From Leonardo DiCaprio coming inches away from being devoured by a great white shark, to King Charles the Third skiing for his life to outrun a roaring avalanche. No, this isn’t some mad fever dream, these are real-life near-misses endured by some of the world’s most famous celebrities. Let's dive into the most mind-boggling, life-threatening close calls that these celebs somehow survived!
Leonardo DiCaprio
As one of Hollywood’s brightest stars, Leonardo DiCaprio is known for his gripping and unforgettable acting performances. I mean, who could forget that heart-stopping bear attack scene in The Revenant? But what’s lesser known is the time DiCaprio faced an animal attack in real life!
While filming the movie Blood Diamond in 2006, the actor went shark cage diving off the coast of South Africa. A tuna got wedged inside the cage, and with the top left open, a massive great white shark suddenly launched out of the water, snatching the tuna. But it didn’t stop there! The upper half of the shark’s enormous body crashed into the cage, bringing it face-to-face with DiCaprio! Frozen in terror, the actor dropped to the bottom of the cage, narrowly avoiding the shark’s razor-sharp teeth that snapped just inches from his head. It was a close call, but miraculously, DiCaprio didn’t end up sleeping with the fishes!
Surprisingly, that’s not his only dice with extreme danger! In 2009, while aboard a plane taking off, he had the terrifying misfortune of watching the aircraft’s wing explode in a massive fireball. The violent eruption sent shockwaves through the cabin, and by sheer luck, the rest of the plane didn’t burst into flames.
But that wasn’t the end of it. Moments later, the plane’s left engine suddenly failed, throwing the entire flight into chaos. With no power, the aircraft was forced to circle for a gut-wrenching 45 minutes, dumping fuel in a desperate attempt to lighten the load. Only then, after what must have felt like an eternity, could they make an emergency landing.
Apparently, old Leo doesn't have much luck with air-borne adventures. DiCaprio’s next dicey time didn’t happen inside a plane, but rather, after he jumped out of one. DiCaprio also took part in a tandem skydive that turned into a nightmare. Mid-flight, the parachute became knotted, and the pair plummeted toward the ground in a freefall of terror.
With no time to spare, they scrambled to deploy the backup chute, only to discover that was knotted as well! In a final desperate move, DiCaprio and his instructor managed to shake the backup chute loose just before impact, preventing the A-lister from being transformed into mush.
Harrison Ford
Leonardo DiCaprio isn’t the only much-marveled movie star whose life has been dangerously threatened by the skies. Harrison Ford, the legendary actor behind iconic roles like Han Solo in Star Wars and Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark, had his own heart-stopping, plane-related close call.
In 2015, while piloting his vintage World War Two aircraft over southern California, disaster struck. The engine stalled mid-flight. With no time to waste, Ford didn’t try to restart the plane. Instead, he made a split-second decision to bank it back toward Santa Monica Airport, where it had just taken off from.
However, during the nerve-wracking descent, Ford realized that he wouldn’t make it to the runway. He aimed for a nearby golf course and prepared for an emergency landing. The plane plummeted toward the ground at breakneck speed, crashing into trees before smashing onto the fairway. Miraculously, Ford survived, narrowly avoiding plowing into any golfers. However, the crash left him with deep lacerations to his head and a broken arm. He was quickly rushed to hospital and, despite the severity of the accident, made an incredible recovery. It was a terrifying moment, but Ford's resilience and quick thinking ensured he lived to tell the tale.
Just a year earlier, the actor had yet another narrow escape, and this time, it happened on the set of
Star Wars: The Force Awakens. While reprising his iconic role as Han Solo, Ford found himself involved in a terrifying accident on the Millennium Falcon set. A hydraulic door on the ship malfunctioned and suddenly activated while Ford was beneath it. The door slammed shut with brutal force, trapping the actor underneath.
The impact was catastrophic, with the door crashing down with the force of a small car. Somehow, Ford survived, though his leg was broken in the process. Even still, you could probably say that the force was with him that day!
Tom Cruise
On the topic of on-set mishaps, let's talk about Tom Cruise. Known for performing his own stunts for over 30 years, Cruise has made a name for himself as one of Hollywood’s most fearless actors. While filming the 2003 action drama The Last Samurai, he once again refused to use a stunt double, opting to wield his own sword and ride a mechanical horse.
