How far will you go to get the perfect shot?

Do you know any examples of actors or actresses who decided to perform dangerous scenes, alone, without the help of stunt doubles and risking their own health? During the filming of ‘Summertime’ in Venice, Katharine Hepburn had to shoot a scene where she fell into a canal in Campo San Barnaba.

Despite numerous warnings about water pollution in the canals, the actress still wanted to shoot the scene. Precautions were taken such as a generous dose of disinfectant poured into the canal and a layer of Vaseline smeared on the actress’ body to protect her skin.

The whole thing took three takes, but, as a consequence, Katharine ended up with a nasty eye infection that accompanied her for the rest of her life.