"Richard, was that shoulder dislocation stunt in the trailer real?"
On the set of NBC's Saturday Night Live, host Paul Rudd asked.
"Yes, it's completely real. That dislocation stunt was extremely difficult; I spent two months learning it," Richard replied, sitting comfortably on the couch with his legs crossed.
"That stunt is pretty cool. Did you really have to dislocate your shoulder while performing it?"
Paul Rudd asked curiously.
Richard smiled slightly. "The first time I practiced, to stretch the joint properly, I did have to dislocate my shoulder once, but after that, it wasn't necessary."
"So, you're saying that to play this role, you actually dislocated both your arms?"
Paul Rudd asked in surprise.
Hahaha~
The audience erupted in laughter.
Richard also laughed. "It wasn't that serious. I've dislocated my arms before, and since I work out regularly, my joints are pretty flexible, so I could learn the stunt directly."
"Was it painful when you first started learning?"
Paul Rudd continued.
"Yes, the learning process was quite painful at first, but once I mastered it, it became easier. Would you like to see it?"
Richard asked.
"Oh, can you perform it live?"
Paul Rudd asked in surprise.
"Yes!"
"Does everyone want to see it?"
Paul Rudd asked the audience.
"Yes!"
The audience shouted.
"Alright, let me prepare for a moment."
Richard took off his jacket, revealing a T-shirt underneath, which had two cartoon characters kissing on it, drawing another round of laughter from the audience.
"That's a very unique T-shirt," Paul Rudd commented with a smile.
"Thanks!"
Richard smiled back. The T-shirt was part of a matching couple's set that Bündchen had bought. Considering that this was a comedy show, he deliberately wore it for the occasion.
After warming up his shoulders on stage, Richard performed a few high-difficulty moves, drawing gasps of amazement from the audience.
Paul Rudd tried to mimic one of the moves but ended up twisting his waist. He yelped in pain and, holding his back, sat down in the chair, seriously saying, "Dangerous stunts, do not attempt!"
Hahaha~
The audience burst out laughing again.
After warming up for about a minute, Richard was ready. The backstage crew handed over a pair of handcuffs, which Paul Rudd helped him put on.
Richard placed his hands behind his back and explained to the audience, "In the movie, my character was handcuffed to a steel pole and couldn't escape from below. But there was a crack in the pipe above, so I used the shoulder dislocation stunt to escape."
As Richard explained, he slowly raised his wrists. The audience and cameras focused on his shoulders, watching as his arms gradually twisted from behind, his shoulder muscles and bones visibly contorting. When his arms rotated to a 90-degree angle, the audience gasped in amazement.
"Wow, that's incredible! I can barely lift mine to fifty degrees!"
"Richard's arms are so muscular; how did he learn this stunt? It's amazing!"
At that moment, a crack sound came through the microphone as Richard's arms fully rotated, slowly lifting above his head.
"Wow, that's unbelievable! His arms can rotate all the way around his shoulders."
"Was that sound just now really his arms dislocating?"
The audience stared at his movements with wide eyes.
Richard brought his arms to the front, took a metal piece from his mouth, and easily unlocked the handcuffs with it. This segment wasn't in the movie, but he added it for the promotion.
Clap clap clap~
As he freed himself from the cuffs, the room erupted in applause and cheers.
Richard smiled lightly and bowed to the audience.
"Richard, that was unbelievable! I just tried, but I could only go this far."
Paul Rudd put his arms behind his back and tried to lift them, but he couldn't.
"Paul, need some help? I guarantee you can make it all the way around," Richard joked.
"Oh, no thanks! I still need my arms to eat," Paul said, startled, quickly retracting his arms.
"Richard, everyone heard that crack sound just now. Is your arm okay?"
Paul asked as he sat down.
"Yes, no problem at all!"
Richard lifted his arms, flexing his biceps.
"That's amazing. Thanks again, Richard, for the demonstration."
Under Paul's lead, another round of applause filled the room.
"Richard, I noticed you were sweating. Was that move really that hard?"
Paul asked.
"Yes, it's very difficult and dangerous. If you're not careful, you could end up breaking your arm. So, Paul, you were right—dangerous stunts should not be attempted," Richard said seriously.
"Richard, we all know that you used to only play more artistic roles. Is it because action scenes are too tough?"
