This Rhythm Section Scene Almost Put An End To Blake Lively's Stunt Career

Stunt performers have a difficult job — and that's jumping off buildings, crashing cars, and performing other dangerous acts to catch some of the most extraordinary moments on screen. Most of the actions are so hazardous that stunt performers are used in place of the actor to avoid shutting down productions. Still, some actors insist on doing many of the stunts themselves. Actors like Tom Cruise, Jackie Chan, Zoe Bell, and Charlize Theron are known for strapping on the wires and rigs and putting themselves in great peril in their quest for the perfect shot. Sometimes, those endeavors, however noble, can put production at risk. 

In 2020, Blake Lively starred in "The Rhythm Section," a revenge thriller — which also starred Jude Law and Sterling K. Brown — that saw the actress seeking retribution for those who caused a plane crash to kill her family. While the film showed a different side of Lively as a brooding and brutal character, critics weren't quite as sold on the venture. Christy Lemire of RogerEbert.com said, "Blake Lively gives it her all in 'The Rhythm Section,' but the movie only meets her halfway." Audiences didn't love it much better, as it only mustered a 29% on Rotten Tomatoes. 

That said, Lively herself put in a strong performance, and that extended to the film's stunts. At one point, she experienced an injury that could have put an end to her career. 

According to an interview with People Magazine in January of 2020, Blake injured her hand in a choreographed fight scene with Jude Law. "We were doing all of our own stunts. One-shot fight sequences, which is how I shattered my hand," Lively explained. "We shut down for six months. My hand basically turned to feta cheese." 

The actress continued to explain what had happened. "I was lunging towards Jude Law with my fake rubber knife, and my hand collided with his elbow, and I broke some things, dislocated some things, and severed a ligament. It was pretty intense. But that's why you guys have to see this movie out of sheer guilt. I gave my right hand for something!"

The scene in question was one of many training scenes where Jude Law's character attacked without warning. He tells her to pick up a knife in the kitchen at one point. Even though she loses the fight in the scene, she gets off one last cheap shot on Law. In 2017, Lively shared an image on her Instagram stories (still online per Twitter) of herself in a hospital bed. The image came with a caption she wrote, offering some levity to the injury: "Literally 4 weeks after I said, 'I'd give my right hand to be in this movie!' (Good thing no one told me to 'break a leg')." 

Luckily, she made it back to finish the film, which has recently found new life on Amazon Prime.