It was such a shock, like being slapped hard in the face with something big, warm, and heavy. I did not register that something significant had happened until I saw the look on Keri’s face. Touching my face, I realized how heavily I was bleeding. My upper lip was completely split in two.
In the ambulance, the EMT guy said, “Well, you know, scars give you character.” My head and heart were reeling. I was twenty-eight years old and at that point, I very much bought into the idea that as a female actor, your looks were synonymous with your career… I was terrified not only that I would need to be replaced in this film, but that my livelihood as I knew it would be over.
But when our director, Mike Binder, joined us in the ER waiting room, he assured me, “I want you to know that no matter what, we’re going to shoot around this. You’re not going to lose the part.” … After I’d thanked him through my tears, Mike thought about it for a little while and then said one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard: “Hey, at least you don’t have to worry about that happening ever again.” Cat falling from sky onto face: check!
