Dominic Purcell Injured On Set Of Fox’s ‘Prison Break’, Production Not Impacted

By Nellie Andreeva

Prison Break star Dominic Purcell was seriously hurt in an accident on the set of the new event-series installment of the Fox drama, which is filming in Morocco. He suffered a broken nose and head injury during shooting Monday when a set piece was dislodged and fell on his head. Purcell was airlifted from Marrakesh to Casablanca for treatment and is expected to make a full recovery.

According to Prison Break producer 20th Century Fox TV, filming of the limited series was not impacted by the accident, beyond a brief stoppage when the mishap occurred. I hear Purcell is expected to be sidelined for a couple of weeks while his wounds heal, with filming continuing around him. When he returns, the production will pick up all of his missed scenes, with no cuts to his presence on the series due to the accident.

Prison Break has been filming its new season mostly in Vancouver, with a location shoot in Morocco, which I hear doubles for civil war-torn Yemen, where a major portion of the action is set. Production will move back to Vancouver next week as scheduled, with Purcell filming any missed Morocco scenes with the help of greenscreen (and of course a ton of makeup to cover his scars).

“Our friend and colleague Dominic Purcell was injured earlier this week during the filming of our event series Prison Break, and was flown to a medical facility where he received treatment,” a 20th TV spokesman said in a statement to Deadline. “We are happy to report that he is in great spirits and is expected to make a full recovery. He wanted us to express his appreciation to the fans around the world who have expressed their concern and support, and to reassure them that he will be back at work very soon.”

Purcell wrote about his ordeal on Instagram.

“Had a little accident on set,” he said. “Pays to have a thick skull when an iron bar falls on your head!! busting it open severely, also broke my nose in two places… and a hundred stitches in my head … Stoked to be alive. All good… Doc said I have an unusually tough tissue fiber that’s what saved me apparently.”

On the bright side, “I got a free nose job out of it,” Purcell quipped, noting that he was going “back at work asap.” Here is one of Purcell’s posts with a photo of his banged-up face.

The original Prison Break, which ran for four seasons, centered on Michael (Wentworth Miller), who went to prison to try and save his convicted brother Lincoln (Purcell) by hatching an elaborate escape plan. In the drama’s new chapter, which picks up after Michael’s apparent death, Sara (Sarah Wayne Callies) has moved on with her life, raising her and Michael’s child with her new husband (Mark Feuerstein). When clues surface suggesting that Michael might be alive, Sara teams with Lincoln to engineer the series’ biggest escape ever.

The new Prison Break is slated to premiere in the spring.

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