Adam Sandler almost choked on the set of ‘Uncut Gems’.
The 53-year-old actor has won critical acclaim for his role as gambling addict Howard Ratner in the flick, but directors Josh and Benny Safdie revealed that he was left in agony by stuntmen in a scene where is character was kidnapped.
Josh told Entertainment Weekly: "All three of those guys who are manhandling Sandler, it was the first movie they’ve done.
"So they were very professional, but when it’s your first time – Sandler’s so in it, he’s so into the character that it started to actually get a little scary one or two times, because he’s getting choked at one point in the scene and there were all these cues."
The 36-year-old filmmaker praised the movie’s stunt coordinator for spotting that the ‘Happy Gilmore’ star was in discomfort.
He added: "Our stunt driver was actually also the stunt coordinator, so he had eyes on him the whole time, and kudos to him that he was really hawk-eyed about it – because there was one take when Sandler was getting choked and he was trying to tap out, but the actor thought he was just being Howard so he choked harder, and Adam couldn’t breathe."
Adam revealed that he got plenty of bruises during filming but would relish the chance to work the Safdie brothers on another project.
He said: "The boys went at me pretty good – they beat me up I’d say maybe 120 different angles worth. And yeah I had some spots on my body."
On the possibility of working with the Safdies again, Adam added: "We talk about it constantly, man. I love these guys, I love ’em. I mean, they’re incredible filmmakers.
"Of course I would die to work with them again, because it’s a brand new feeling. But the funniest thing is when I would say to the Safdies, ‘Your future is so bright’, they didn’t want to talk about that.
"They were like, ‘I just like Gems, man’. They were just so deep in it."