Elizabeth Banks revealed that she had a “scary,” near-fatal experience while choking on the set of her new movie “Skincare.”
The Emmy-nominated actor, who stars in the upcoming thriller, told “Good Morning America” on Tuesday that she began choking on a “little green pea” that was part of her lunch while she was shooting the film.
“I was alone in my trailer, I threw the door open, couldn’t make any noise, was so afraid. It was terrifying,” Banks said.
She said she saw someone working on the film who asked if she was choking so she signaled to them that she was in danger.
“And he came over, very calmly, I backed right into him and he gave me the Heimlich maneuver,” recalled Banks, who added that the man had to do it twice before her food “came loose.”
“His name is Julius, he is my guardian angel. Julius, I love you. Saved my life, literally on the set,” said Banks, who emphasized that people should learn the Heimlich maneuver.
She continued, “A lot of people think, ‘I’m gonna crack a rib or hurt someone.’ They’re dying, so crack their rib if you have to. I would have been fine with a cracked rib. I literally couldn’t breathe and it was super scary…”
Banks’ new film “Skincare” — which also stars Lewis Pullman and Michaela Jaé Rodriguez — follows celebrity aesthetician Hope Goldman whose attempt to launch her own skincare line hits a snag when she starts to suspect someone is out to destroy her, according to IFC Films.
She told “GMA” that the Austin Peters-directed film, which hits theaters August 16, is “ripped from the headlines” and she related to the character who she described as “old school in a very new world.”
“She’s just like a little, you know, opened a shop 25 years ago and really gets taken advantage of by young people who are like, ‘You need to be on Instagram and you need to do it this way,’ and sort of dox her and mess with her and she loses her mind while she tries to stay relevant,” Banks said.