During one intense scene, Cruise was working with Japanese co-star Hiroyuki Sanada, when disaster almost struck, or sliced. The two men were hurtling towards each other on mechanical horses. However, Cruise’s horse malfunctioned. As the two actors met in the middle of the scene, the horse didn’t drop as it was supposed to. Yet, Sanada was already swinging his samurai sword by this point, which was now well on its way to slicing through Cruise’s neck. Luckily, Sanada, who is an expert in martial arts, realized that Cruise’s horse wasn’t dropping, and managed to pull back his sword just in time, missing Cruise’s neck by mere inches. Talk about a close shave!
Elon Musk
Back in 2000, Elon Musk, billionaire, and owner of X and Tesla, was visiting a game reserve in his native South Africa with his then-wife, Justine. He was none the wiser that he was about to face a near-fatal ordeal. When Musk returned to California in January 2001, everything seemed fine at first. But soon, the future billionaire started feeling dangerously ill. Dizziness, chills, and uncontrollable vomiting hit him hard.
As the hours passed, his condition worsened at an alarming rate. He was rushed to the hospital, where doctors initially diagnosed him with viral meningitis, but his condition only grew more critical. His pulse became nearly imperceptible, and he was slipping in and out of consciousness.
It seemed like his time was running out. But then, a doctor specializing in infectious diseases happened to pass by and immediately saw that the symptoms didn’t match meningitis. It wasn’t a virus, it was something far more deadly. Malaria: a life-threatening disease transmitted by a mosquito bite. One of those tiny pests must’ve bitten Musk during his time at the game reserve.
With his body on the brink of collapse, he was rushed into intensive care, where he was given life-saving intravenous fluids and treated with powerful antimalarial drugs like doxycycline and chloroquine. For the next 10 days, Musk fought for his life, his body wracked with the intense effects of the disease. It took him five months to fully recover, but he survived. And it was all thanks to the swift doctor’s intervention that came just hours before it was too late.
Donald Trump
Yet Musk isn’t the only prominent figure in American politics to have had a close call with fatality. Donald Trump, the 45th and 47th President of the United States, has also nearly met his mortal end on more than one occasion. Most of you probably already know about the assassination attempt he survived in July 2024, but if you’ve been living under a rock, let me quickly fill you in.
During a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, a 20-year-old gunman named Thomas Matthew Crooks fired eight shots from a rooftop with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle. As one of the bullets whizzed through the air towards Trump, he suddenly turned his head slightly, it saved his life, with the bullet striking his ear, rather than his head. Seconds later, Trump was bundled on by secret service agents, while a sharp-shooting sniper took out Crooks.
Video shows moment of Trump assassination attempt at rally by ABC News But that wasn’t the only time Trump came dangerously close to mortality. In October 2020, Trump announced that he’d tested positive for coronavirus. Later that day, he was transferred to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where he spent the weekend and received various treatments.
Though Trump never disclosed it himself, it’s been reported that he experienced extremely low blood oxygen levels, dropping down to around 80%. For reference, healthy adults should have a blood oxygen level between 95 and 100%. Hypoxemia, or low levels of oxygen in the blood, occurs when the blood’s oxygen levels drop below 90%, leading to breathing difficulties, losing consciousness, or even death! With Trump’s blood oxygen levels plummeting even lower than that,
his condition was so concerning that doctors considered putting him on a ventilator, a life-saving measure reserved for patients struggling to breathe. Despite this, Trump downplayed the severity of the illness. After being discharged from the hospital a few days later, he suggested that his rapid recovery proved the virus wasn’t as dangerous as health experts had made it out to be.
Trump: ‘I Feel So Powerful’ After Covid, ‘I Will Kiss Everyone’ | NBC News NOW by NBC News Well, considering the undisclosed complications Trump faced and the sobering reality that over 1.1 million Americans tragically lost their lives to coronavirus as of April 2023, it’s hard not to think that Trump was, in fact, just one of the lucky ones.
Queen Elizabeth II
The much-beloved Queen Elizabeth the Second ruled Britain for an astounding 70 years. And let’s be honest, you don’t stay in power for that long without narrowly escaping some life-threatening situations along the way. One of her most harrowing close calls came in 1970 during a royal tour of Australia.
