Sean Faris, who’s been called a “young Tom Cruise” by everyone from People magazine editors to Craig Baumgarten, a producer on the film “Never Back Down,” opening Friday, knew that the movie could be his big break.
He just didn’t mean “break” in a literal way.
Faris, best known to this point for the short-lived TV series “Reunion,” told reporters during an interview in Beverly Hills that he broke his back while shooting a mixed martial arts fight scene with co-star Djimon Hounsou.
“Did [Hounsou] tell you he broke my back? I’m telling everybody! He’s like, ‘Stop telling people’ — but I’m telling everybody,” Faris said. “It wasn’t his fault, it was accidental.”
The injury occurred during a scene in which Hounsou slammed Faris to the ground. Faris didn’t know Hounsou had broken a small bone in his back that is connected to the spine until two weeks later.
“I was, like, on my stomach for six hours with ice on my back,” he said. “They gave me a bucket-load of pain killers and muscle relaxers, and it was all good.”
In “Never Back Down,” Faris plays hotheaded teen Jake Tyler, who moves to a new town and school where he has to learn how to defend himself when a rich kid’s girlfriend takes a liking to him. The kid, played by Cam Gigandet, is an ace mixed martial arts fighter.
Jake enlists the help of a martial arts teacher and life guru, played by Hounsou, to teach him how to fight. Faris saw the two-time Oscar nominee as a role model by the time filming was over.
“The most honorable, down-to-earth person I’ve ever met in this business,” Faris said. “Classy guy, professional, you can learn a lot from someone like him, and I did. Shows up ready to work, and that’s what you want in a colleague.”
Faris is quick to admit that he wouldn’t have a chance against Hounsou in a fight. When asked who would win in a fight between Hounsou, Gigandet and himself, Faris said: “Djimon, easily.”
Despite all the fighting he did in “Never Back Down,” in real life Faris tries to avoid drama.
“I’m a lover, but I have no problem defending myself,” said Faris, who turns 26 on March 25.
The Houston-born actor recently was in a situation where a guy rolled up on him because he thought Faris was eyeing his girlfriend.
“I was like, ‘Look, if you’re not going to let me walk away from this, we can just step outside and take care of it,’ ” Faris said. “And then the story changed. It was like, ‘Oh, I just meant that …’ Yeah, OK, that’s what I thought. It’s stupid to fight over something so ridiculous. Besides, his girl started looking at me!”
Faris credits the movie’s trainers not only for teaching him to defend himself, but also for giving him the extra confidence he needed in the aforementioned situation with the jealous boyfriend. If he has to bring it, he can and will.
And what about the break that he hoped for? Will “Never Back Down” launch Faris into stardom?
“I’ve been acting for eight years and this role … it’s the ‘I’m-kicking-the-door-down-and-letting-you-know-I’m-here point in my career,’ ” Faris said. “I need to follow this movie with a really good one. … On the next one, I’m going to get the film festivals and the love and the respect. And then after that, I’m going to come out with a big-budget boy. …
“I’m producing a film now with my manager called ‘The Glass Eye,’ it’s a suspense thriller. It’s going to be real cool.”
