Burt Reynolds, may he rest in peace, was the symbol of masculinity in the 1970s, and got up to plenty of action on-screen. He insisted on doing all of his own stunts, and it, unfortunately, led to some pretty serious injuries. One came from the 1972 film Deliverance, where he insisted on performing a dangerous fall from a waterfall, resulting in a lengthy hospital stay.
The injury? He hit a rock on the way down and cracked his tailbone. From personal experience, I can say it’s a horrific feeling. Reynolds put his life on the line numerous times, and received plenty of injuries, but managed to come out on top until September sixth, 2018.
Viggo Mortensen
Aragorn, son of Arathorn, heir to the line of kings of Gondor. And he does his own stunts! Whether he's fighting orcs in the Lord of the Rings movies, winning an epic race in Hidalgo, or keeping his son safe from cannibals in The Road, Mortensen never lets a stuntman take his place.
And this king has suffered plenty in order to make it authentic – just while filming the Lord of the Rings series, he chipped multiple teeth and broke multiple bones as Aragorn. Remember Aragorn kicking an orc helmet and screaming in fury? Mortensen broke his toe filming it. The scream is quite real.
Sandra Bullock
A famous Hollywood producer, Todd Lieberman, once talked about Bullock, saying she could be as tough as any guy on film. This comes after her skills in keeping the bus at the right speed in Speed, as well as plenty of other stunts, be they action films or otherwise. From Miss Congeniality to Demolition Man to Bird Box, Bullock loves movies that give her something new to do.
Until about 2010, that is, when she adopted a son. Since then, she's let other people do the stunts in order to stay healthy, but there are still plenty of opportunities to see her demonstrate her toughness.
Matt Damon
Here's another big-name actor (and former boy band member) you might be surprised to find doesn't let a stuntman take his place when he doesn't have to. Though Damon is known for plenty of non-action movies, he leaps at the chance to show off his physical skills in films such as The Bourne Identity and its sequels, Saving Private Ryan, and Courage Under Fire.
He did all his own stunts for the Bourne films – just think about that. Fistfights, gunfights, jumps, crashes, and everything else but the kitchen sink happened in those films. Becoming the full package has become more and more important for an actor or actress thanks to guys like Damon.
Karen Gillan
Yet another Marvel actress who has the red badge of courage (apologies to Stephen Crane) from her time in the series is Karen Gillan, who plays Nebula, the blue-skinned “sister” to Zoe Saldana's Gamora. Nebula does quite a lot, and Gillan trained to add her skills, but she couldn't do everything: for one stunt in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
Gillan's unfortunate clumsiness kept her from doing a stunt where she jumped off a rock and twisted out of the way of a metal plate. Gillan didn't feel up to the task – she did give it a college try, but couldn't do it as well as the producers were hoping.