Universal Studios Hollywood stunt performer hospitalized after accident

While stunt performers may endeavor to thrill audiences with death-defying tricks and carefully staged accidents, sometimes the danger is all too real. This was the case in Universal Studios Hollywood on Monday, as an unnamed performer in the popular “Waterworld: A Live Sea War Spectacular” stunt show was rushed to the hospital after he failed to resurface from the pool following a fall.

The performer was unresponsive when paramedics were called but was “conscious and breathing” when he was taken to the hospital, KTLA reports.

“We can confirm a performer with one of our long-standing show vendors was transported to the hospital following a stunt during an afternoon performance and our thoughts are with him as he receives care. Details surrounding the event are under review,” said a Universal Studios Hollywood spokesperson in a statement.

The fall itself was scripted as a part of the show (with the performer on fire, no less), but fellow cast members sprang into action once it was clear that something was wrong, a witness told Eyewitness News. “It was a full house, like it happened in front of everyone,” she said. The performer’s current condition is unknown.

While accidents at these types of shows are exceedingly rare, things can always go wrong, especially when dealing with speeding cars, flaming body suits, and, in one very specific case, a gargantuan, rolling boulder. Disney experienced a close shave in 2014 when a car in the Lights Motors Action stunt show unintentionally crashed into a beam. The driver was uninjured. Recently, an old video from Disney’s “Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular” resurfaced, in which the actor playing Indy doesn’t quite outrun the giant boulder. While this malfunction looks terrifying to experience in the moment, the “boulder” was thankfully nothing more than a giant ball of rubber.