The Queen and Prince Philip were traveling through southeastern Australia by train, completely unaware that they were heading straight for danger. Halfway through their journey, the train suddenly came to a screeching halt. What the Queen and Philip didn’t know was that a group of would-be assassins laid a massive log across the tracks, specifically where the royal train was scheduled to pass. Their goal was clear: derail the train, sending it plunging into the abyss.
But fate had other plans. The train was moving slowly at the time, and it was this very slow pace that likely saved their lives. After spotting the log in the distance, the train’s driver reacted immediately, slamming on the brakes. The train did run into the log, but because it was going so slowly, it didn’t derail. In fact, the royal couple were completely unaware of the incident at all! Had the train been traveling at its normal speed, the result would’ve been catastrophic! No doubt the force of the collision would’ve plunged the vehicle off the tracks, before crashing down onto the steep embankment below. Around 10 years later in neighboring New Zealand, Lizzie found herself under threat yet again! The Queen was parading through the streets of Dunedin, basking in the adoration of the crowd. Meanwhile, a 17-year-old local boy, named Christopher John Lewis, was positioning his 5.6 mm caliber rifle through the window of a nearby lavatory. Lewis fired at the Queen, but his shot missed.
Miraculously, no one flinched. The parade marched on, the music never stopped, and the Queen, unaware she had just dodged doom, continued her royal wave.
Incredibly, Her Majesty had another life-threatening ordeal in her hometown of London. In 1981, the Queen was riding down The Mall near Buckingham Palace during a customary parade, when suddenly, six shots rang out. The culprit? A 17-year-old named Marcus Sarjeant, who
fired his gun just a few feet from the royal.
So, how did the Queen manage to avoid meeting her maker? Well, lucky for her, British gun laws were strict, and Sargeant wasn’t able to purchase live ammunition. But that didn’t stop him from acting out his sick fantasy. Instead of real bullets, he fired six blanks. The shots startled the Queen’s horse, and no doubt the regal royal too, but she quickly regained control, riding on as if nothing had happened! Queen by name, and certainly Queen by nature!
King Charles
Queen Elizabeth II isn’t the only member of the British royal family to have had a narrow escape! In 1988, her son, Charles, found himself in a life-threatening situation of his own. Charles was on a skiing holiday at Klosters, an exclusive resort tucked away in the Swiss Alps. One fateful morning, he was skiing on the notoriously treacherous Gotschnagrat Mountain, known for its near-vertical slopes that only the most experienced skiers dare to tackle. With a mountain guide and a group of friends, Charles confidently took on the slope, unaware that a deadly force of nature was about to unleash.
Suddenly, without warning, disaster struck. A massive avalanche thundered down the mountain, sweeping everything in its path. In an instant, the slopes were engulfed in a wall of snow. Fortunately, Charles, along with most of his friends, narrowly escaped the deadly descent, managing to ski to safety just in time.
But not everyone was so fortunate. One of Charles’ friends suffered a severe leg injury. But the real tragedy unfolded with another friend, Hugh Lindsay. Lindsay was thrown violently by the avalanche, tumbling over 1,300 feet down the mountainside.
Despite frantic efforts from Charles and the rescue teams, Lindsay was buried under tons of snow. Tragically, he couldn’t be saved. For Charles, it was a terrifying close call, and a startling demonstration of just how gnarly nature can be.
Petra Němcová
We couldn’t mention celebs that’ve found themselves at the mercy of nature’s power without talking about Czech model and television host, Petra Němcová.
While on vacation in Thailand on 26th December 2004, Němcová started the day by sharing breakfast with her boyfriend, before having a peaceful walk on the beach. But that serene morning was abruptly ended in an instant. Němcová barely had time to catch a glimpse out the window toward the pool before tragedy struck. A huge tsunami was heading straight for her!
The infamous Boxing Day tsunami, which was triggered by a 9.1 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Indonesia, resulted in a series of waves, some reaching heights of 150 feet, crashing in on Thailand and numerous other countries around southeast Asia. Tragically, the disaster killed an estimated 230,000 people, including Němcová's partner. Němcová herself frantically tried to cling onto the debris rushing around her, but the force of the water crushed her pelvic bones and rendered her unable to use her legs. Amid the chaos, Němcová was able to latch onto a palm tree, where she remained for nearly eight hours, all while in agony from every bone in her pelvis being broken.
