Admit it: You've occasionally pictured yourself as your favorite Hollywood action hero, whether it be Indiana Jones warding off snakes with a torch, or Katniss treating Peeta's wounds in the cave.
Ever wonder if those famous survival techniques that work so well on screen work are effective in the actual wilderness? Outside Magazine interviewed a Hollywood insider to find out. And while Rambo probably would have wound up with a nasty infection by cauterizing a wound with a metal rod, some of our favorite survival scenes actually offer sound advice.
"Survival is all about improvising," Tony Nester, an outdoor survival expert who has advised actors, told Outside.
Here are the heros to emulate, according to Nester:
* Harrison Ford as Han Solo in "The Empire Strikes Back," for bundling Luke Skywalker into the carcass of the Tauntaun. There are historical precedents for soldiers killing their horses to keep warm for the night.
* Arnold Schwarzenegger as Alan "Dutch" Schaefer in "Predator," for using mud as camouflage.
* The kids in Lord of the Flies, for setting a signal fire — just make sure to watch it 24/7.
* Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss in "The Hunger Games," for making the tough decision to not move the wounded Peeta from a cave.
* Tom Hanks in "Cast Away," for making a sail out of a Port-a-Potty — even if its seaworthiness is iffy, Nester says, that's the type of creative thinking necessary for survival.
Don't, however, follow the lead of Jeff Bridges as Rooster Cogburn in "True Grit" by attempting to suck the venom out of a snake bite — it doesn't work. Wielding a knife and some broken glass against a wolf a la Liam Neeson as John Ottway in "The Grey" probably would not end well, either.
And instead of trapping a bear like Anthony Hopkins as Charles Morse and Alec Baldwin as Bob Green in "The Edge," simply run away, Nester advises. Oh, and Indiana Jones's fire to ward off snakes? The heat might actually draw the snakes in.
Image: Tom Hanks as Chuck Noland, launching his homemade raft in the movie "Cast Away." Credit: YouTube/Dreamworks/20th Century Fox
