Actors Who Farted On Set

A popular section in every issue of Us Weekly is the "Stars — They're Just Like Us!" segment. There, famous celebrities are photographed doing things everyday people might do, such as walking their dogs, waiting for luggage, shopping, or reading the news. It's a very humanizing feature, reminding us that even the most famous human beings can have average human traits. In fact, some of these traits aren't always all too flattering... like breaking wind at work!

Although it may shock you, it actually isn't all that uncommon for actors to pass gas while on set. Some even do it during live takes of shooting scenes, prompting genuine, oftentimes improvised responses from their fellow performers. Whether you do it to be funny or simply because you need to, the unavoidable fact is that farting is a natural bodily function that everyone does, from celebrities to average Joes. Need more proof? Here are some examples of famous actors who farted on set.

1988's "Rain Man" cleaned up at the Oscars, taking home four awards including best picture. For his portrayal of Raymond Babbitt, the savant brother to Tom Cruise's Charlie, Dustin Hoffman took home the best actor in a leading role trophy, his second time winning the award. While you might think actors on the set of such a high-profile film were entirely professional and formal on camera, there's one story that lends evidence to the contrary. In an interview with Esquire, Dustin Hoffman shared his thoughts on why "Rain Man" was such a hit, using one particular scene as an example.

"You take the laughs out of 'Rain Man' and it's not the same movie," Hoffman said. "When we're in the phone booth and I fart, that was a fart. That wasn't written in the script. We were waiting to do the shot and [director] Barry Levinson had the earphones on. The door closed and I snuck one out. We're tight in there, you know. And Cruise looked at me and said, 'Did you fart?' And I said, 'Yeah.' But I stayed in character." Levinson heard the whole thing and found it hilarious, so Hoffman's fart made the final cut. "That's a good director: someone who takes advantage of accidents," Hoffman added. It's not often that an actor views an on-camera toot as such an artful moment, but it undeniably worked out pretty well for Hoffman and "Rain Man."

"Saturday Night Live" veteran Kate McKinnon has moved on to other things now, but she's best known for her long stint on the show. Her unforgettable portrayal of Hillary Clinton alongside Alec Baldwin's Donald Trump gave "SNL" a much-needed jolt of relevance, launching McKinnon's career to another level and landing her roles in big-time comedy movies. One of those comedies is the 2016 reboot of "Ghostbusters." Although the film failed to excel at the box office, reportedly losing $70 million for Sony, it still allowed McKinnon to humorously chew scenery with fellow "SNL" alums Leslie Jones and Kristen Wiig.

It should come as no surprise that the trio, along with Melissa McCarthy, brought a whole lot of laughs to the "Ghostbusters" set. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, McKinnon owned up to being a tad gassy while shooting. "Alright, whatever. I farted on camera," she said. "I'm starting to think something is wrong with me... I've never been to a gastroenterologist because to me it's always been normal, but I'm starting to feel like it's too much and I ought to get it checked out." Hey, at least she admitted it! Loud and proud!

"Parks and Recreation" may have experienced a shaky start, plagued by low ratings and cancellation questions, but after seven seasons and a prestigious Golden Globe win, it's safe to say that the show ended up being a massive success. With a cast including comedic geniuses like Chris Pratt, Amy Poehler, Aubrey Plaza, Aziz Ansari, and Nick Offerman, how could it not be? Even years after its final episode aired, the show is still wildly popular, and one of the most-streamed shows on Netflix.

In March 2019, the cast reunited in Hollywood for PaleyFest to celebrate the show's ten-year anniversary. While answering questions, Aubrey Plaza disclosed which cast member made her "favorite" noises. "That is so annoying because Nick and Pratt used to fart all the time," Plaza told Entertainment Tonight at the event, "and it would make Amy and I really angry!" It may seem odd to hear Chris Pratt, now known for his big blockbuster movies, be so open about his flatulence, but it sounds just about right for Andy Dwyer!

