Do you know any examples of actors or actresses who decided to perform dangerous scenes, alone, without the help of stunt doubles and risking their own health?

I always come back to Mary Stuart Masterson in Fried Green Tomatoes. When the stuntwoman who was supposed to film the “bee charmer” scene, in which Masterson’s character Idgie steals honey from a beehive, got scared and backed out, Masterson opted to do it herself.

Her shirt was daubed with queen bee pheromone to draw the thousands of bees to her. Although she said she was freaked out — mostly by the sound of the bees, which she said was so loud it drowned out all other noise — Masterson kept her cool, and the scene is among the most memorable in the film.