Posted 27 minutes agoSubscribe to Screen Time NewsletterCaret Down"I Probably Slept An Average Of Two Hours A Night": 17 Heartbreaking Times That Actors Pushed Through Dark Personal Struggles To Give Incredible Movie PerformancesI'm not sure I'll ever watch "Shutter Island" the same...by Ellen DurneyBuzzFeed StaffFacebookPinterestLink This post discusses a lot of experiences with bereavement, as well as alcohol and drug misuse stories. If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, you can call SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) and find more resources here. We've probably all experienced having to put on a brave face and return to our everyday life amid a major personal struggle - whether that's heartbreak, grief, or some other internal battle. As we know, no one is immune to life's ups and downs, not even the world's most famous people. And because of that, there are a ton of examples of times that super famous stars have worked on major movies while navigating some pretty devastating personal difficulties. So, without further ado, here are some films that you'll watch totally differently after finding out what the stars were really going through when they cut the cameras. 1. Gwyneth Paltrow in The Talented Mr. Ripley. The Talented Mr. Ripley is one of my all-time favorite movies to rewatch every summer. But my perception of the film changed a little when I learned what was going on in Gwyneth's personal life while shooting was underway. (C) Miramax / Courtesy: Everett Collection Gwyneth was incredibly close with her late father, Hollywood producer Bruce Paltrow. Bruce died in 2002 due to complications from oral cancer and pneumonia. However, he'd been unwell years before his eventual passing - namely, around 1998, when Gwyneth was in Italy filming The Talented Mr. Ripley. Lucy Nicholson / Getty Images "It was also a hard time in my life. My father and grandfather were both diagnosed with cancer while I was on this film, and so I felt very far away and kind of helpless," she told Vanity Fair this year. "I went into a bit of a downer while I was filming, as you can imagine." One of Gwyneth's childhood friends came to support her during the shoot, and they'd sometimes go back to the US for short periods when her dad and grandfather were having surgeries. She explained: "It was kind of a heavy time...
People say to me all the time, 'That must have been the best time!' And I'm like, 'Yes, and'-you know. It was a particularly hard time in my life, personally." Vanity Fair / Via youtu.be 2. Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight There's a lot to be said about the various personal difficulties that Heath was facing in the months before his death in January 2008. However, his sleep struggles while playing the Joker in The Dark Knight were particularly problematic. (C)Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection While filming was underway on the Christopher Nolan epic - which tragically came out just a few months after Heath died - the Aussie actor talked with the New York Times about suffering from chronic insomnia. "Last week I probably slept an average of two hours a night," he said at the time. "I couldn't stop thinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going." He explained that he often took the prescribed sleeping medicine, Ambien, but that one pill simply wasn't enough. And even after taking two pills, he'd soon wake up from a short sleep with his "mind still racing." Kevin Mazur / Getty Images Heath fully immersed himself in the Joker performance, earning himself a posthumous Oscar nomination in 2009. It's thought that his dedication to the dark role possibly exacerbated other issues he was facing, such as his insomnia. He died at 28 years old in January 2008. Authorities subsequently confirmed that he died from an accidental overdose of six different types of prescription drugs, including OxyContin, Valium, and Xanax. Sean Gallup / Getty Images 3. Nicolas Cage in Mandy The 2018 horror film Mandy is, at its core, about losing the love of your life. And right before filming began, something pretty similar happened to Nicolas: his marriage came to a sudden end. Nicolas and Alice Kim tied the knot in 2004 and had been together for nearly 12 years when it was confirmed that they'd broken up in June 2016. Alice was his third wife, and they share one son together. "It was a shocker for me - I definitely didn't see it coming," he said of the split in a 2018 Guardian interview promoting Mandy. RLJE Films /Courtesy Everett Collection He didn't say much about what happened, but the writer of the story noted that he looked "genuinely stricken" while talking about Alice. "She was quite young when I married her, and I don't really have any ill will towards what happened. That's all I'll say. And now it's like, wow, I'm 54 and I'm single again - I didn't see that coming! It's pretty grim." As for how it impacted his work on Mandy, Nicholas said: "Those feelings had to go somewhere, so they went