Viggo Mortensen – The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Acting in a make-believe world created by Peter Jackson can have you sword fighting impossibly named creatures or dismembering zombies with a lawnmower, depending on which role you landed. For Viggo Mortensen, his role as Aragorn (a name I’m shocked didn’t need to be spell checked) in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, it was the former. Mortensen actually lost a tooth during a fight scene. Ever the trooper, he had it repaired over lunch and was ready to finish the day of shooting.

Mortensen performed even more dangerous stunts during the filming of Hidalgo, in which he had to race a horse at breakneck speed. Stuntmen refused to ride that fast, so Mortensen – an experienced rider – did so himself. He came through with no injuries.