Vin Diesel’s stunt double Joe Watts suffered an injury on the set of Fast & Furious 9 after a safety cable reportedly snapped and Watts ended up falling 30 feet from a balcony to the ground. Watts evidently landed on his head and was immediately airlifted to the Royal London Hospital. Since then he’s been placed in an induced coma, and his family and friends are now by his side, including his fiance Tilly Powell, who is also a stunt performer. According to reports Vin Diesel was “choking back tears” after Watts’ fall, a stunt he was performing in his place (via Daily Mail).
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Powell told friends her “heart is shattered”, but she did take to social media and let fans known that Watts was “stable and being monitored closely throughout the night”.
“I love him so much,” Powell wrote. “He has all his friends and family by his side to get him through this.” Powell was actually on the set of The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard in London when she heard the news about her fiance.
A family member told Daily Mail Online that “Tilly is absolutely devastated but she has known the risks that were always involved. She grew up with a father who was a stuntman and has followed the same career. She knew that they always faced risks on any dangerous stunt. Tilly is at the hospital with Joe and like everyone else just praying that Joe will pull through. Joe is one of the nicest men you could meet. Everyone in the family loves him and he is devoted to Tilly.”
Watts has been involved with a number of big projects, including Kingsman Golden Circle, Game of Thrones, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Mission: Impossible – Fallout, Jurassic World, and Spider-Man: Far From Home.
Our thoughts are with Watts as well as his family and friends at this difficult time, and we wish Watts a speedy recovery.
Fast & Furious 9 is in theaters on May 22nd, 2020.