Eventually, she was spotted by strangers, barely clinging on to the tree, and her life. The group dressed her in new clothes, before placing her on a mattress and steering the makeshift life raft towards medical help. Miraculously, Němcová survived the disaster, and even used her awful experience for good. After recovering, she launched All Hands and Hearts, a non-profit organization aimed at supporting people devastated by natural disasters.
Johnny Cash
Much like King Charles and Petra Němcová, Johnny Cash also found himself at the mercy of nature's power but in this case, it was entirely his own doing! In 1965, Cash took his nephew fishing at Sespe Creek in the Los Padres National Forest, California. It sounded like a peaceful day in nature, but it would soon turn into a disaster, as a forest fire quickly engulfed the wooded area they were camped in.
Cash claimed the fire started from sparks flying out of his campervan’s exhaust, but his nephew had a different story. Apparently, Cash, who’d indulged in a bit too much drinking, had started a fire to keep warm. Unfortunately, he didn’t realize it had spiraled out of control until it was far too late. The fire rapidly spread, first engulfing Cash’s camper, then burning through 508 acres of forest! For reference, that’s about 60% of New York’s Central Park. Talk about a Ring of Fire! Luckily, a fire rescue helicopter swooped in just in time to save Cash and his nephew from the inferno. But that wasn’t ol' Johnny only frightful experience with the great outdoors. By the 1980s, Cash’s career had slowed down, and he spent most of his time at his home in Tennessee, likely still recovering from that fearsome forest fire. To keep himself entertained, Cash created a small, private animal park on his property. One day, while out for a walk, Cash noticed an ostrich acting aggressively. That’s definitely not a good sign, considering ostriches are the world’s largest birds, standing up to 9 feet tall and weighing over 320 pounds. The ostrich began hissing and charging at Cash, who grabbed a large stick and swung it at the bird. Unfortunately for him, he missed. In an instant, the angry ostrich then kicked him square in the stomach with such force that it broke two of Cash’s ribs.
Even worse, the blow was so brutal it ripped open his stomach down to the waistline. In fact, if it hadn’t been for the leather belt he was wearing tightly around his waist, that vicious ostrich kick might’ve been Johnny Cash’s final curtain call.
Roy Horn
If you think an ostrich attack sounds terrifying, that doesn't get close to the horrific situation that Roy Horn, one half of the Siegfried and Roy entertainment duo, found himself in. During a show at The Mirage in Las Vegas in 2003, Horn introduced a 7-year-old, 400-pound white tiger named Mantecore onto the stage.
It might sound wild, but Horn was an experienced animal trainer, often working with elephants, lions, and, of course, tigers. After being introduced, Mantecore went to the front of the stage towards the audience, leading Horn to try and move the beast back into place. After Mantecore bit into Horn's sleeve, the entertainer bopped the tiger on the nose with the microphone saying "no, no", with Mantecore eventually releasing its grip. However, as Horn returned to the front of the stage, the tiger leapt at him, knocking him down. Before anyone could react, Mantecore sank his teeth into Horn’s neck and dragged him offstage, growling fiercely. It was only when trainers used fire extinguishers to spray the tiger with carbon dioxide, that Mantecore finally released Horn.
He barely survived the brutal attack. He had his spine severed, lost a significant amount of blood, and endured permanent impairments to his motor and verbal abilities, including partial paralysis on the left side of his body. Despite the savage nature of the attack, Horn defended Mantecore, even going as far as claiming that he had suffered a stroke on stage, implying that the tiger was simply trying to help him. Whatever the reasoning behind the incident, one thing was clear: Horn was incredibly lucky to survive that perilous performance.
Henry VIII
Even going back centuries, animals have nearly finished off celebrities. Take the case of Henry VIII, King of England in the early 16th century. While most people know Henry from his break with Rome or his tumultuous six marriages, far fewer are aware of the time he was nearly struck down by a horse!
