Philip Seymour Hoffman, Other Actors Who Died During Filming

Philip Seymour Hoffman and ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay’

Image Credit: Photo Credit: Lionsgate

Philip Seymour Hoffman had filmed most of his scenes in the upcoming two-part final installment of the Hunger Games series, Mockingjay, when he was found dead in his New York City apartment on Feb. 2. But, Hoffman had one major, emotional scene left to film in Mockingjay — Part 2, which may need to be reconceived following the actor's death. Still studio Lionsgate has said his death will have no impact on production or the release dates of the two films, the first of which is set to hit theaters on Nov. 21. The second film is slated to be released in Nov. 2015.
Marilyn Monroe and ‘Something’s Got to Give’

Image Credit: Photo Credit: Everett Collection

Marilyn Monroe was in production on Something's Got to Give when she died of an apparent drug overdose. The movie was never completed, but an edited reconstruction of the film was included in the 2001 documentary Marilyn: The Last Days.
Bruce Lee and ‘Game of Death’

Image Credit: Photo Credit: Everett Collection

Bruce Lee died in 1973 before he could finish filming Game of Death. An incomplete version was released that year, followed by a feature-length version in 1978 cobbled together with footage filmed after his death.
Natalie Wood and ‘Brainstorm’

Image Credit: Photo Credit: MGM/Everett Collection

Natalie Wood was filming the sci-fi film Brainstorm when she drowned on a boat trip with husband Robert Wagner and co-star Christopher Walken in 1981. Since her part was almost entirely completed, director Douglas Trumbull was able to tweak and release the film in 1983. But studio MGM and the insurance company gave him trouble, leading him to disclose in a 2009 interview that the bad experience drove him out of the film business for years. "Getting the movie done was extremely heartbreaking and difficult, and that was when I decided I just have to get out of here. This feature film industry is just not working for me — I have to hang out my shingle doing something else," he said.
Brandon Lee and ‘The Crow’

Image Credit: Photo Credit: Mary Evans/Ronald Grant/Everett Collection

Brandon Lee not only died while he was in production on The Crow, but he was actually killed while filming a scene, when he was accidentally shot with a real bullet from a prop gun. Director Alex Proyas used a double and special effects to complete the film.
River Phoenix and ‘Dark Blood’

Image Credit: Photo Credit: Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

River Phoenix was in the final three weeks of shooting the desert drama Dark Blood when he died of a drug overdose in 1993. After the actor's death, the insurance company laid claim to the film's negatives. Years of legal complications prevented the film from being finished until director George Sluizer could secure Dutch financing to complete the project using original stills and his own voiceover to connect the plot points. Still, the late actor's family has fought the release of the film, which played in a few festivals in 2013.
John Candy and ‘Wagons East’

Image Credit: Photo Credit: Strand Releasing/Courtesy Everett Collection

When John Candy died in his sleep of a heart attack, filming on one of his last movies, Wagons East, was almost done. But filmmakers reportedly still had to use special effects for two sequences, digitally moving the actor from one scene to another. Director Peter Markle also used a Candy look-alike and called upon an actor with a similar voice to re-record missing dialogue.
Oliver Reed and ‘Gladiator’

Image Credit: Photo Credit: DreamWorks/Courtesy Everett Collection

British actor Oliver Reed died of a heart attack while he was on location for Ridley Scott's Gladiator. Most of his scenes had already been shot, BBC News reported shortly after his death, but digital effects were used for additional scenes.
Aaliyah and ‘The Matrix’ Sequels

Image Credit: Photo Credit: Evan Agostini/ImageDirect

Aaliyah was supposed to play Zee in the two Matrix sequels, Reloaded and Revolutions, before she died in a 2001 plane crash. She had filmed portions of Reloaded, but the role was recast after her death, with Marvin Gaye's daughter Nona taking her place.
Heath Ledger and ‘The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus’

Image Credit: Photo Credit: Sony Pictures Classics/Courtesy Everett Collection

Heath Ledger's January 2008 death came in the middle of the actor's filming Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. The movie suspended production temporarily. Ultimately, Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell played various versions of Ledger's character.
Paul Walker and ‘Fast & Furious 7’

Image Credit: Photo Credit: Giles Keyte/©Universal Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

Fast & Furious 7 was on hiatus for Thanksgiving when co-star Paul Walker died in a fiery car crash. Production on the film was delayed following the tragedy, but sources told The Hollywood Reporter that Universal doesn't plan to abandon the film entirely. Insiders told THR that a large part of the film had been shot and that Walker and the cast were set to go to Abu Dhabi in January to film additional scenes.

Philip Seymour Hoffman and ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay’

Marilyn Monroe and ‘Something’s Got to Give’

Bruce Lee and ‘Game of Death’

Natalie Wood and ‘Brainstorm’

Brandon Lee and ‘The Crow’

River Phoenix and ‘Dark Blood’

John Candy and ‘Wagons East’

Oliver Reed and ‘Gladiator’

Aaliyah and ‘The Matrix’ Sequels

Heath Ledger and ‘The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus’

Paul Walker and ‘Fast & Furious 7’