TV Show Roles That Made Actors Physically Sick

While not exactly manual labor, acting can be quite physically strenuous, including for actors working in television. From the long working hours to arduous stunts and strain on mental health, television acting is hard work. These working conditions can occasionally lead to the performers becoming physically ill from their experiences, sometimes affecting the actors for the rest of their lives. In fact, some of the most iconic TV shows in the history of the medium have had notable instances where their actors have become sick from the experience.

Here are several major instances of actors becoming physically sick from their TV show roles. In many of these incidents, the afflicted actors pushed through, and their ill performance actually made final cut of the episodes, becoming a part of television broadcast history. But, as they say in Hollywood, the show must go on and these actors definitely demonstrated their full commitment to their respective roles and TV productions as their health suffered.

Many "Star Trek" episodes take away its crew from the safety of their starship, sometimes right in the middle of a harrowing battlefield. One of the earliest, most explosive examples of this from the original series is in the first season episode "Arena." The episode has Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and Spock (Leonard Nimoy) lead a landing party to a colony under attack by the Gorn. Caught off-guard, the ensemble finds themselves under fire from Gorn artillery and forced to seek cover before driving their reptilian enemies away.

Due to the stage props explosions used to capture the Gorn artillery blasts around the colony, Shatner and Nimoy both developed tinnitus. This condition caused Shatner and Nimoy to hear a constant ringing in their ears, treated by a small white noise-generating medical device. The affliction would affect both men for the rest of their lives, with Shatner going on to become an advocate for the American Tinnitus Association and raise awareness about the condition.

One of the quirkier original series to air on the Sci-Fi Channel was "Farscape," an Australian co-production which set out to do the opposite of "Star Trek." After astronaut John Crichton (Ben Browder) accidentally flies into a wormhole, he is catapulted across the galaxy. Picked up by a sentient spaceship, Crichton works with its eccentric crew to take on the corrupt Peacekeepers. Among Crichton's companions is Pa'u Zotoh Zhaan (Virginia Hey), a humanoid plant woman with blue skin.

Hey would leave "Farscape" as a series regular after its third season, with Zhaan heroically sacrificing herself to save her friends. Behind-the-scenes, Hey explained exactly why she left "Farscape" in a detailed post on her personal blog to clear up any rumors about her departure. Hey revealed that extensive makeup to turn her into Zhaan combined with the long working hours and lack of sleep caused her to bleed from her kidneys. After enduring this process and its physical consequences for three years, Zhaan decided to leave the series, remaining thankful for the role overall.

Sometimes crafting good comedy hurts, and the main cast of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" know this better than most. While longtime star Kaitlin Olson's injuries have been well-documented, one incident filming the 11th season finale affected Danny DeVito. In the episode, the gang are trapped in the room of a ship as it steadily fills with water. Believing an escape to be impossible, the group stoically accepts their impending deaths together and hold hands underwater.

Though the production took all the requisite safety precautions, DeVito nearly drowned filming the scene, with co-star and series creator Rob McElhenney joking he wasn't "as buoyant." DeVito also made light of the incident, noting that he was at peace with potentially dying and claiming his life flashed before his eyes during the scene. Olson dryly noted that, despite DeVito nearly drowning, the production got the shot it needed while co-star Charlie Day joked that the show couldn't get rid of DeVito.

Though immensely popular, "The Vampire Diaries" had its fair share of production woes, particularly during the filming of its second season. During this season, series regulars Nina Dobrev threw out her back and Paul Wesley twisted his ankle, temporarily sidelining both actors. This extended to the creative team, with series co-developer and executive producer Kevin Williamson going to the hospital after slipping on basement steps on set. However, star Ian Somehalder had an especially physically taxing experience completing the show's second season.

For a significant portion of production on "The Vampire Diaries," Somerhalder was suffering from an extended bout of walking pneumonia. Lasting for two months, Somerhalder would spend an hour in a sauna and constantly consume cough drops each day to help rally himself for filming. Somerhalder also had to record dialogue for four episodes while sick, two of which he estimated looping completely during his illness. Somerhalder claimed that the medications he took to participate in filming wired him up like a "bobblehead chihuahua," thankful that he got through the experience.

Known for its constant tension and not holding back on gruesome deaths for its fan-favorite characters, "The Walking Dead" ended its sixth season on the ultimate cliffhanger. The show's main survivors are ambushed by a rival group led by the charismatic sadist Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). Negan forced his prisoners to sit on their knees in a semicircle outside as he openly contemplated which of them to kill to punish them for their defiant opposition. This confrontation continued into the seventh season premiere, with Negan's victims revealed before he released the survivors with a warning.

Filmed outdoors on location on a particularly cold night, series regulars Christian Serratos and Steven Ogg recalled filming the standoff was a grueling shoot. In addition to being emotionally exhausting, given the nature of the scene, the actors had to stay outside on their knees on the bare ground for a prolonged time. Serratos shared that several actors, including herself, developed colds from the scene, though Serratos admitted her immune system was already "shot." Ogg observed that Morgan had a better experience than many of the actors, as Negan wore a jacket for the entire scene.

"The Vampire Diaries" wasn't the only major CW series to have its star afflicted with walking pneumonia during the filming of its second season. "Arrow," the first in the network's shared television universe of DC superhero shows, saw lead actor Stephen Amell ill with the condition. For Amell, playing the show's no-nonsense and intensely physical superhero Green Arrow, this made filming his scenes at the start of the season even more significantly difficult. Moreover, Amell had to film the first four episodes in the second season of "Arrow" while enduring this nasty illness.

