simply trying to set up the shot.
Rip Torn – Maidstone
Rip Torn took things a little far during the filming of Maidstone. When director Norman Mailer told the actors that they need to plot an assassination attempt on the character, Rip Torn took that super seriously and ended up attacking the director with a hammer.
Mailer survived and wrestled Rip Torn to the ground and thankfully the rest of the cast intervened. Easy there, Rip.
Janet Leigh – Psycho
Alfred Hitchcock is famous for terrifying both his viewers and actors. Such is the case is with Janet Leigh during the production of "Psycho." The character Marion Crane as we all know (spoiler alert) gets famously stabbed in the shower by the psycho Norman Bates.
Leigh was traumatized by this role and even had a hard time showering at home. The actress would lock the doors and the windows of the house but leave the bathroom door just in case. You don't work with Hitchcock and come out sane.
Leonardo DiCaprio -Django Unchained
The dedication that Leo shows in his films could definitely be seen during the shooting of "Django Unchained." The actor cut his hand while acting in the scene but continued while the cameras were rolling never for one moment breaking character.
The bloody hands made it to the final scene because it was just so authentic. You actually can see the moment it happens when he slams his hand into the table and accidentally breaks a glass, instantly cutting his hand. It's one of the most powerful scenes in the film.
Gene Hackman – The Royal Tenenbaums
On the set of "The Royal Tenenbaums", Gene Hackman proved to be pretty unfriendly during filming. Turns out director Wes Anderson begged the actor to join the cast. After months of convincing and pleading, Hackman was eventually convinced.
Unfortunately, when the time came to play the part, he wasn't really game to play ball and be nice to his fellow actors. In fact, he acted pretty terribly to everyone around him. Guess he was just channeling the character.