Hollywood actors are professionals, which is why they will endure all sorts of challenges on the set. Some will use different acting methods to get into the character, while others will sacrifice their sanity to eat raw bison liver.
Here are six actors who’ve conquered their gag reflex for our viewing pleasure.
1. The Infamous Beef Trifle — Friends
Remember the Friends episode where Rachel messed up the recipe and created a culinary abomination? Well, it turns out that the beef trifle was just some bananas and whipped cream, but after a few takes, Matt LeBlanc unintentionally ingested some of David Schwimmer’s trifle that he had just spit out during the previous take. The funniest thing is that Matt had no idea what he did, as everyone just started giggling when they realized what just happened. Some friends, huh?
2. Stallion Heart — Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones had more than its fair share of gut-wrenching moments, but none were as hard to digest (get it?) for young Emilia Clarke as eating the stallion heart in season 1. Even though it wasn’t a real heart and was made of congealed jam, Clarke said it tasted like bleach and raw pasta, and she had to repeat that take about 28. On the positive side, this disgusting snack also helped the actress make the scene look very real.
3. Fake Human Meat — Yellowjackets
Yellowjackets is not a show for the faint-hearted as it depicts many scenes and themes that no person should ever see, like the cannibalism scene in season 2. Even though everyone around that campfire was given fake human meat made from rice paper and jackfruit placed on fake body parts, it was still quite offputting for the actors and made some of them vomit.
4. Raw Bison Liver — The Revenant
In one of the most brutal Leo Dicaprio movies—The Revenant—the actor had to snack on some raw bison liver, and you can clearly tell he was going to puke everywhere right after the scene was shot. The camera work further exacerbates the situation. With all the zoom-ins, you can practically taste the bloody iron right in your living room.
5. Clickers — The Last of Us
HBO’s The Last of Us is pretty awesome in every regard. We got the lore right; the acting is fantastic, and the monster, oh, the monsters! Did you know that the infamous clickers were mostly done practically? This means that you saw people wearing extremely detailed prosthetics and creepy makeup. In an interview, Pedro Pascal mentioned that when he saw the clickers up close on the set, their grim visage was so overwhelming and hyper-realistic that he’d almost throw up. Now, that’s some attention to detail.
6. Live Cockroaches — Vampire’s Kiss
For his role in Vampire’s Kiss, Nicolas Cage did something really strange, and honestly, if it was anyone else, they’d be locked up in a mental facility by now. So, Cage asked director Robert Bierman if he could eat a live cockroach because he absolutely hates them, and he thought that it would help him conquer his biggest fear. The doctor on set suggested that Cage have some strong whiskey on hand. The prop team would go hunt for the bugs and bring Cage a whole dang buffet. That’s just Nic Cage’s Tuesday afternoon delight.