Most actors who break wind on set do so by mistake. However, that wasn't the case when "Outer Banks" star Madelyn Cline (Sarah Cameron) let out a toot on the set of the hit show — believe it or not she was actually deliberate in her choice of air evacuation. That's because the actor and her co-star Austin North (Topper Thornton) were prepping for a sex scene. It was the first ever in Cline's career, and she thought that the best way to ease the palpable tension in the air was by letting one rip.

"We didn't really know each other that well at that point and we hadn't really spent too much time hanging out yet," Cline said in an interview with Vogue, where she detailed the incident. "To break the ice we were sitting in the green room, Austin and I, twiddling our thumbs and trying to make conversation and I could tell that he was nervous and I knew he could tell I was nervous, so I just farted in front of him." Unable to hold in their laughter, the two burst out in unison, which helped lighten the uncomfortable mood. North retreated to a corner of the room to escape the fart, but he apparently found the whole thing hilarious.

Samuel L. Jackson and Brie Larson evidently developed quite a bond during their time together on the sets of various movies. The duo, who first worked together on the set of "Kong: Skull Island" back in late 2015, co-starred in "Captain Marvel" and in Larson's directorial debut, "Unicorn Store," on Netflix. Jackson is never too shy to dish about his relationship with the Oscar winner. "We're very good friends," he told reporters (via CheatSheet). "We work well together... It's fun to be on the saddle with her."

After singing along to Ariana Grande's "7 Rings" on James Cordon's Carpool Karaoke, Jackson and Larson each took turns taking a polygraph test. Although you might expect that these two know everything about each other, Larson received a shocking answer after asking Jackson if he ever farted while filming a scene. "All the time." Digging in, Larson followed up by asking if he farted while they were doing the lie detector test. Jackson responded that he did not, but the polygraph declared otherwise. 

Kristen Schaal, the side-splitting Emmy nominee who voices Louise Belcher in "Bob's Burgers," is no stranger to funny business. With a resume chock full of small roles in some of the world's most prestigious comedies, including "30 Rock," "The Simpsons," "Archer," and "BoJack Horseman," Schaal has really made a name for herself in Hollywood over the past decade. In Fox's "The Last Man on Earth," Schaal (who plays Carol) and fellow comic Will Forte (who plays Phil) play two of the last humans in a post-apocalyptic world. Naturally, hilarity ensues.

It's not hard to imagine that if you're two of the last people on Earth, you might be inclined to... get familiar. While on the page, a sex scene between the two characters seemed logical, what happened while shooting was anything but. On Late Night with Seth Meyers, Schaal admitted that all the movement — coupled with a scene that required her to eat a copious amount of beans — had an unplanned result. "Carol is aggressively and sexually talking to Phil — that's a lot of diaphragm work, which is also in the danger zone of where the beans are," Schaal told VH1. "Finally I just looked at Will and I was like, 'I'm gonna fart on you.' And I did." Showing no shame whatsoever, Schaal only backed up her stinky action with pride: "If you fart on your scene partner it's the most intimate you can get."

The late André the Giant, who sadly passed away in 1993, truly lived up to his name. The French wrestler was a mountain of a man, standing 7' 4" and weighing in at an astounding 500 pounds. Although he was best known for his work in the ring, André did also play parts in a few movies and television shows. Perhaps his most recognized role was that of Fezzik in 1987's "The Princess Bride." Starring alongside the likes of Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, and Mandy Patinkin, André gave his co-stars copious stories from their time shared on set, such as reportedly racking up a $40,000 bar tab at his hotel. 

While speaking to Sports Talk Florida in 2014, Elwes shared another André story that surely had fans in stitches. "My first day working with André the Giant... I have to come to from being mostly dead... he didn't finish his line, he barely got through when he let out the most extraordinary, giant, mammoth fart that you've ever heard in your whole life. I mean a 15-second emission of gas... the set rumbled! Everyone thought it was like an earthquake." Apparently, a giant-sized man has some giant-sized farts.

It's got to be intimidating for a young, unproven actor to share the screen with one of the world's biggest stars. Such is the conundrum that James McAvoy found himself in 2008 while shooting the bullet-bending action flick "Wanted." His co-star, Angelina Jolie, had been named People Magazine's Sexiest Woman Alive in 2005 and had already taken home an Oscar for her role in 2000's "Girl, Interrupted." By contrast, McAvoy had only a few memorable roles under his belt at that time, including 2006's "The Last King of Scotland" and 2007's "Atonement." 

