Adam Sandler Was Almost Badly Injured On The Set Of Airheads
By now, Adam Sandler has proven that he has quite the range. After joining the cast of "Saturday Night Live" in 1990 when he was 24, Sandler went on to star in some of the most beloved comedies of the 90s, like "Billy Madison" and "Happy Gilmore." Sandler continued cranking out comedy films on a regular basis, but the early 2000s he began taking on more dramatic roles, like in Paul Thomas Anderson's "Punch Drunk Love" (2009) and Judd Apatow's "Funny People" (2009). More recently, Sandler has alternated between the broad comedies that marked his earlier career, like "The Ridiculous 6," and critically acclaimed dramatic performances in movies like "Uncut Gems" and "Hustle."
One thing Sandler isn't known for, however, is his stunt work. Sandler learned the hard way that stunts aren't his forte while filming the 1994 cult classic "Airheads." In it, Sandler stars as Pip, one of three members of an unsigned band named the Lone Rangers who hijack a radio station at gunpoint and force the DJ to play their single.
Here's how Sandler's "Airheads" experience almost ended very badly.
There's a reason why Adam Sandler doesn't usually do his own stunts
Sandler described the non-injury in an interview with Variety, which he did alongside "Airheads" co-star Brendan Fraser. The scene involves the Lone Rangers jumping off a parking structure. This required Fraser, Sandler, and Steve Buscemi to from a height of about 15 feet onto a padded mat. According to Sandler, while Fraser and Buscemi handled the jump just fine, it was a different story for him. When Sandler landed, his neck snapped back violently, creating a loud crack.
"It was awful. I was never a gymnast," Sandler said. "I would go on the trampoline at the Jewish Community Center growing up, saw everyone else do well on it. I had the same thing happen to my neck when I was 9. I'm not good at jumping and landing on my back. I got to stop."
Luckily, Sandler avoided injury. However, that wasn't the case when Sandler filmed "Hustle," the 2022 drama in which he plays a washed-up basketball scout. Sandler and the cast played pickup basketball games during filming, but Sandler pulled a groin muscle. He was still recovering a year later (per ET). Of course, Sandler was 28 when "Airheads" came out and 56 when "Hustle" came out, so it's not quite the same.