In an interview reflecting on his time playing Green Arrow for eight seasons, Amell recalled that filming the first season was especially difficult for him. Shortly after he wrapped on the season, Amell explained that he "got sick really bad" with walking pneumonia. To avoid causing any delays, Amell continued to film the first four episodes of the second season despite still being sick. When asked how he managed to not let his health affect his performance, Amell simply responded that he "faked it until I made it."

Though Olivia Cooke may be better known to television audiences these days for her starring role in "House of the Dragon," she got her start on American television with "Bates Motel." Cooke plays Emma Decody, a woman suffering from a chronic illness who befriends a young Norman Bates (Freddie Highmore). Though grateful for the overall opportunity, she felt that the experience was significantly taxing on her mental health.

The nature of Cooke's role left her largely isolated while working in Vancouver, only filming "once every two weeks." Too young to engage in the local nightlife and far away from her home and family for the first time for an extended period, the production took its mental toll on Cooke. Further worsening the situation was the "Bates Motel" production taking place during the American 2016 presidential election, with Cooke upset by the bleak global politics. These mounting factors led Cooke to endure a full mental breakdown while working on "Bates Motel" and severe depression.

One of the most successful original series that Netflix has ever produced, "Stranger Things" blends '80s nostalgia with solid sci-fi and horror storytelling. When a telekinetic girl dubbed Eleven (Milly Bobby Brown) is discovered by a group of teens in their small Indiana town, her powers protect them from government agents and extra-dimensional monsters. The show made its young cast breakout stars, especially Brown, who has gone on to star in other action-driven Netflix projects. However, while Eleven is one of the strongest television characters in recent memory, Brown isn't quite as physically formidable in real life.

Despite starring in the fantasy epic "Damsel" and a pair of Godzilla movies, Brown confesses she struggles filming stunt-based scenes. Brown notes that any wire work that involves her climbing or simulating falling gives her severe motion sickness. With this caveat, Brown calls herself "a nightmare" that has frustrated a number of productions she's been a part of. Given the amount of stunts that Brown has to perform in "Stranger Things," one can assume the more intense telekinetic scenes have left her sick to her stomach.

Academy Award-winning filmmaker Jordan Peele led development of a revival iteration of the anthology classic "The Twilight Zone." Premiering in 2019 on CBS All Access, the show blended science fiction, fantasy, and horror while telling various standalone tales featuring an all-star cast. Among the episodes in the first season is "Point of Origin," a searing commentary on immigration and the devaluation of human life. The episode stars Ginnifer Goodwin as a privileged woman who is herself prosecuted when she discovers she's a refugee from a parallel dimension.

For Goodwin, the episode's subject matter and grueling physicality she had to endure in her performance "truly made her sick to her stomach." Goodwin enjoyed getting to participate in "The Twilight Zone" revival overall, but found the production to be an ordeal. Goodwin shared that her husband noticed how thoroughly exhausted she was coming home after filming each day. Upon seeing the final episode, Goodwin hoped that audiences had a similar sickening feeling watching it as they questioned how they treated others themselves.

After the divisive sequel trilogy, "Star Wars" was completely revitalized by "The Mandalorian," the first live-action television series for the franchise. The Disney+ original series is set several years after the events of "Return of the Jedi," with its eponymous bounty hunter fighting remnants of the Galactic Empire. To bring this vision of that galaxy far, far away to visual life, the production used a ground-breaking new set technology named StageCraft. This tech involves creating realistic digital background environments projected through LED screens around the actors that update in real-time.

StageCraft has helped change the industry, with other studios and shows employing similar technology effectively. "The Mandalorian" was lauded for its use of the digital environment, though sometimes StageCraft may prove too effective. Recurring actor Katee Sackhoff, herself no stranger to ambitious science fiction shows after starring in "Battlestar Galactica," complimented StageCraft on vividly bringing environments to life. Sackhoff noted that being on the Razor Crest set as StageCraft projected it cruising through the cosmos actually made her feel seasick.

Actor Evan Peters has a long collaborative history with prolific television creator Ryan Murphy, including with the popular "American Horror Story" anthology series. Their 2022 collaboration on the Netflix original true crime series "Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story" was especially taxing on Peters in his most terrifying performance to date. Playing the titular serial killer who claimed over a dozen victims in the Midwest, Peters was tested like never before to inhabit the role. This commitment visibly affected Peters' health over the course of filming, both physically and mentally.

Over the course of filming the series, Peters' weight fluctuated across a 35-pound range, starting with a sharp weight loss. To change his physical appearance, Peters lost approximately 15 pounds through a diet that deliberately excluded carbs and sugars. As preparation for the third episode began, Peters gained 20 pounds to reflect Dahmer's own physical transformation as the murderer began exercising more regularly. Months after filming wrapped, Peters admitted he was still haunted by the lengths he had to endure to play Dahmer for the "Monster."

One thing "Star Wars" and "Star Trek" actors can bond over is how advances in digital set technology can occasionally make them sick to their stomachs. Though not quite the same exact technology as Lucasfilm's StageCraft, the current generation of "Star Trek" programming on Paramount+ uses an augmented reality wall on set. Operating similarly as StageCraft, the AR Wall uses LED screens to project fantastical environments that update and move in real-time around the actors. For some of the "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" cast, this tech would make them a little space sick.

Co-stars Melissa Navia and Celia Rose Gooding both complimented the AR Wall on making their performances more authentic to the setting. Gooding explained that the visuals projected on the AR Wall were constantly in motion even as the set itself remained static. The realistically vivid background and its optical illusion of movement gave Gooding motion sickness until she acclimated to the AR Wall.