The Tomorrow War star, Sam Richardson, has revealed that he was injured multiple times while working on the film and required a "super doctor" who works with WWE to help him recover. Richardson stars alongside Chris Pratt, Yvonne Strahovski, and J.K. Simmons in the time-travel action film that sees Pratt’s family man, Dan Forester, drafted to fight a war in the year 2051. Directed by The Lego Batman Movie’s Chris Mckay in his live-action directorial debut, the film was picked up by Amazon after its release from Paramount was initially cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Richardson stars as the good-natured Charlie who, like Pratt, is drafted to fight in the futuristic war. The Tomorrow War represents a break from form for the actor who is primarily known for his comedies. He most recently appeared in Werewolves Within and is perhaps best known for starring as Richard Splett alongside Julia Louis-Dreyfus in HBO’s Veep. Louis-Dreyfus herself recently took a different turn with her acting career, appearing as Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine in Marvel’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
When discussing his preparations for The Tomorrow War with The New York Times, Richardson explained that he had been injured a grand total of three times through various mishaps at the gym and while filming. In the interview, he explained that his injuries came about during one of the movie's running scenes. A string of bad luck for Richardson resulted in studio executives having to reach out to one of the doctors who works for WWE to help Richardson recover and avoid future injury. According to Richardson, the doctor “kind of adjusted me, set me up, and then I was back and ready to go. He adjusted the way I walked, and I was like, “Wow, that’s incredibly helpful.” Some doctors just know physiology, go figure!”
Richardson also detailed his injuries and how despite having knee surgery in the past, he was still confident he was ready to run for the scene while also having to wear tons of gear. Unfortunately, once he began recovering from one injury, another injury occurred. Read Richardson's full explanation of his injuries below:
So I was working with a trainer at the gym, but my feet are naturally duckfooted and in the middle of a barbell squat, I adjusted my feet and popped my meniscus in my left knee. I had knee surgery, but I was like, ‘I’ll make sure I’m still ready.’ I heal quickly, which is very fortunate for me. I got to set, and we were doing a scene running through the city in Atlanta, full gallop, and these other guys are running even faster. I’m just like, ‘Well, I’ll keep up,’ but I’m also wearing this heavy pack, I’ve got all this gear on, I’m wearing jungle boots that aren’t meant for running in the city. And then, pop. My hamstring went. We had to stop and get me checked out medically, and I was very slowly recuperating, getting myself back to fighting shape. Maybe three weeks later, I’d built my body back up to be able to run again, and we started shooting the same scene, just a few shots later. I’m running and then the other one, pop.
The doctors who work with WWE are greatly experienced in helping the company’s performers recover from debilitating injuries that would otherwise prevent them from wrestling again, so it makes sense that the studio executives would reach out to one of them to help Richardson recover. The injuries don’t seem to have held the actor back either as he was determined to finish work on The Tomorrow War and ensure he was in shape for it. They don’t seem to have stopped Richardson from enjoying his life outside of filming either; being a huge Marvel fan, he attended the premiere of Avengers: Endgame in 2019 around the time of his knee surgery, albeit with the aid of crutches and Vicodin. Audiences can catch Richardson in The Tomorrow War now Amazon Prime.
Source: The New York Times