In order to beef up and look the part of an action hero, producers had McAvoy take muscle gain supplements for "Wanted." Speaking to Cosmopolitan, the actor revealed that the supplements had quite a nasty downside. "To be fair, it really helped but it came with a massive side effect of me violently farting... It was so often and so vigorous, I couldn't stop. When I was filming I was by far the biggest farter in Hollywood." That's probably not the impression you want to make when shooting intimate scenes with one of the sexiest women alive.

Before he became a teenage heartthrob for his portrayal of Peeta Mellark in the "Hunger Games" series, Josh Hutcherson was just a talented young actor taking any small role he could get his hands on. In 2004, he nabbed a small part in Robert Zemeckis' imaginative Christmas film "The Polar Express," starring Tom Hanks. Via motion capture, Hutcherson played a young boy who was struggling to recover his belief in Santa Claus.

Hanks played a slew of parts in the movie, including that of a hobo. At one point in the film, Hutcherson's character skis down the top of the train with the hobo, meaning that Hutcherson, fully garbed in the necessary mo-cap dots, basically sat on Hanks' lap to shoot the scene. In late 2017, over a decade after the film's theatrical release, Hutcherson went on "The Late Late Show with James Corden" to share a behind-the-scenes tidbit about the production that no one knew. "I farted in the scene. It happened, I did it. And instead of like, playing it cool, Tom Hanks is like, 'Whoa, whoa, oh my god! This kid, what the heck! Oh my god!' My first big movie, Tom Hanks, Robert Zemeckis, and I just farted." Although Hanks was apparently playful about it, you have to imagine that farting on Forrest Gump was quite traumatizing for a nine-year-old.

A saga of films that changed the face of Hollywood, Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy took years to make, with the cast and crew relocating to New Zealand for most of it. Star Elijah Wood (Frodo Baggins) spent 16 months in the scenic country during the filming of the hit trilogy. With all that time on the set, it's not a surprise that a toot was made by the actor at some point. But, according to Wood, his first fart came the first time that cameras rolled on the films.

"It was the first day of filming, day one," Wood said when he appeared on the popular YouTube series "Hot Ones" in 2023. "The scene is, we are rolling down the hill after Merry and Pippin run into us, running away from Farmer Maggot's field having stolen a bunch of vegetables. They bang into us. We roll down the hill." The hobbits end up in a heap at the bottom of the hill, piled on top of each other. It's a funny scene, but the biggest laugh that day didn't come from the comical tumble. "I had a — what is that, a concussion fart? A fart that is brought on by pressure," Wood recalled. "Everybody burst out laughing. It's a hell of a way to start filming 'Lord of the Rings.'"

Action superstar Arnold Schwarzenegger has fronted some memorable movies over the years, but he also has his share of forgettable pictures, including the supernatural thriller "End of Days." A misguided attempt to put one of the action genre's biggest names into a horror movie, the film was panned by critics and audiences alike. The most notable thing about this '90s flop is that it spawned a bizarre story about Arnie intentionally farting in the face of a co-star.

The victim of said fart was Miriam Margolyes, best known for playing Professor Sprout in the "Harry Potter" films. The actor is known for speaking her mind (her often expletive-laden rants about politicians have generated lots of headlines in recent years), and that's exactly what she did when she was a guest on the podcast "I've Got News For You" (via Metro), opening up about a Schwarzenegger's behavior on "End of Days."

"Schwarzenegger, didn't care for him. He's a bit too full of himself," Margolyes said. "He farted in my face. Now, I fart, of course I do, but I don't fart in people's faces. He did it deliberately, right in my face." To add insult to injury, it wasn't even a situation that Margolyes could get away from. They were in the middle of a scene when the incident took place, and she was trapped. "I was playing Satan's sister and [his character] was killing me, so he had me in a position where I couldn't escape, lying on the floor," she said. "And he just farted."

