Arrow: Stephen Amell Teases More Stunts in Final Season

Season 8 of Arrow is rapidly approaching, and the conclusion to Oliver Queen’s story is just over the horizon. Stephen Amell has been there for every Salmon Ladder climb and terrifying fall along the way. The Arrowverse‘s founding members have been in almost every situation imaginable throughout their run. In the coming season, Arrow‘s star will still be throwing himself into a good number of the dangerous stunts that help make the show so exciting.

There are limits to how much punishment one man can take, and Stephen Amell is no stranger to bumps and bruises in his line of work. He does not do all of his own stunts, but has said that he does a number of them when the time comes. The Green Arrow has a lot of daring acrobatics along with the requisite fight scenes that can take a physical toll as well. Amell recently talked about how many stunts he’d be performing during the Television Critics Association Press Tour for the show.

“I don’t do as many stunts as I did in the first season,” the actor joked to the crowd.

Amell continued, “No, I do a ton. I did a giant stunt sequence on Friday evening/Saturday morning. Concurrently we’ve got such a wonderful stunt department, and for the first four years, I had Simon as my stunt double, and now I’ve had Will since Season 5. He’s so good at what he does, and so now I know when it’s actually more appropriate and, not just that, but expedient for the show and our shooting schedule when it’s time for me to sit out. I still don’t like it, but I do it.”

Arrow is not nearly the same beast as it was in the pilot or even back in Season 2. As The CW realized the hit that it had on its hands, they likely didn’t like the idea of risking an injury to their star when it wasn’t completely necessary. The change has clearly worked as each season keeps giving fans bigger stunts and set pieces that raise the stakes for the characters over time.

Stunt-work is not the only thing that Amell has learned to accept help with. His forrays into the world of professional wrestling have also tapered themselves over time because of the risk of injury. After wrestling in AEW and WWE at different points, the Arrow star came down with an injury that he will remember forever.

Amell told the audience in the same panel when pressed about stepping back into sports entertainment, “I can’t get back in the wrestling ring. I risk divorce.” That’s a pretty good reason to keep himself out of the squared circle. The leading man has hinted befoe that his wife wasn’t exactly fond of her husband’s appearances in the WWE and other promotions. But, in the past, his full-time role on the show also proved to be a sizable barrier to entry.

“Right before Episode 7×07, I wrestled Christopher Daniels and I fractured my hip. There was nothing to be done. It couldn’t get any worse, it could just not heal as fast, and we had to do the most stunt-heavy episode of the show,” Amell told the audience at MegaCon. “I had to send a note going, ‘I know I’m an idiot, don’t treat me any differently, this is on me. Apologies.’ I don’t want to have to send that note again. So, until I’m done with the show, I’m staying out of the squared circle.”

Fans can expect an action packed new season of Arrow, but maybe not as many death-defying stunts from the series’ biggest star.

Additional reporting by Scott Huver.