The Rookie is gearing up for its long-awaited eighth season hitting the 2026 TV schedule, and there will be much to look forward to, even with some of the characters going international. Lots of intense action and fight scenes are on the way, some from characters you probably wouldn’t think of, including Shawn Ashmore’s Wesley Evers. The actor even recalled a painful injury that he suffered on set.
Those who have watched The Rookie know that, despite being a lawyer, Wes has gotten into some pretty high-stakes situations, and one of those situations was apparently so intense that Ashmore got hurt pretty badly. While attending Epic Cons Chicago 2 in 2024, Ashmore shared during a The Rookie cast panel (of which CinemaBlend was in attendance) that he broke his rib during a fight scene a couple of seasons ago. Ouch!
What’s more, the break happened during the first take, which doesn’t bode well for repeat attempts. The moves were choreographed, and the actors came in the day before to rehearse it, and it also wasn’t something he was a stranger to, as he’s been a part of action sequences in plenty of projects. But when the cameras actually started rolling, things went downhill. In his words:
All I had to do was tackle the guy. Not even tackle, push him over a couch, like a henchman that comes in, shooting up our house. First take, adrenaline’s going, ‘Action.’ I run up to him, and I hit him. And I just ran into him, and I felt a lightning bolt go through my whole body, and I was in pain, and I had to run out of the scene. Cut to 12 hours later, we’re done with the day of shooting, and I go home, and I’m like, ‘I’m in pain.’
He also admitted that when he ran into the guy, who was about 5’6 and “250 pounds of muscle,” he felt immediate pain and the stunt coordinator he might have bruised his ribs. So optimistic. The stunt coordinator agreed with that self-diagnosis, and nothing was done about it.
Unfortunately, all involved then had to continue shooting that fight scene for the rest of the day, and by lunch time, he was certainly feeling it, while still refusing to go to any doctors. Ultimately, it wasn’t until five days later when Ashmore’s complaining reached the point where his wife suggested he go to the hospital, where an X-ray proved that his ribs have been broken for that entire span.
It’s unknown exactly what fight scene Ashmore was filming, but he believed it took place during Season 4 or 5, though his on-screen wife, Alyssa Diaz, very pointedly said it was “Season 4.” So fans can always go back and watch with a Hulu subscription to see if they can pinpoint the exact moment Ashmore broke his ribs, but it definitely sounds very painful.
Kudos to Ashmore for being able to handle the pain for five days, and it’s hard to tell if not for his wife, how much longer he would have gone without going to the hospital. So it’s a good thing she was around.
There’s no telling what will be in store for Season 8, and what kind of trouble Wesley will get into, but hopefully, if Ashmore does another big fight scene and he gets hurt, he takes it seriously. That’s always the risk of working on a show like The Rookie, which Nathan Fillion says is the best job he’s ever had, where there are constantly intense action and fight scenes, no matter the character, but at least Ashmore now has an interesting fight sequence story.