The Tom Hanks starrer Cast Away is perhaps one of the most heartbreaking films out there as his character gets marooned on a desolate island, with no rescue in sight, and no way of getting back home. Yes, there are many films out there that have a similar plot, but they didn’t have Hanks or the fact that it is hard to dislike his character Chuck and not feel all wrecked when the fate of his love life is revealed. But while watching the film was just traumatizing for us, it almost became life-threatening for the Oscar-winning actor to shoot it.
In Cast Away, when Chuck leaves his girlfriend Kelly behind in 1995 (with the promise to propose when he returns) and boards the flight to Malaysia, he had no idea that the plane would have a fatal crash and he, as the sole survivor, would be left stranded in an island. Desperate to return home, but having no way to find help, he spends four lonely years on the island, surviving in hopes of being rescued one day.
When he does find hope and finally, finally, braves the ocean and manages to return home, he discovers that the love of his life is now married and has a daughter.
The Cast Away injury that ‘almost killed’ Tom Hanks
While getting to the island, Chuck suffered injuries but still managed to find land. He spent years alone, becoming frail and malnourished at the end of it, but he still made it. Hanks thankfully had a bit of better luck than his on-screen character.
In the film, Chuck, after accepting that finding his way out of the island was next to impossible, starts scouring the land. While shooting these scenes, Hanks got a deep cut on his leg that soon became infected. In a chat with BBC 1 Radio (via Digital Spy) in 2009, he revealed that he initially thought it was just a sore, so he went ahead with the production. But when he did go to the doctor, the severity of his condition became apparent.
“I went to the doctor who took one look and said, ‘I have to put you in the hospital because we have to get this infection out of you before it poisons your blood and you die’. We had to shut down for three weeks while my skin reformed.”
In Hanks’ words, the infection was “eating its way through [his] leg.” *shudders* As if watching Cast Away wasn’t already a difficulty, now you will witness the events unfolding with the knowledge of the heart-stopping events taking place behind the camera.