Whoopi Goldberg's big break came in 1985 when she was cast in Steven Spielberg's period drama "The Color Purple." She was nominated for best actress in a leading role for her performance, and while she didn't win, she scooped the award for best actress in a supporting role a few years later for "Ghost." She's since become a rare EGOT winner, having also won a Grammy, a Tony, and an Emmy.

Her Daytime Emmy Award came in 2009 for co-hosting "The View," on which she's become a fixture. In 2023, Whoopi made waves when what sounded like a fart was heard on the set of the talk show, for which she apologized. Co-host Sunny Hostin later confirmed that this particular noise was actually made by someone's mug scraping against the table and Goldberg was just joking around when she said sorry, though Hostin did reveal that the Oscar winner drops the most on-set farts out of all the hosts. 

This probably won't come as much of a surprise if you know the story of how Whoopi Goldberg — whose real name is Caryn Johnson — got her stage name. "When you're performing on stage, you never really have time to go into the bathroom and close the door. So if you get a little gassy, you've got to let it go," Goldberg said in 2006 in a chat with The New York Times. "So people used to say to me, 'you are like a whoopee cushion.' And that's where the name came from."

Tom Hanks, a man who has been affectionately called "America's Dad," is one of the most well-respected actors of the past 30 years. The two-time Oscar winner just carries himself in a way that makes him nearly impossible to dislike, and for the most part, his movies are very successful. One of his top-grossing films, 2006's "The Da Vinci Code," made over $217 million worldwide, but the real "Holy Grail" of that movie was a pretty humorous behind-the-scenes story that happened during production.

In an interview with Yahoo!, Paul Bettany, who plays the film's main antagonist, shed some light on what can happen if you punch Tom Hanks too hard on camera. "The first time I punched him — during the first scene I was on set for doing 'The Da Vinci Code' — I punched him and he farted... [Hanks] just looked at me and said, 'You just made me fart. Isn't that funny?'... I loved him for that." 

These days, Sarah Chalke is best known for providing the voice of Beth Smith, Morty's perpetually annoyed mother in "Rick & Morty." In the 1990s, she was known as the second Becky Conner in "Roseanne." Between those two gigs, she starred in the hit medical comedy "Scrubs" as Dr. Elliot Reid, her most recognizable role. The Canadian actor was in the beloved show for almost a decade, so it's hardly surprising that she farted on set in that time, but it was still an embarrassing situation for her. In 2023, Chalke was a guest on Zach Braff and Donald Faison's podcast "Fake Doctors, Real Friends," where the three talked about what it was like on the set of "Scrubs." Chalke recalled how she once broke wind in front of Braff, and how he made sure everyone knew it.

Chalke and Braff (who starred as J.D., Elliot's love interest) were preparing for a kissing scene when the incident occurred, Chalke explained. "We're standing there, like, over in the corner, and they're about to say 'rolling' and I may or may not have farted," she said. The actor talked about how her initial instinct was to not say anything and just ignore it, but her co-star wasn't about to let it pass without comment. "Zach just made the biggest deal anyone could possibly make over somebody farting," she recalled. "I think [he] made a song and there was some clapping involved in it."

In 2009, Will Ferrell, Anna Friel, and Danny McBride starred in Universal's big screen reboot of the '70s TV show "Land of the Lost," a dinosaur-themed adventure series for kids. During filming, two of the three stars let rip, but it's probably not the two that you think, because Danny McBride wasn't involved.

In a 2017 interview, Friel opened up about what it was like being the only female on set. "It was a new experience for me being the only woman around," she said. "I was drinking all these organic drinks and they gave me gas." That gas had a predictable effect on her gut and before long she was squeaking up a storm. "It was uncomfortable for a few days," Friel admitted. "Then Will Ferrell told me he was building up some gas, and he had one coming. He farted for more than ten seconds."

While it's safe to say that a 10-second fart is usually unwelcome on a movie set, Friel actually saw the sweet side of Ferrell's epic toot. She recognized that it was "a gentlemanly thing to do" in the situation, with Ferrell intentionally taking the spotlight away from Friel's farts. "After that everything was fine," she added.