Paul asked.
Hahaha
Richard laughed. "That's part of it. Action scenes are tough and prone to injuries, and since I also compete, I rarely do action movies."
"Did you get injured while filming this time?"
Paul Rudd asked.
"Not much!"
At this moment, Naomi, sitting nearby, chuckled.
"Naomi, you know something?"
Paul asked.
"Yes, Richard works really hard when shooting action scenes. He never uses a stunt double and always insists on doing it himself. So, every time he shoots an action scene, he gets injured. Sometimes it's just a scrape, but other times he gets seriously hurt. Yet Richard is incredibly tough; I've never heard him complain or say it hurt," Naomi sighed.
Richard smiled softly. "I didn't complain because it didn't hurt—it was just a minor injury."
"Richard, I remember in another interview, you were bitten by a shark, and Gwyneth Paltrow said after seeing your wound, she couldn't eat meat for six months. Yet you said it was just a minor injury. Do you have a misunderstanding of what constitutes a minor injury?"Paul Rudd teased, "No misunderstanding then! You're a boxer, so you're used to getting hit and injured. You're tougher than most people."
Richard casually replied, "Yeah, being a boxer means you get hit a lot and hurt a lot, but I can take it. Injuries like these don't bother me much."
"Alright then, boxers are definitely not ordinary people," Paul chuckled, then asked, "Richard, Naomi mentioned earlier that you did all those high-difficulty stunts yourself. We saw some of your moves in the trailer—they were really cool. Were those stunts hard to perform?"
Richard explained, "Not too hard. Before I became a boxer, I studied various martial arts, including Muay Thai, wrestling, judo, karate, taekwondo, Jeet Kune Do, and even Chinese kung fu. So those action scenes weren't too challenging for me."
"You studied martial arts before?" Paul asked in surprise.
"Yeah, I only started boxing when I was 15. In terms of skills, I'd rank my martial arts first, with boxing second."
"Oh, you're serious?" Paul looked incredulous.
"Yes," Richard replied with a smile.
"That's incredible. You started boxing at 15, and by 22, you won three championship belts, becoming a super champion. Unbelievable," Paul Rudd marveled.
"It's nothing special. I'm naturally athletic and learn quickly," Richard said with a light smile.
"Alright, I once saw a photo in a newspaper," Paul said, moving his mouse. The large screen displayed a picture of Richard at a bar, suddenly leaping up and kicking two meters high, hitting a raised arm held by a hitman, while Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, and others looked on in shock.
"Haha, we can see Shaq, Kobe, Fisher, and Johnson. Shaq is 7 feet 1 inch tall, and you jumped over his head. So, are you really Superman?" Paul Rudd asked.
Richard shook his head, "That's a high kick from Chinese kung fu. In the movie Way of the Dragon, Bruce Lee demonstrated it. He could kick ten feet high. I'm not at his level."
"Alright, Bruce Lee's signature move—how did you pull it off? Can you demonstrate it here?" Paul Rudd asked eagerly.
"Is there anyone here who's seven feet tall?" Richard looked around.
"Haha, of course! Please welcome our guest star, the Big Shaq, Shaquille O'Neal!" Paul Rudd announced loudly.
Clap clap clap~ The audience burst into applause.
A tall, massive figure stood up from the front row, towering over everyone.
"Shaq! Shaq!" "O'Neal!" the audience cheered enthusiastically.
Shaq waved and even wiggled his hips to the music, causing another round of laughter.
"Welcome, Shaq!" Richard shook his hand.
"Richard, your stunt earlier was awesome. Can you teach me?" Shaq asked.
"Why would you want to learn that?" Richard asked, amused.
"Imagine during a game, I'm holding the ball behind me, then flipping around for a slam dunk—it'd bring the house down! Isn't that cool?" Shaq winked playfully.
Richard smirked; it was a ridiculous idea.
"Hey Shaq, can you do me a favor? Could you hold up this bottle so Richard can show us his high kick?" Paul Rudd handed Shaq a sponsored drink bottle.
"Sure, I want to see how high Richard can kick too," Shaq said, raising the bottle and playfully standing on tiptoes. "Richard, can you reach it?"
"I'll give it a try!" Richard smiled.
——
(End of Chapter)