Aaron Eckhart almost broke his neck while shooting ‘I, Frankenstein’

NEW YORK – Aaron Eckhart knows the show must go on.

The “The Dark Knight Rises'” actor is no stranger to anti-heroes, most recently taking up the mantle of Frankenstein’s creature – Adam – in the action thriller “I, Frankenstein.” Based on the Darkstorm Studios graphic novel created by Kevin Grevioux. Two hundred years after being brought to life, Adam still walks the Earth. Unable to die yet unable to truly live, he finds himself drawn into a war over the fate of humanity when it is discovered he holds the key that could destroy humankind, forcing him to fight for his life.

Eckhart sat down with HitFix to discuss what goes into such a physically demanding role. His character Adam fights with two sticks in a form of Filipino martial arts. “I started with no knowledge of Kali sticks and I trained for six months to learn them,” he told us. All that hard work paid off as Eckhart was able to perform his own stunts.

However, even under the most careful conditions accidents do happen. “I thought I broke my neck one time,” he said, completely phased as if that sort of thing is just part of life, “I went down to the ground like a sack of potatoes.”

Check out the full interview with Eckhart above to find out what happens when the star of the film thinks he might be paralyzed and whether he retained any of his Kali stick fighting prowess.

“I, Frankenstein” opens nationwide Friday.

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