Top 10 Unsettling Psychological Thrillers That Took a Toll on their Stars, Leaving Them Traumatized

It is not all lights, cameras, and red carpets with acting. For some stars, stepping into dark, twisted roles means stepping into places even their worst nightmares could not imagine.  Psychological thrillers test boundaries, and while you hold on for dear life during the scenes that unfold, emotions are so raw to the actors that lines blur between reality and fiction. They are not just performances but turn into journeys that haunt the actors long after the final cut.

From chilling method acting to roles that had them questioning their own sanity these dark, twisted tales of psychological thrillers really took a toll on the stars who dared to bring them to life.

Florence Pugh

In the 2019’s horrifying and haunting psychological thriller, Midsommar Florence Pugh plays Dani, a heartbroken woman, whose trip to a Swedish midsummer festival became a psychological nightmare when she has to face the deepest fears and traumas of her soul. For this role, Pugh had to perform scenes in highly emotional states. 

Reflecting on her experience in a recent interview on the Reign with Josh Smith podcast, Pugh painted a difficult picture of the personal cost had been high with her role as Dani leaving her emotionally drained and “broken”, she also acknowledged how she “definitely felt like I abused myself in the places that I got myself to go.” and how the role taught her the importance of setting emotional boundaries.

Sam Neill

In the psychological thriller Possession, Sam Neill plays Mark, a man whose wife suddenly and disturbingly begins to change. The film goes deep into themes of obsession and identity, driving both the characters and the actors to their limits. Neill later described the experience calling it, “the most extreme film I’ve ever made, in every possible respect,” underlining the extreme emotional and physical demands of the role. 

Alex Wolff

In one of the most haunting horror masterpieces, Hereditary, Alex Wolff portrayed Peter Graham, a teenager battling dark secrets within his family. The intense scenes, especially with his on-screen mother, Annie (Toni Collette), left Wolff emotionally drained. He revealed to a Vice executive on a phone call interview that the experience was so profound that it affected his sleep and mental well-being. Wolff described the process as “emotional masochism,” where he voluntarily plunged into negative emotions to truly play Peter’s distress. This dedication led him to face personal fears and traumas leaving a lasting impact on the actor.

Jack Reynor

In the eerie universe of Midsommar, Jack Reynor plays Christian, whose journey through a Swedish pagan festival becomes a psychological nightmare. In an interview with Collider, Reynor stated that scenes, especially those featuring nudity and rituals, shook him up profoundly. He described the experience as “dark and unsettling,” highlighting the emotional weight of embodying such a complex role. Reynor’s dedication to the grueling journey of Christian is a reminder of the lasting impressions psychological thrillers leave on the actors long after the screen.

Shelley Duvall

Filming The Shining was quite the grueling experience for Shelley Duvall, who played Wendy Torrance. Reportedly, Shelley Duvall revealed how Stanley Kubrick’s relentless demands pushed her to the brink. She was made to cry for hours together until she was exhausted and lost her hair. It is said that in one famous scene, Kubrick made Duvall and Jack Nicholson repeat the scene 127 times. Such stress made it difficult for her to forget this experience.

Janet Leigh

In Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, Janet Leigh’s character, Marion Crane, who was brutally murdered in the shower, left a lasting mark on her. As reported by Woman’s World in a recovered interview, Leigh revealed the heavy toll of the role on her, leading her to avoid showers and instead take baths. She also admitted to developing habits like keeping bathroom doors open and facing the door while showering, reflecting her deep-seated fear. 

Tippi Hedren

In Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds, Tippi Hedren’s portrayal of Melanie Daniels turned into a real-life nightmare for the actor. Recalling her filming of the climactic attic scene in her memoir, Hedren mentioned how she was told that the mechanical birds were not working which led to live birds being trained to peck at her for five long days, with one bird that nearly took out her eye by pecking too close to it. Hedren has said that this harrowing experience left her traumatized. 

Bill Skarsgård

After personifying the terrifying Pennywise in It, Bill Skarsgård found himself haunted by his own creation. Once filming wrapped, he returned home to Stockholm, only to be visited nightly by vivid dreams featuring the sinister clown. He revealed to EW about how in these dreams, he grappled with Pennywise as a separate entity or experienced the world through the clown’s eye, he also compared the disturbing experience of coming back from this to coming out of a destructive relationship, stating how it was, “a daunting but exciting thing to sort of revisit him again”.

Isabelle Adjani

In the 1981 psychological thriller Possession, Isabelle Adjani delivered a performance so intense it left her emotionally scarred. Director Andrzej Żuławski was said to have used hypnotic techniques to induce a fugue state during filming, according to Rolling Stone. The film’s dark themes and demanding production process is said to have left a lasting impact on Adjani. 

James McAvoy

In IT: Chapter Two, James McAvoy portrays Bill Denbrough, who has to face his childhood fears. To prepare for the role, he read Stephen King’s novel again, this time as an adult, and it really shook him to the core. He recounted a very realistic nightmare of Pennywise in his dreams in which he being terrified pretended to sleep, which was quite the haunting experience. 

Psychological thrillers may leave you thrilled, but sometimes for the actors, they often leave lasting scars. These stars poured their hearts, minds, and sometimes their own sanity into these roles, creating unforgettable performances to deliver the chills.  It is a powerful testimony to their craft, but it also reveals the emotional weight of taking up such darkness.  

Got a favorite psychological thriller that left you stunned? Drop your thoughts in the comments below!

The spine-tingling stories behind intense psychological thrillers that left a scar on their actors with