I think most actors are prepared to suffer for their art, though. We did an act way back when I was in high school where we pretended to cut someone's legs off (it was a reenactment of the Monty Python black knight sketch).
My friend Clara fell to her knees just like you'd expect someone who'd just been dismembered to do, but she had bruises on her legs for weeks afterwards.
We got an A, so it was worth it.
But yeah, the big red gorilla thing is a little confusing.