In 1536, during a jousting tournament, Henry's opponent crashed into the king with his lance. Having a jousting lance plunged into your midriff at high speeds sounds nightmarish enough, but that wasn’t the half of it! The brutal impact sent Henry sprawling to the ground, his body burdened by around 100 pounds of heavy armor. The king’s horse, also encased in armor, fell on top of him, amplifying the blow with an even more terrifying force.
The crushing weight of the horse was almost too much for Henry to survive. He was knocked unconscious for over two hours, with those around him fearing he might not wake up at all. When he finally regained consciousness, he was in excruciating pain, unable to move. The fall left him with chronic leg pain that would plague him for the rest of his life, and it’s even said the trauma changed his personality. The once vibrant and energetic monarch became more irritable and prone to violent outbursts. In fact, just months later, the king sent his second wife, Anne Boleyn, to the chopping block, an event that some historians believe was partly influenced by his mental and physical decline following the accident. Fair to say after that fierce fall, Henry was really horsing around!
Benedict Cumberbatch
On the topic of famous Brits who’ve stared the Grim Reaper straight in the face, that brings us to Doctor Strange star, Benedict Cumberbatch. Back in 2004, when he was still an up-and-coming actor, Cumberbatch found himself in a harrowing situation that could have easily turned deadly.
While visiting South Africa with a group of friends, the actor was driving through KwaZulu-Natal, a region infamous for its high crime rates, when annoyingly, one of their tires blew out. As they struggled to replace the tire, a car suddenly pulled up beside them. But instead of offering help, it brought a fresh wave of terror.
In an instant, armed men jumped out of the car, shouting orders at the group, and threatening them with their guns. Cumberbatch and his friends were robbed of many of their possessions, and shoved into the trunk of the kidnappers’ car, driven off not knowing what fate awaited them. After what must have felt like an eternity, the car came to a sudden stop, and the trio was unceremoniously thrown out onto the side of the road. Unaware if the armed men would come back for them, Cumberbatch and his friends were relieved when a local appeared. The stranger rushed to their aid, and Cumberbatch, overwhelmed with emotion, later said he was “crying with gratitude,” still in shock from the ordeal.
Thankfully Cumberbatch survived, lets just hope he remembered to check his tire pressure next time he headed into a high-crime zone area!
Kanye West
It’s not just Benedict Cumberbatch who’s had a run-in with danger on the road. In 2002, American rapper and producer Kanye West had just endured a long, grueling day in the studio. He was working late into the night on his upcoming album, and eventually, after hours of intense focus, Kanye got into his car to head home.
But as he drove, fatigue began to take its toll. You can probably guess where this is headed. Yes, Kanye fell asleep at the wheel. As you can imagine, someone falling asleep while driving is gonna leave a trail of destruction in their wake, and this time was no different for Kanye unfortunately.
The car veered off course, and Kanye slammed head-on into an oncoming vehicle. The impact was devastating. Kanye’s jaw was shattered in three places, and the other driver suffered horrific injuries, breaking both legs. The rapper was rushed to the hospital in critical condition, where doctors inserted a metal plate into his chin and wired his jaw shut for over a month! Note to self: nothing good ever comes from working too hard!
Post Malone
Fellow American singer and rapper Post Malone, known for hits like Circles and I Fall Apart, came dangerously close to falling apart for real in 2022. While performing at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Post Malone was striding across the stage when he suddenly stepped into an unmarked hole. Without warning, he plummeted to the ground, landing hard on his lower body. The impact was brutal, and Post Malone immediately grabbed his ribs, clearly struggling to breathe. The show came to a screeching halt as he was rushed backstage for medical attention.
Fortunately for him, Posty only suffered from some heavy bruising to his ribs, but things could’ve been much worse for him. Reportedly, he came dangerously close to puncturing a lung. A pneumothorax, or collapsed lung, occurs when air escapes from the lung into the chest cavity. This causes the lung to collapse and makes it extremely hard to breathe. Without quick treatment, a punctured lung can lead to severe complications like respiratory failure, putting a person’s life in serious jeopardy. Thank god that gap in the stage wasn’t any deeper, otherwise things could’ve turned out much worse for the rapper. You could probably say that was one breath-taking performance for all the wrong reasons!
