(AllHipHop News) Actress Taraji P. Henson has a new understanding of how fatal accidents can occur while filming complicated stunts after pulling double duty on new movie “Proud Mary.”
The “Empire” star portrays the titular hitwoman in the action thriller, which she also executive produced, and the long hours on set made her realize the importance of safety procedures when shooting daring sequences towards the end of the day.
“I don’t think people really realize how much work goes into an action film,” Taraji explained on U.S. breakfast show Good Morning America. “It’s so physical, and we often hear tales of people dying, and I’ll tell you why: because you’re in the 13th hour, you’ve been working all day, and you get to the end of the day and you still have this hugely dangerous stunt to pull off, and people are tired! And sometimes if fatigue sets in or you miscount a step, it can go really bad.”
Her comments come months after two stuntworkers were killed last summer – John Bernecker died from his injuries following a balcony fall on the set of “The Walking Dead” in Atlanta, Georgia in July, and Joi Harris lost her life in a motorcycle crash on the set of the “Deadpool” sequel in Vancouver, Canada just weeks later.
Meanwhile, Taraji has blamed her own exhaustion for suffering a minor mishap on the set of “Proud Mary” back in May, when she crashed a Maserati sports car into a fire hydrant while filming in Massachusetts.
Reports at the time suggested the collision had caused $12,000 worth of damage to the pricey vehicle, and the actress, who was not hurt in the incident, admits the cost was the first thing that came to her mind when the accident happened.
She recalled, “Man, let me tell you – if I was just the actress, I would’ve been like, ‘Oh, was that me?’ (But as an executive producer), I was just like, ‘How much is this gonna cost us?’ I benched myself! I was like (scolding myself), ‘Go to your trailer!'”
Despite the motor mistake, Taraji insisted she had so much fun fronting the new movie, likening her tough character to the female protagonist in the “Tomb Raider” video game and film franchise.
“I just felt like a black Lara Croft, that’s what I kept saying!” she smiled. “I had the ponytail and the combat boots, it was that (part) when she really goes to war, she has… a navy blue motorcycle jacket and these motorcycle pants, and I just felt like, ‘Dang, I could really hurt someone just with my outfit!'”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg0aKm1gKLo
