Jennifer Garner has an intense fight scene in the new season of The Last Thing He Told Me, but she didn’t need an introduction to her scene partner — she had previously bit a chunk out of his ear.
The veteran actress, who is an executive producer and leading force of the Apple TV series, took the stage Tuesday at the streamer’s press day inside Santa Monica’s Barker Hangar where she shared the juicy tale that had co-star Nicolaj Coster-Waldau shocked and perplexed (in an amusing way).
Following a clip of the scene introduced by moderator and executive producer Laura Dave, who authored the novel on which the series is based, Garner added some context to what the crowd of 300 journalists, influencers and content creators had seen on the big screen. The scene, featured in the trailer below, finds a uniformed man, played by veteran actor and stunt performer Sala Baker, knocking on the door of Garner’s Hannah Hall just as she receives a text that directs her to “get out of the house.” He enters her home before she has time to flee, and a fierce battle breaks out in her kitchen.
“Can I just say that the performer, Sal, the last time I fought him was in The Kingdom,” Garner detailed of the 2007 film starring Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper and Jason Bateman. Baker played a role credited as The Kidnapper. “Pete Berg, who was the director, told him to try to kill me. We did not have a lot of choreography, and he told me to do anything I could to survive. He did, and I did, and I ended up scrambling onto his back. I bit his ear, and we have a picture of him missing a chunk of ear, because we were not kidding.”
Some almost 20 years later, they reunited on the set of The Last Thing He Told Me and they went to battle once again. “We went for it in a way that the crew — this was maybe our first or second day of shooting — were like, ‘Can you be careful with her?’ I was like, ‘No, no, no, no, he’s not going to be careful. I’m not going to be careful. Just back out of the way. I have a score to settle here.’ And Sal was with us the entire season. So prepare yourselves.”
The amusing anecdote caused Coster-Waldau to pause the conversation and ask, “Can we just go over that again? You bit a piece of his ear off?” Garner replied, “Like Mike Tyson.” He then quipped, “Why are you all looking as if this is a great thing? What is wrong with you people?”
Garner replied with a smile, “Don’t make me mad. I seem nice. I’ve warned you before.” Coster-Waldau then backpedaled. “Oh my god, no, I love you.”
Garner and Coster-Waldau shared the stage during a panel conversation that also featured actresses Angourie Rice, Judy Greer and Rita Wilson. Garner teased that season two will deliver a resolution to the cliffhanger that came at the end of season one when Coster-Waldau’s character, Owen Michaels, the husband of Garner’s character, reappears mysteriously with a fully grown beard.
“Have you guys heard of this term competency porn? Like just we’re so hungry for grown ups to be competent and smart and have integrity and do what they’re supposed to do….that we really fall for shows like The Pitt, where Noah Wiley is just so in charge, and all those nurses are incredible. In this case, Hannah does that for me. She has prepared everything for every eventuality, all to keep Bailey [her character’s daughter, played by Rice] safe. And so watching as the penny drops and Hannah really realizes the kind of danger they’re in, watching those those actions fall into place, and watching her take one step after the other and include Bailey in this grand escape is, to me, really, really gratifying.”
Season two of The Last Thing He Told Me debuts Feb. 20.
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