The hilarious story behind David Bowie getting peed on by co-star whilst filming Labyrinth

31 July 2025, 13:17

He was a man who played many characters.

Both in his unmatchable music and on the silver screen, David Bowie stepped into the shoes of multiple personas.

In the studio and on the stage, his career was defined by becoming different characters for each bold new era of expression.

From the glamorous extraterrestrial Ziggy Stardust, to the suave and sparkly pop star of the Let's Dance days, to the prophetic spirit he played on his eerie final album Blackstar – which he made when he knew he was dying.

There aren't many musicians who were as influential as Bowie, who he was also a strong presence when he took on acting.

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Whether it was playing an undying vampire in The Hunger, a worn-out alien in The Man Who Fell To Earth, or art kook Andy Warhol in Basquait, he proved himself to be as impressively diverse as an actor.

In one film, he managed to pull off a spectacular performance after he got more than he bargained for while filming a particular scene.

Because, while shooting the 1986 musical fantasy film Labyrinth, Bowie got peed on by his co-star.

Bear in mind, however, that the co-star in question wasn't a fully grown adult in control of all bladder: his co-star was a baby.

The baby in question was "the babe with the power" in Labyrinth, who is kidnapped by the 'Goblin King' played by Bowie.

During an interview with the Press Association for the cult classic's 30th anniversary in 2016, his father revealed the on-set accident.

Jim Henson's puppet-tastic Labyrinth tells the story of teenager Sarah (played by Jennifer Connelly) who embarks on a quest to rescue her infant brother Toby, who's been kidnapped by Jareth the Goblin King.

Brian Froud was a conceptual designer for the film and his wife Wendy was part of the creative workshop team.

The film shoot became a whole family affair after they put forward their one-year-old son Toby to play the baby in the striped baby-grow.

David Bowie's luck was out, however, as there was a costume malfunction during the first scene they filmed together.

"Unfortunately, I had designed these rather slimline nappies because big nappies would have got in the way of the look, but they were useless," Froud revealed.

"So the first thing that Toby did when he met David Bowie in the first shot was pee all over him. David took it all in good part."

Bowie was renowned for his sense of humour, so he no doubt took it in his stride.

Labyrinth (1986) - David Bowie's Magic Dance | Movieclips

Froud also remembered that there was a plan in place just in case Bowie dropped baby Toby.

"My wife Wendy was actually strangely enough on her knees out of shot, just at crotch-level of David, in case he dropped the baby, ready to catch him," he explained.

He also remembers that Bowie was magical on set, acting as bizarrely and outlandishly as he'd hoped.

"It was the first time I met him, we were in his dressing room and it was about three or four days before we started the film, and we had made him a little bone flute as a gift," he recalled.

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"He just took it and he just leapt up on to the dressing table, hunkered down and played a wonderful little spooky tune on the flute.

"He was very Pan-like. It was rather scary but so magical."

Sadly, the iconic rock star passed away before the film's 30th anniversary celebrations, though he might have been warmed by the fact that it's arguably his most beloved film.

That, and his co-star Toby grew up to follow in his parents' footsteps, working in Hollywood with puppets.

Labyrinth is his only credited film as an actor, but his credits as a sculptor, puppeteer, and creature designer include Cowboys & Aliens (which featured Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford), King Kong, and 2022's Oscar-winning and BAFTA Award-winning Pinocchio.

In a beautiful coincidence, Toby worked on the 2019's Netflix fantasy drama The Dark Crystal: Age Of Resistance, a sequel to the 1982 film where his parents first met.