Why do actors often play their last scene on a movie on their first day of filming?

Question

I am not even sure this is the case, but it did happen to Lena Headey in 300 and in [this interview (9:30)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dzHRHaDgwc) Ethan Hawke and Keira Knightley agree that it is something that happens all the time, namely that actors are required to play their last scene on a movie script on their first day of filming. Leaving aside particular cases where this is justified for a more efficient filming schedule, is there a reason for this?

Answer 1

Scheduling for a film is typically done to promise location and budgeting, but the practice of having the last scene be filmed first can be attributed to precautionary reasons. If something happens to the actor during production and they are unable to finish the film, the final scene will already be shot and they can finish the film without having to recast and reshoot.