Behind the glamour, filming for Hollywood movies is notoriously dangerous, with plane crashes, explosions, falling structures and high speed chases all responsible for cutting short the lives of stunt doubles, actors and directors.
This was brought into sharp focus again on Thursday by the death of photography director Halyna Hutchins who was accidentally killed by Alec Baldwin with a prop gun on set in New Mexico.
The tragedy has grim echoes of the blank round that killed actor Brandon Lee on the set of the 1994 film The Crow.
Lee, a rising star and the son of famed martial artist Bruce Lee, was killed when a dummy round was used instead of a blank round during a fight scene. It struck his abdomen with the same force as a live round.
Often stunt doubles are used for the most dangerous action, putting their lives on the line for the perfect shot, scaling heights, flying planes low to the ground and hanging out of moving vehicles.
But film sets, often involving explosives or falling structures, are perilous for all and have also claimed the lives of actors, directors and crew members.
Here MailOnline recalls some of the worst tragedies to strike on set:
Cut short: Brandon Lee, the son of martial arts icon Bruce Lee, was a rising star before one of the most tragic deaths in Hollywood history cut his life short
The Crow (1994) – Blank Round Kills Actor Brandon Lee
Brandon Lee, the son of martial arts icon Bruce Lee, was a rising star before one of the most tragic deaths in Hollywood history cut his life short.
The actor was filming a scene where his character was killed by street thugs, when a dummy cartridge was replaced with a blank round, which was fired into his abdomen with the same force as a live bullet.
After six hours of unsuccessful emergency surgery, Lee succumbed to his injuries at New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, North Carolina at just 28.
Tragedy: Tragedy struck the set of Edward Norton’s directorial debut Motherless Brooklyn in March 2018, when fire broke out on the set
Motherless Brooklyn (2018) – Set Fire Kills FDNY Firefighter
Tragedy struck the set of Edward Norton’s directorial debut Motherless Brooklyn in March 2018, when fire broke out on the set.
The FDNY was called in to contain the blaze, with decorated fireman Michael Davidson, 37, who had been on the FDNY for 15 years, dying on the set.
He had been cited for bravery four times during his tenure, leaving behind a wife and four daughters.
Jon-Erik: Actor Jon-Erik Hexum (left) was filming a scene where he was meant to simulate Russian Roulette, when a cartridge in the gun was fired and fatally struck him in the head.
Cover Up (1984) – Bullet Cartridge Kills Actor Jon-Erik Hexum
Cast and crew were filming the seventh episode of the 1984 TV series Cover Up, when tragedy struck on October 12, 1984.
Actor Jon-Erik Hexum was filming a scene where he was meant to simulate Russian Roulette, when a cartridge in the gun was fired and fatally struck him in the head.
The actor was rushed to Beverly Hills Medical Center where he underwent emergency operations, but he passed away just five days later at 26.
Tragic: The tragic accident that killed actor Vic Morrow and children Myca Dinh Le, 7, and Renee Shin-Yi Chen, 6, resulted in major filming code changes
The Twilight Zone: The Movie (1982) – Vic Morrow and two children killed by helicopter tail rotor
The tragic accident that killed actor Vic Morrow and children Myca Dinh Le, 7, and Renee Shin-Yi Chen, 6, resulted in major filming code changes.
The scene was supposed to feature Morrow’s character being transported back to Vietnam, where he was supposed to protect two Vietnamese children.
A helicopter, flown by Vietnam veteran Dorcey Wingo, hovered over a mortar effect, which detonated over the rotor and caused the helicopter to crash.
Morrow and Le were decapitated by the helicopter’s main rotor blade while Chen was crushed to death by the helicopter.
The incident lead to legal action that lasted for over a decade, and lead to stringent changes in safety regulations that had not previously been in place.
Rider: The production of the highly-anticipated Deadpool sequel was tarnished when stunt motorcycle rider lost control of her bike and fatally crashed
Deadpool 2 (2017) – Stuntwoman Joi ‘SJ’ Harris Dies In Motorcycle Crash
The production of the highly-anticipated Deadpool sequel was tarnished when stunt motorcycle rider lost control of her bike and fatally crashed.
Joi ‘SJ’ Harris was filming a stunt sequence at Shaw Tower in Vancouver, when she lost control and crashed into a plate glass window.
It was Harris’ first gig as a stunt rider, though she was an experienced rider, and was the first African-American female professional road racer.
Harris was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident, because her character, Domino, played by Zazie Beetz, didn’t wear one in the scene.