Before events like San Diego Comic-Con became popular, "Star Trek" held its own conventions so fans could interact with the stars of the franchise. It's one of the few fandoms that continues to have its own dedicated gatherings all around the world, and at an appearance celebrating their years on "Star Trek: Voyager," Garrett Wang (Ensign Kim), Tim Russ (Lieutenant Commander Tuvok), and Robert Picardo (The Doctor) discussed farts in the final frontier.

"Fart Wars went on on the 'Voyager' set," said Wang when asked to give a flatus report on the story, which he compared to a global conflict. "We talked about how the different countries involved were the country of Tuvok, the country of Neelix, and the country of Paris," referring to three characters in the series. "There were other innocent bystanders," Wang continued, putting a hand on the shoulder of co-star Robert Picardo, "like The Doctor, and Ensign Kim."

Picardo chimed in to let everyone know who he felt posed the biggest threat during the so-called Fart Wars. "I used to refer to Tim [Russ] as 'The man, the myth, the methane,'" he said to widespread laughter from the crowd of Trekkies. According to Russ, he was simply countering other people's farts with his own. "I had to defend myself," he said. "I am the tactical officer after all."

When it comes to awkward moments, passing gas in front of all of your co-workers while on the job is right up there. But for "Spider-Man: No Way Home" actor Tom Holland, it was even worse, because the co-worker he tooted in front of was also his girlfriend, Zendaya, who plays Spider-Man's love interest MJ. Worse still, it wasn't just in front of her — it was while he was strapped to her. "Yeah, I farted on her, unfortunately," Holland admitted in an on-camera interview for SiriusXM alongside both Zendaya and fellow co-star Jacob Batalon (Ned Leeds). "It's tough, the suit's tight. The harness squeezes it out."

According to the actor, the incident occurred while filming one of the movie's high-flying stunts, where Spider-Man grabs MJ and goes for a swing. Suspended by wires, there was really nowhere to go — and no way to get away from the fart. For Zendaya, it wasn't a situation she could ignore or brush off. "It was very obvious. I felt the rattle," she revealed. Graciously, Holland didn't try to hide it, quickly confessing and apologizing. "I immediately was like, 'Ugh, sorry about that,'" the Brit said. "That's my bad." Of course, trying to deflect blame in that situation would have been fruitless. It's the superhero movie equivalent to someone breaking wind in an elevator when there's only one other person there — you can plead ignorance, but you both know the truth.

Ricky Gervais is one of the most celebrated comedians of his generation. The Brit has been awarded a Golden Globe, two Primetime Emmys, a few BAFTAs, and a couple of British Comedy Awards, not to mention the countless other nominations garnered throughout his storied career. It's good to hear that even with such a lofty resume, Gervais is a still a childish jokester behind the scenes.

During an episode of his award-winning series "Extras," Gervais shared screen time with Kate Winslet. According to Winslet, Gervais did his best to make her break character by breaking wind. "Ricky Gervais is dreadful because he tries to f*** you up," she revealed. "He'll fart in the middle of a scene and he won't crack a smile." The gas must not have been too bad, however, because Winslet still looks back at her time on "Extras" with high regard. "I don't think I ever got through a take without peeing myself laughing."

We've all been at a gathering where someone inadvertently lets a fart loose. It's uncomfortable, but everyone eventually moves on. When it happened to the cast of "Christmas with the Campbells," though, it wasn't quite so simple. The story comes to us via the film's star, Justin Long, who spoke to news.com.au about the incident. "There was a scene where we were shooting late at night, everybody was a little punchy, you know," Long prefaced. "And Alex had eaten a bunch of, I forget what they were serving for dinner, but it was something that was giving everybody gas."

This issue wasn't that the on-set dinner made Moffat fart one time, it was that he just couldn't stop farting. According to Long, Moffat he kept acting despite his upset stomach, pausing every now and then to release a rumbler "like it had been scripted." Soon enough, Long was joining in and the whole thing turned into a rather stinky competition. "I tried to squeeze out a few and we were just going back and forth," he explained. "It was ridiculous." In the end, director Clare Niederpruem had to step it and shut it down. "She said, 'Okay guys that's really funny, let's do one without all the farts.'"

