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In a recent appearance on "The Drew Barrymore Show," Hollywood actor Gerard Butler candidly revealed a harrowing incident that occurred on the set of the 2007 romantic drama film "PS I Love You." The Scottish actor admitted to nearly killing his co-star, Academy Award-winning actress Hilary Swank, during the filming of the movie.
A Moment of Levity Turns Dangerous
Butler and Barrymore chatted about a variety of topics during the segment, but one topic, in particular, stood out: the scene in "PS I Love You" where Butler's character, Gerry, dances in suspenders.
"You know the scene where I'm dancing and I [am wearing] suspenders? I shot that scene for a day and a half, and I had to dance like an idiot in the suspenders," Butler said with a chuckle. But the levity of the moment quickly turned to concern as he continued, "At one point, the clip, which was a crocodile clip, got stuck in the television as I'm crawling towards her, and she's right in front of me, laughing hysterically.
The camera people had these plastic fronts to protect themselves from this crocodile because I had to ping it, and it would go [flying] past my face. I'm crawling towards the bed, it gets stuck, it releases, flies over my head, hits her in the head, slashes her head." "I mean, I cut her open.
You could even see the teeth of the [crocodile]. She had to get taken to the hospital." Butler revealed, his tone turning somber.
A Near-Tragedy Averted
Butler's recollection of the incident paints a picture of a near-tragedy that was narrowly averted.
The metal clips holding his suspenders had come loose, and one of them flew over his head and struck Swank, causing a deep gash on her head. The actress was rushed to the hospital for treatment, leaving Butler to process the gravity of the situation.
"I'm just sitting there in my boxer shorts and my boots and a pair of socks," he recounted, "and I just started crying." Despite the harrowing incident, Swank was not seriously injured and filming was able to continue as scheduled. "PS I Love You" went on to be a commercial and critical success, grossing over $156 million worldwide.