Ellie Goulding
Back in 2016, English singer and songwriter Ellie Goulding was on her world tour. One night, Goulding and her photographer, Conor McDonnell, were driving in the dark through rural Norway, far from the safety of civilization. But they weren’t driving on a narrow, windy road. Nope, they were zooming across a frozen lake! Surprise surprise, it didn’t take long before the sheer weight of the car cracked the ice, as the vehicle, with Goulding and McDonnell inside, quickly began sinking down into the icy depths.
In a desperate scramble for survival, the pair somehow managed to claw their way out through the roof of the car, and jump back onto the surface of the frozen lake, all while the vehicle sank down below. Had they been even a moment slower, or had their car not had a roof, no doubt Goulding and McDonnell would’ve been swallowed up by the cold, dark waters. Talk about a chilling experience!
Aaron Paul
From the freezing lakes of Norway to the scorching deserts of Albuquerque, New Mexico, where the iconic series Breaking Bad was set and filmed. Aaron Paul, forever etched in our minds as Jesse Pinkman, rose to fame during the show’s unforgettable five-season run. But things could’ve turned out tragically different for Paul, and it all came down to a split second on set.
During season one episode six of
Breaking Bad, Walt and Jesse were acting out a scene right outside their RV. During the scene a boulder was positioned on top of the RV, to hold down tarp for filming. But then, out of nowhere, a violent gust of wind ripped through the set, sending the heavy boulder crashing to the ground, directly where Paul had been standing.
The only reason he wasn’t crushed by the boulder was because, in a split-second decision, he’d asked the director if he could move to a less risky position for the take. Had he not made that call, no doubt Paul would’ve gone from Breaking Bad to breaking bones, or perhaps even worse!
Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan is one of the world’s most iconic action movie stars, known not just for his incredible martial arts skills, but also his daring commitment to performing his own stunts. While most actors rely on stunt doubles, Chan has built a career on putting himself in harm's way, and in doing so, he's racked up an array of painful accidents and injuries.
But none of them compare to the terrifying incident he survived while filming
Armor of God in 1986. During the opening sequence, Chan was meant to jump from a wall onto a tree branch. Sounds simple enough, right? But in a horrific twist of fate, the branch snapped under his weight, sending him plummeting from a height of over 15 feet, straight onto a rock on the ground.
The impact was catastrophic. Chan landed headfirst, fracturing his skull, and a shard of bone actually pierced his brain. In that moment, it seemed like the end was imminent, a bone shard piercing your brain doesn’t sound too promising, does it?
He was rushed to the hospital, and in a desperate race against time, emergency surgery saved his life. Unsurprisingly, the damage was severe. Chan was left with a hole in his skull, which had to be sealed with a plastic prosthesis, and he suffered partial hearing loss in his right ear as a result of the traumatic injury.
What makes this incident even more tragic is that it was entirely avoidable. The first take had seemingly gone well enough, but driven by his relentless pursuit of perfection, Chan decided to do it again. Who knew being a perfectionist could have such cataclysmic consequences?
Kim Kardashian
But not all celebrity near-death experiences are as daring or courageous as Jackie Chan’s life-risking stunts. Enter Kim Kardashian, the pop culture queen known for her jaw-dropping looks and penchant for making headlines. At the 2024 Met Gala, Kim certainly stole the show with a striking silver brocade corset that was as eye-catching as it was dangerous.
Behind the glitz and glam was a fashion nightmare that could’ve ended in disaster. In an episode of The Kardashians, Kim admitted that the corset was so tight it left bruises on her skin, and some fans were worried she might have even crushed a few ribs. No doubt the tight corset restricted her breathing, pressing down on her lungs and diaphragm, making it hard to take a full breath. That pressure can lead to dizziness, shortness of breath, and even fainting.
Kim might have escaped largely unscathed, but history isn’t so kind. In 1894, a Victorian actress collapsed and tragically died after wearing a corset too tight on stage, proving that this obsession with the perfect waistline can sometimes be literally life-threatening. So, while Kim may have looked the part, was it worth almost suffocating for? Fair to say that corset nearly snatched more than her waist, it almost snatched her life!
I hope you were amazed at these celebrities who escaped crazy deaths! Thanks for reading.