Following Marion Cotillard's memorable Hollywood performance in Christopher Nolan's "Inception," the French actor reunited with the director for "The Dark Knight Rises." She has since starred in a number of big English language movies, including the WWII romantic drama "Allied." One film that she starred in that isn't so well-loved, however, is the critically-panned video game adaptation "Assassin's Creed." According to Michael Fassbender (who stars as Callum "Cal" Lynch and his ancestor Aguilar de Nerha), the French beauty broke wind more than once during the making of the movie.

When the pair sat down with Yahoo! to promote the movie, they were asked about any "shameful secrets" from the set. Fassbender was quick to respond. "Your flatulence," the actor said (via Daily Mail), turning to Cotillard. "But we're not going to talk about that. That wouldn't be right." Cotillard laughed and playfully scolded her co-star for his oversharing, saying, "Please, let me be a glamorous actress." Fassbender then defended her with a shrug, pointing out that it's a perfectly normal bodily function. "We all fart, let's face it," he said.

"The Inbetweeners" might just be the most iconic British teen comedy ever. The show chronicles the lives of a group of boys as they come of age while attending a typical British school. The show was praised for its realistic and hilarious portrayal of teenage problems, but there was one actor whose performance seemed to get a little too real if you ask Blake Harrison, who played Neil Sutherland.

In 2016, Harrison sat down with NME and played a game of "Who Would You?" which saw him pulling questions out of a bowl and answering frankly. One of those questions was "Who would you replace in 'The Inbetweeners?'" He didn't hesitate with his answer. "That's easy," he said. "James [Buckley], who plays Jay, because he likes to constantly fart just before someone says 'Action.' You've got to act through his farts."

Harrison goes on to explain that fans of the show will actually be able to tell when Buckley's co-stars are dealing with one of his stinkers during a scene by their subtle reactions. "Go back and watch some 'Inbetweeners' and watch if you can see this kind of face during the acting," he said, mimicking an uncomfortable wince, "which is the face of smelling James' fart whilst you're trying to just act."

There's something inherently childish about farts. Let's face it: Even when adults rip one, knowing it's a normal bodily function, it will often bring about an irresistible urge to giggle like a child. So it should come as no surprise that when filming "Stranger Things" — with a cast made up almost entirely of kids — farts were pretty regular on set. According to the show's creators, it was mostly the boys who wouldn't stop farting, so much so that it caused real problems during filming.

As revealed in an article in Entertainment Weekly written by the Duffer brothers, the behavior of the boys began to dip a little as they got toward the latter stages of the first season, much to the frustration of Millie Bobby Brown, the only girl in the main cast at the time. "We're shooting a scene in the abandoned bus, and one of the boys decides to fart. More than once," the brothers recalled. "It became so toxic in the bus that the crew had to temporarily evacuate."

Following numerous delays, the Duffer brothers released a cast-wide memo that urged everyone to get on the ball so they could finish what they started. "After our little talk, the boys rallied together," the op-ed reveals. "[They] did some of their best, most emotional work on the show. We're proud of them for so many reasons, and this is one of them. It's such a great group of future stars. Farting aside." It's possible the boys have grown out of it by this point, but, as this list proves, grown-ups are just as likely to let rip on set.

There's no denying that the beautiful Swedish star Alicia Vikander is one of the most talented performers in Hollywood. She has been nominated for both Golden Globes and BAFTAs, and even took home the Oscar for best supporting actress for her part in "The Danish Girl." With such prestigious honors on her resume, it's fair to assume that Vikander goes all-in on every role she takes.

In a 2016 interview with British Vogue, Vikander shed some light on some of the possible repercussions of her impressive work ethic. When asked about her most embarrassing moment, she admitted that she once broke wind while shooting a scene. "I was going to give birth in this scene... we went for take, and I just went for it, and I farted in take because I pushed so hard!" Although she doesn't disclose what film this was shot for, one can imagine that it must have been quite the traumatic experience.