‘The Rookie’ Cast Does All Their Own Stunts Despite Growing List of Injuries

The cast of The Rookie goes all-in when they’re on set.

During a cast panel at Epic Con Chicago in 2024, stars Eric Winter, Melissa O’Neil, Shawn Ashmore, Alyssa Diaz, Titus Makin Jr. and Mekia Cox spoke to fans about their experiences making the ABC police drama, as they revealed that they all do their own stunts for the show.

O’Neil, who plays Sgt. Lucy Chen, said during the panel that she once cracked her head open on concrete while filming a scene — two times in a row. “That was crazy,” she said. The injury was “a full-on concussion,” O’Neil, 37, explained. “Nauseous, personality change — the whole thing.”

Ashmore, who plays lawyer Wesley Evers, had a similarly scary story. While filming season 4 of the show, the actor broke a rib. “All I had to do was tackle a guy,” he said of the scene. “First take, adrenaline is going, ‘Action!’ And I hit him. I ran into him, and I felt a lightning bolt go through my body.”

“Cut to 12 hours later, we’re done with the day of shooting, and I go home, and I’m like ‘I’m in pain,'” Ashmore, 46, recalled.

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It wasn’t until five days later when his wife, Dana Wasdin, encouraged him to go to the hospital because he was still in pain, and he learned he’d had a broken rib all the while.

Winter, who plays Sgt. Tim Bradford, also had a story to tell. During the panel, he revealed that he’d once injured Diaz (Det. Angela Lopez) while filming a fight scene. The actor, 49, said that he’d warned his costar, 40, before they filmed that he “was really into Cobra Kai” at the time.

Since the show’s premiere in 2018, its viewership has skyrocketed, and with more eyes on the screen, star Nathan Fillion has felt added pressure. “Our show is becoming very popular in Los Angeles,” the actor, 54, said at San Diego Comic-Con in July, explaining that was “a double-edged sword.”

“It is an added extra challenge that people driving by in a car will scream, ‘We love The Rookie.’ And [then we have] cut, go back to the beginning,” he said. “I’ll take it, though.”

The Rookie returns for season 8 on January 6 on ABC.