When it comes to shooting action scenes and stunts, film productions typically work hard to make sure everything is as safe and painless as possible... but mistakes happen sometimes. An actor may attempt to throw a stage punch, but actual contact sometimes occurs and apologies generally follow. Actor Frank Grillo can personally attest to these kinds of incidents happening, as he recently revealed that he once accidentally hit Ryan Reynolds in the face.
Grillo worked with Reynolds in the making of the 2021 film The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard, and during an interrogation scene his knuckles made contact with the Deadpool star's chin – even after making assurances to Reynolds that he would do no such thing. The actor delivered the details of the incident recently as a guest on Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum, telling the titular host,
I punched Ryan Reynolds in the face... There's a scene where it's Ryan and Sam [L. Jackson], and Salma [Hayek], and we have them tied up. Their hands are behind their back, and I'm coming in to interrogate them; I'm the detective. And he's doing his thing when he yaps, you know, and I punch him in the face, right? So, I take a swing, and he goes, 'Grillo, do not punch me in the face'. I go, 'Bro, I've been boxing since I was 11. I'm not going to punch you in the face. Just don't lean in.' First take, I clip him right in the chin... I hit him.
Continuing, Frank Grillo added that Ryan Reynolds was a good sport about the whole thing – feigning what would have been the worst possible response to the hit: "I make $29 million a movie! What are you doing!" Grillo also noted that the take where contact was made is the take that's featured in the final cut of The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard – which is for the best. If the film's star is going to accidentally take a fake punch for real, that's the shot that should be used.
It's an experience that Frank Grillo will presumably/hopefully will never want to repeat, which is for the best given that he is regularly doing action movies. In fact, he's been announced as one of the first new members of the growing DC Universe, as he will be playing Rick Flag Sr. in the upcoming series Creature Commandos. That show will be animated, but DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran have said that actors who voice characters in animation will eventually play those roles in live-action, so we expect to see Grillo playing the part on the big screen at some point in the future.
If you wish to watch The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard and check out the scene where Frank Grillo accidentally hits Ryan Reynolds, the movie isn't presently available on any subscription streaming services, but it is available to digitally rent and purchase at outlets including Amazon, Google Play, Apple, and Vudu.
