Hilary Swank got her breakout role in Hollywood in 1994 in the movie The Next Karate Kid, but it wasn’t until her Oscar-winning performance in Boys Don’t Cry (1999) that she came to be recognized among the A-list stars.
The dramatization of the real-life story of Brandon Teena sees Swank bring the brave character to the big screen. Brandon, a young female-to-male transgender falls in love with aspiring singer Lana Tisdel. In the midst of building a romantic future involving Lana, he lies to her about his past life, including his s*x change.
While the lie got Swank’s character Brandon in a lot of trouble with Lana’s ex-convict friends in the movie, the brilliant performance got her the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in 2000. She won her second Oscar award in the same category in 2005, and it was also partly influenced by a lie – but a risky one.
How Hilary Swank Risked Her Life and Kept Things Ticking for Her Movie With Clint Eastwood
The 2004 hit Million Dollar Baby saw Hilary Swank play the role of aspiring boxer Maggie Fitzgerald, who finds herself in a dead-end situation. She convinces Frankie Dunn, an ill-tempered coach, to train her. The old gym owner himself is fighting with the tag of failing to shape up a boxer into a title winner, but he admires Maggie’s determination and helps her dominate the ring.
The character of the trainer is played by Clint Eastwood. As the training progresses, Maggie and Frankie form a close bond. However, it seems Swank couldn’t form such a close bond with Eastwood or the producers behind the scenes, as she hid a life-threatening issue from them.
During the training sessions for the movie, the 49-year-old actress developed a blister on her foot – a common phenomenon among boxers. However, the blister was quickly infected with staphylococcus and things got from bad to worse. Swank told 60 Minutes:
“There were streaks going up my foot. So, I went to the doctor that second, and he looked at me, and he said, ‘This is really serious. And if you had waited two more hours, you would have been in the hospital for three weeks. And if it gets to your heart, that’s it.’
“I didn’t tell Clint (Eastwood, director of ‘Million Dollar Baby’). He still to this day doesn’t know. The producers don’t know. No one knows…except my trainers…because, in the end, that’s what happens to boxers.”
The Next Karate Kid star had a stunt double in the movie, but she still had to train hard – she spent six days a week in the gym for three months – and Swank did most of the boxing scenes herself; all this without informing Eastwood and anyone else on the set.
What Is Two-Time Oscar Winner Hilary Swank’s Next Movie
Swank risked her health and kept the show going for Million Dollar Baby as undoubtedly the filming would’ve been paused had the decision-makers known the trouble the actress was going through.
Her upcoming movie, Ordinary Angels, is also in some way about going the extra mile for the cause of others. The new trailer for Jon Gunn’s faith-based movie dropped today.
Swank will play the role of Sharon Stevens, a hairdresser whose kindness and relentlessness prove to be a miracle in the life of a widower Ed Schmitt (Alan Ritchson), and his two daughters. The movie’s theatrical release is set for October 13th.