JJ Abrams broke his back on the set of Star Wars: The Force Awakens
The director kept his injury - and back brace - a secret after an incident that also left Harrison Ford with a broken ankle
Yes, you read that correctly. Harrison Ford wasn't the only person to suffer a serious injury on the set of the new Star Wars movie The Force Awakens.
The film's director JJ Abrams broke his back during filming – he just didn't tell anyone about it.
What's more, Abram's injury happened at the same time as Ford's. The 49-year-old was trying to help the injured film star when he came a cropper himself.
"We were actually filming a scene and there was an accident on-set," Abrams revealed on Jon Stewart's Daily Show. "There was a hydraulic door that went down, he was pushed down, and his ankle goes 90 degrees. He's down there and he's toughing it out. He's a superhuman being and he's literally lying there, making jokes. This door had gone down and I'm trying to help lift it up, because that's the kind of guy I am. So, I'm trying to lift up this door and I feel this kind of pop in my back. I'm like 'Oh, that's weird.'"
"I go to the doctor a couple days later," the director continued. "And he goes, 'Oh! You have a broken back! I broke my L4 trying to lift this door..."
Abrams went on to talk about how 73-year-old Ford is "like a real-life superhero."
"A few month's later I'm still wearing this really silly back brace under my shirt – no one knows. I didn't tell anyone. So I have this back brace on and Harrison Ford from across the stage sprints at me faster than I would ever run... [Ford]’s a miracle man."
Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be in UK cinemas in December
