Movies

Paul Scheer says 'Ving Rhames literally saved my life' on the set of Piranha 3DD

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Published on April 11, 2020 11:00AM EDT

Watch the full episode of Couch Surfing streaming now on PeopleTV.com, or download the PeopleTV app on your favorite device.

Comedian Paul Scheer wasn't even initially supposed to be in the 2012 film Piranha 3DD, but in doing so, he was able to get some great advice from costar Ving Rhames.

Appearing on the latest episode of PeopleTV's Couch Surfing with host Lola Ogunnaike, the Black Monday star explained that both he and Rhames had actually died in the preceding film Piranha 3D, that had come out two years before, but his death scene was cut due to budget concerns.

As the only two leads to randomly return for the horror sequel, Scheer describes the sudden friendship between his and Rhames's characters as odd, but he was thankful in hindsight to have the Mission Impossible actor on set with him.

"We shot this for one day in a theme park in North Carolina and I just remember Ving Rhames grabbing me by the chest and telling me... because they asked me to do my own stunt, he just looked me in the eyes and went 'Never do your own stunts,'" Scheer recalled.

At one point Scheer was asked to do a flip over a metal bar, and at another point he and Rhames had to act opposite fake piranhas launching toward them, two stunts he successfully avoided.

"They were firing cannons of fish at us, and [Rhames] said 'Run! Hide! Don't get anywhere near these fish.'" Following his costar's advice, Scheer then adds that the cannon were so powerful, they launched a fish past the park, into a parking lot, "and they wanted us to stand in front of those cannons."

At the end of the day, Scheer notes "Ving Rhames literally saved my life."

To see Scheer talk about some of his other memorable roles, watch his full episode of Couch Surfing here.

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