Uncut Gems: Adam Sandler ‘couldn’t breathe’ during ‘scary’ scene, says Josh Safdie

‘Uncut Gems’ is now on Netflix

Adam Sandler lost the ability to breathe during a “scary” moment on the Uncut Gems set, according to one of the film’s directors.

Brothers Josh and Benjamin Safdie, who co-directed the movie, as well as Sandler, shared some behind-the-scenes anecdotes with Entertainment Weekly, which published them to mark Uncut Gems‘ Netflix release on 25 May.

Josh Safdie recounted Sandler being “so into the character” of Howard Ratner that his safety seemed jeopardised during a kidnapping scene.

“All three of those guys who are manhandling Sandler, it was the first movie they’ve done. So they were very professional, but when it’s your first time — Sandler’s so in it, he’s so into the character that it started to actually get a little scary one or two times, because he’s getting choked at one point in the scene and there were all these cues,” Safdie said.

“Our stunt driver was actually also the stunt coordinator, so he had eyes on him the whole time, and kudos to him that he was really hawk-eyed about it — because there was one take when Sandler was getting choked and he was trying to tap out, but the actor thought that he was just being Howard so he choked harder, and Adam couldn’t breathe.”

Asked whether the team had a “safe word” that Sandler could have used to put an end to the scene, Safdie said the actor “couldn’t speak” and remained silent until filming was cut.

Uncut Gems was the most popular movie on Netflix by Tuesday morning.

The Lovebirds, a new romantic comedy starring Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani, came second, followed by Just Go With It, a 2011 rom-com featuring Sandler and Jennifer Aniston.