When actor Jimmy Smits plunged a prop knife into stuntman Jeff Chase on the set of Dexter, he probably thought the double deserved an Emmy for his performance. Unfortunately, Chase's reaction wasn't acting--Smits almost skewered the stuntman with a real knife, reports the UK's Daily Star.
Smits, the newest cast member of Showtime's drama, thought he was wielding a fake knife on set and proceeded with the script, deadly steel in hand. Fortunately Chase was wearing a small piece of plastic "the size of a Post-It note" over his heart, which Smits struck with the knife.
Chase was unable to warn Smits of his grievous error, as he was bound in Saran Wrap and had duct tape over his mouth for the scene.
"I heard fellow actor Michael C. Hall yelling at Jimmy to stop--but it was too late," said Chase. I felt the thud in my chest. I didn't have on a metal breastplate like a lot of actors do in a scene like that."
In the preshoot takes, Smits had missed the small piece of plastic protection "eight out of 10 times," but was fortunate enough to aim correctly when the cameras were rolling.
"I really thought I'd been stabbed in the heart, but I didn't have a scratch," said Chase. "Jimmy was devastated and couldn't stop apologizing. I told him, I felt more sorry for him than me."
OK, I'll ask: Why are there real knives near the fake knives?
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