Kristen Bell revealed she faced a “near-death experience” while filming an ocean scene for the new season of “Nobody Wants This.”
The actress, 44, recounted the harrowing moment during an appearance on husband Dax Shepard’s “Armchair Expert” podcast. The third season of the Netflix romantic comedy debuted last week and drew more than six million viewers in its first four days. Bell stars as Joanne Williams opposite Adam Brody’s Noah Roklov, the “hot rabbi” who became a breakout heartthrob when the series launched.
The dangerous sequence required Bell’s character to enter the ocean amid towering waves. She explained the setup to Shepard, noting the unusual wardrobe constraints that complicated the physical challenge.
“I had to pretend to be nude, so I’m wearing a scuba suit from here down,” Bell said on the podcast. “So I had to go out to at least where my sternum was, and I went out with, I think, nine or 10 crew members, and we had one-for-one stunts with us, which means every person has a stunt person bracing them.”
The “Frozen” voice actor detailed how the production attempted to capture the shot, with her repeatedly submerging herself as waves approached. The situation escalated dramatically when the stunt team recognized imminent danger.
“Just before it’s about to crash, all the stunt people start screaming,” Bell continued.
The emergency response was immediate. “I get hoisted out of the air by two stunt women who are helping me,” she recounted. The protective system deployed across the entire crew: “Every crew member has a stunt person, like, pushing them into the sand.” The chaos engulfed equipment as well as personnel. “Poor Aaron, our A camera operator, was getting pummeled by the waves,” Bell added. “Both cameras were underwater.”
The ordeal did not end with the first attempt. Despite what Bell described as “mayhem,” the director determined the footage was insufficient and requested another take. The actress pushed back, warning that “somebody’s going to be washed away.” Production proceeded regardless, and Bell ultimately performed the sequence again.
The completed scene appears in the newly released season, though Bell pointed out a telling editorial choice that reveals the shoot’s difficulty. “When you watch the show, you’ll notice the only angle they use is the side angle because the front-on angle, it was horrific to watch,” she explained. She acknowledged the final result looked “amazing” despite the traumatic filming process.
The podcast conversation shifted to lighter territory elsewhere in the episode, with Bell and Shepard, who married in 2013, discussing their unconventional flirtation habits. Shepard compliments strangers’ features in social settings as a coded form of affection toward his wife. “We’ll be at dinner and he’ll say to the waiter or waitress, ‘Wow, you have incredible eyelashes, gorgeous eyes. Great, great job,'” Bell shared. “But that’s flirting with me because he just made someone else feel good.”
Bell has starred in “Nobody Wants This” since its 2024 premiere, with the series quickly becoming one of Netflix’s most-watched romantic comedies. The show follows an agnostic podcast host and an unconventional rabbi navigating an unlikely relationship. The third season arrived on the streaming platform last week.