Forget the stabbings and wildfires — the real danger on Virgin River might be the sex scenes. Actor Ben Hollingsworth just revealed that filming a motorcycle passion scene with co-star Zibby Allen left him with debilitating back pain that lasted for weeks, calling it the most physically brutal moment of his seven-season run.
In the show's latest season, Hollingsworth's character Brady finally gets intimate with Brie (Allen) in a steamy encounter atop his motorcycle — a scene producers promised would make their previous pool table hookup look tame. But what viewers saw as lustful abandon was actually Hollingsworth enduring what he describes as "torture."
Zibby Allen and Ben Hollingsworth in the painful motorcycle scene that left him injured. Netflix
"My back was screaming the entire time," Hollingsworth confessed in an exclusive interview. "I was arching over that motorcycle in positions no human should attempt. The crew kept saying it looked amazing on camera, but I could barely walk afterward. For weeks, every movement felt like a reminder of that scene."
The actor joked that he should have requested hazard pay, noting that while the scene was emotionally important for the characters' long-building romance, the physical execution felt more like an extreme sport than acting. "They don't teach you this in drama school — how to look passionate while your spine is protesting violently," he quipped.
Ben Hollingsworth recovering from the physically demanding scene. Netflix
Ironically, the same motorcycle that caused his pain becomes crucial to the season's dramatic cliffhanger, with Brady crashing it in the finale. When pressed about whether his character survives, Hollingsworth teased, "Let's just say I'm glad I don't have to film any more scenes on that particular bike."
Despite the agony, Hollingsworth believes the scene's emotional payoff was worth the temporary suffering. "When the audience has waited seasons for a moment, you want to deliver something memorable," he said. "I just didn't realize it would be memorable for my chiropractor too."
Virgin River season 7, featuring the infamous motorcycle scene, is streaming now on Netflix.
