When you think of the glamour of Hollywood, you probably imagine red carpets, designer gowns, and perfectly coiffed hair. But behind the scenes, the reality can be far less polished—and sometimes downright gross. From heatstroke to food poisoning to seasickness, actors and crew members have been known to get violently ill while filming. Here are seven productions where the cast literally lost their lunch.
1. 'Madame Web' (2024)
The most physically challenging part of shooting Madame Web wasn't the stunt driving or the fight choreography—it was the Boston heat. Sydney Sweeney, who plays Julia Cornwall, had to wear a heavy strawberry blonde wig on one of the hottest days of summer, leading to heat exhaustion that made her vomit. The scene briefly halted filming, and costars Celeste O'Connor and Isabela Merced told Cosmopolitan they demanded a break despite Sweeney's insistence she could keep going. It turns out that the much-publicized Spider-Women costumes only appeared in the film for a few seconds of flash-forwards, so the wig was the real villain.
2. 'Masters of Sex' (2013)
Showtime's Masters of Sex was a drama about sex researchers William Masters and Virginia Johnson, so it's no surprise the leads ended up in bed together. But when Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan shot their first love scene, Sheen immediately ran to a trash bin and threw up. As Caplan later explained on Conan, it wasn't a reaction to her—it was food poisoning. Since then, productions have adopted intimacy coordinators who check in on actors' comfort, and we imagine that now includes asking about their intestinal well-being.
3. 'Adrift' (2018)
The survival drama Adrift tells the true story of sailor Tami Oldham, whose yacht capsized during a Pacific hurricane. To capture the realism, the cast and crew shot on the open ocean for 12-hour stretches, and no one was spared from seasickness. Shailene Woodley, Sam Claflin, the sound guy, and the makeup woman all threw up overboard. The only exceptions were director Baltasar Kormákur and cinematographer Robert Richardson, who apparently stared at the horizon with an artistic eye and kept their lunch down.
4. 'Apollo 13' (1995)
Unlike Adrift, the production of Apollo 13 took precautions against motion sickness. The cast and crew filmed in a military aircraft that dove for 25 seconds at a time to create weightlessness—a plane nicknamed “the vomit comet.” They took a cocktail of Scopolamine and Dexedrine, which left director Ron Howard high when a shoot was canceled. The meds worked for Tom Hanks and Kevin Bacon, but after a lunch of Mexican chili, a cameraman couldn't hold it together. It's a reminder that even the most prepared productions can't always outrun a bad burrito.
5. 'Armageddon' (1998)
Michael Bay's disaster epic Armageddon was a grueling shoot, and not just because of the explosions. The cast spent hours in a zero-gravity simulator, which induced nausea in several actors. Liv Tyler reportedly got sick during a scene where she had to cry, and the combination of emotional stress and physical discomfort was too much. The film's chaotic set also contributed to exhaustion, proving that even blockbusters aren't immune to the stomach flu.
6. 'The Revenant' (2015)
Alejandro Iñárritu's survival epic The Revenant was notoriously difficult to film, with cast and crew battling freezing temperatures and remote locations. Leonardo DiCaprio, who won an Oscar for his role, had to eat raw bison liver and sleep in animal carcasses. The extreme conditions led to several cases of illness, including vomiting from food poisoning and hypothermia. The film's grueling schedule pushed everyone to their limits, making it one of the most physically demanding productions in recent memory.
7. 'The Blair Witch Project' (1999)
The found-footage horror film The Blair Witch Project was shot in the woods of Maryland, and the cast had to endure real discomfort to sell the terror. The actors were given minimal food and were often cold and wet, leading to cases of illness. One of the most infamous moments came when a crew member got sick from drinking contaminated water, and the resulting vomiting was captured on camera. The film's raw, unpolished look was partly a result of the cast's genuine misery.
These stories are a stark reminder that the entertainment business isn't always glamorous. Whether it's heatstroke, seasickness, or food poisoning, the cast and crew of these productions proved that sometimes, making art can be a nauseating experience. For more behind-the-scenes tales, check out our list of the heaviest movies that left audiences devastated.
