While filming Cast Away, Tom Hanks came down with a nasty infection.
While filming the movie Cast Away, Tom Hanks’ body went through a number of transformations. He put on a lot of weight and eventually had to shed it while simultaneously growing a full beard. Early on in production, Hanks had a staph infection from a blister on his knee, necessitating a return flight home for medical care. When filming another underwater scene, a cable holding Hanks’ raft together broke, sending the actor drifting. It took 40 minutes, he added, before someone came to his rescue. Not that he was in any danger, but he did find floating in the ocean to be a bit unsettling.