Aimee Lou Wood has revealed she fell and cut one side of her body open while filming a scene with a snake for The White Lotus.
The Sex Education star, 31, plays Chelsea in the third series of Mike White’s black comedy, and had a ‘fake leg’ made for a scene where her character is bitten by a snake.
The actress said her co-star, US actor Walton Goggins, who has a fear of snakes, had ‘panic attacks in between takes’ and was even bitten by the reptile.
‘This amazing thing happened, a man came over to my house before I went to Thailand, he had this laser, he scanned my leg, then he created my leg,’ Aimee said.
‘He matched my skin and everything… the snake actually bit the fake leg. I have no idea what it was made out of.’
She added while speaking on The Jonathan Ross Show: ‘The snake bites my character, it’s all very symbolic… there’s a lot of snake symbolism and it’s the Year of the Snake now.
‘She gets bitten and it’s not great but she’s alright because she’s weirdly robust in that way. But yes, the snake bit the fake leg.’
Asked if she got to keep the fake leg, Aimee explained: ‘I think they had to throw it away because it had venom in it.
‘The snake properly went for the leg. I was not near the fake leg. I pretended to see the snake and screamed which I found weirdly embarrassing.
‘I’m not (scared of snakes). Walton – it’s his worst fear. It’s not the first time he’s had to interact with them (in a scene)… it’s his biggest phobia.’
Speaking more about her co-star, she said: ‘He was honestly having panic attacks in between takes, he was having to really gear himself up.
‘One nipped him and he had to go to the hospital. I’m putting my full oomph into running away, I fell, cut all of this side of my body open… I had this mark on my shoulder. Snake day was quite chaotic!’
Asked if The White Lotus has led to her being recognised more, Aimee said: ‘It was worse after Sex Education with the recognising.
‘It had a cult following in America but didn’t quite take America. White Lotus feels very American. I’m being noticed there where I wasn’t before. Feels more intense.
‘When I was out there filming, Jason (Isaacs) and I were the only non-Americans pretty much. You really have to match them. You have to really get in there with like, “Yeah, come on!” You can’t be blasé.’
Her comments come after her co-star Walton opened up about his fears during that scene, which led to him being rushed to hospital.
The 53-year-old actor, who plays Aimee’s grumpy onscreen husband in the series, Rick Hatchett, revealed the incident occurred on set in Thailand.
In one scene, his character Rick, under the influence of cannabis, ends up releasing venomous snakes from their cages, with his wife Chelsea getting bitten.
But Walton later revealed he was the one to actually get bitten, admitting: ‘I don’t just have a phobia, it is like a missing link when it comes to snakes.
‘I am terrified of snakes, really, really terrified, and there’s something genetically wrong with me when it comes to snakes.’
Speaking on Jimmy Kimmel Live, the Fallout star went on to explain he was given safety instructions before shooting the scene, but his panic from his fear of snakes led to him forgetting everything.
‘I had the snake handler right off camera because when I picked up the snake for the very first time, I started crying like uncontrollably,’ he said.
‘When we were getting ready to do that very first scene… they walked you through the entire experience, they’re walking around the cages, and they’re like, “Don’t touch this cage because this snake will kill you. This cage here, there’s some snakes in here, but just don’t touch the brown ones, and there’s green ones here and this cage, don’t open that one.”
‘All I’m thinking about is the very first cage where the snake will kill you, don’t open that, and the rest of it just goes out of my mind.
‘Then they yell “Action”. And it’s like, “Don’t open the first one because they’ll kill you”. The next one, was it green or was it brown? Which one has a big, big bite?’
He revealed: ‘I started to pull the green one and as I was pulling the snake out he didn’t want to come. So the snake turns around and he bit me.
‘I haven’t told that story to anyone!’
Recalling his reaction, he added: ‘I swear to God, it was like, “Oh my God, I’ve been bit by a snake! Oh my God!”‘
Filming continued after Walton was treated with antibiotic ointment Neosporin, but he was still urged to go to hospital by producers.
He said: ‘I finally got it out of my system, like, “You’re okay.” The next day, I get a phone call from the producer saying, “Hey, you know what? We’ve been thinking about it and we’re thinking maybe you should go to the hospital.”
‘I said, “For what? You said the snake was nonvenomous, right? Am I dying a slow death? Is there something you know I don’t know?”‘
‘So, I did go to the hospital, and I got a [tetanus] shot,’ he added, with host Jimmy replying: ‘So, in other words, they got a call from the lawyers at HBO.’
Walton quipped that’s ‘exactly what happened’ and that he had to sign a release, saying: ‘And they made me sign that day! Somebody just came up and said, “I’m sorry you’re not feeling too good. Listen, can you just sign this little bitty piece of paper?” I thought, “You want my autograph, or I’ve just lost all of my rights?”‘
The Jonathan Ross Show airs on Saturday at 9.20pm on ITV, ITVX, STV and STV Player.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
