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.”
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.
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.
Zac Efron – Killing Zac Efron
Zac Efron has certainly come a long way since "High School Musical." In the middle of the production of his reality TV show "Killing Zac Efron", the actor fell violently ill while on set in Papua New Guinea. The "Neighbors" star had to be transported via helicopter to Australia to be treated.
It is said that the actor suffered from a bacterial infection that may have been typhoid. Efron, however, recovered quickly after 3 weeks in medical care By Christmas Eve he was already home in L.A.
Heather Donahue – The Blair Witch Project
The whole cast from "The Blair Witch Project" suffered a great deal of trauma while filming the horror flick. When the director sent these kids into the woods, the poor actors didn't really know what they were in for. They were taunted and terrified throughout the duration of the shooting.
Heather Donahue especially had a hard time as she had to pretend that the whole experience was real which even involved faking her own death.