'Arrow' star Stephen Amell on his 'Crisis on Infinite Earths' death scene and dealing with a panic attack
The CW's Arrowverse crossovers are some of the most awaited events of the year.
The latest Arrowverse crossover 'Crisis on Infinite Earths' was the most successful one yet but 'Arrow' star Stephen Amell, who plays the Arrowverse's biggest star Oliver Queen / Green Arrow, revealed in an interview w that the crossovers aren't always as fun as they seem.
In an interview with 'Smallville' alum Michael Rosenbaum on Rosenbaum's 'Inside of You' podcast, he said, "They come out great, the fans love them…"
"[but] I always think of what we leave on the table because we try and do something really extraordinary and with this amazing scope within the confines of our typical schedule," Amell explained. "It's never made any sense to me.”
"They were trying to wrap [scene partners] Caity [Lotz] and Grant [Gustin]… before I shot the coverage of the scene where I died," he elaborated. "I blame no one for this, but this is a scene with me from Arrow that's taking place on Supergirl, with a Supergirl crew, with demands on both Grant and Caity…"
"and they're trying to pull them so that Flash and Legends don't mess up their day the next day. Meanwhile, the f**king Green Arrow was laying on a gurney trying to deliver his lines to something other than a f**king tennis ball."
"So, there are lots of scenes where I’m acting and there just aren't other actors there, and that is just not an acceptable way of creating the best product, from my perspective," he shared.
The 38-year-old also spoke about how he had a panic attack when he first tried to do the 'Inside of You' interview in December 2019.
"I had gotten into such a rut with physical fitness or lack thereof, that there was no release of endorphins," Amell explained. "I even found myself, not to get too personal, with very little sexual appetite, just because I was doing nothing but digging myself into a rut with my body."
After the incident, Amell saw a doctor only to be told there was nothing wrong with him physically. "That's when you have that moment of realization where you go, 'Oh my God, this is in my head'. Which is scarier."
TVLine reported that Amell also confirmed during the interview that he was "ready to move on" ahead of Arrow Season 7 "and then I got the proverbial 'offer that I couldn't refuse'."
"They say, 'Well, you’ll have to shoot 22 episodes with us [for Season 7]… which is July through April. Are you really telling us you want to do 22 at Price X and finish in April, and not do 32 at this price, and be done in October?'," he continued.
"Because if you're renegotiating, they change your episodic fee. I looked at it, and it would have been fiscally irresponsible for me to say no. Just fiscally irresponsible. I loved the sh*t out of Season 8, I had a blast, but I was there for the money. More so than I had ever been."
'Arrow' Season 8's final episode will air exclusively on The CW on January 28.
