Luke Hemsworth, one of the stars of Westworld, says an arm injury of his caused the show’s third season to be re-written.
Sometimes things just don’t go according to plan and outside realities impact the fiction being created on set. As a result, productions have to be able to respond in a way that makes sense for the narrative they are trying to tell.
One such occasion occurred on HBO’s Westworld, as star Luke Hemsworth injured his bicep meaning he was unable to take part properly in some planned action scenes. What did the show do? Well, Hemsworth explained THR that a re-write was made:
“At the time, I didn’t [enjoy my choreography] because I’d ruptured my bicep. My bicep had actually snapped off the bone. So the first fight scene with the guys in the hallway was done when I hadn’t had surgery at that stage. And then, I think when I did the one with Evan, I had had surgery. So my left arm was completely incapacitated in both fights. If you watch early in that first hallway fight, I get shot in the left arm and then I never use that arm again. So that was something we worked into the story.
“I had to make a very sheepish call to production and say, ‘I’ve done this really stupid thing. What are we going to do?”And then, all those fears and anxieties go through your head of, ‘Well, that’s it for me. I’m going to get fired.’ But they were very, very concerned and very willing to work that into the story and make something of it. And [‘The Winter Line’ director] Richard J. Lewis actually said, ‘Ah, it’s better in the end.’ He said, ‘The fight was great. You did it one-handed and it looked better than it would’ve looked two-handed.’ So yeah, it was nice to be able to use that misfortune in a good way. But it was a hell of a recovery and I don’t wish it upon anyone.”
The injury certainly changed the character’s trajectory in season three and regarding Stubbs’ fate at the end of the season, Hemsworth is uncertain: “I don’t know. Your guess is as good as mine. When Bernard woke up, we didn’t see if Stubbs was still there or not. Maybe he’s melted from acid in the bathtub or something.”
SEE ALSO: Westworld Season Three: The New World 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD release details revealed
Fans can expect a fourth season of Westworld on HBO, though probably not for a little while due to global circumstances.
