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.
Mathew McConaughey – Dallas Buyers Club
Mathew McConaughey had to go through a major physical transformation for this role. The actor lost about 50 pounds to play AIDS victim Ron Woodroof in "Dallas Buyers Club."
The "Interstellar" actor had a hard time recovering after that role, saying that at times he would even lose his eyesight, or his legs would lock up after a short run around the block.
George Lazenby – On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
We've had a lot of James Bonds over the years, and not all of them have been up to the task. Take George Lazenby who let the role get a little to his head. The actor and former model started to believe that he was really James Bond and began clashing with the entire cast and crew.
"James Bond" even ended up bringing a real gun to set and would shoot empty bottles. Needless to say, that was the first and last James Bond film he was ever in.
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.
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.