Actress Tatiana Maslany has played some pretty tough characters on hit shows like orphan black And She-Hulk: AttorneyHowever, it turns out that she has some major fears in real life which she manages to come face to face with on Sunday Wild Run with Bear Grylls: Challenge.
Host Grylls invites Maslany to the Laramie Mountains in Wyoming over the winter for an up-and-down adventure—literally. And it began to go downhill, as when the two descended from a 150-foot cliff. Right away, Maslany had her reservations.
“It’s so steep, I can’t even see the bottom. And I’m mild to moderately afraid of heights. So this will be a lot of fun,” she said with a nervous laugh.
The actress reiterated her fear of heights and admitted to having jelly legs before finally forcing herself over the edge. She made her way slowly and steadily, with comments from Grillz along the way like, “Take a look down” and “You look like a pro”.
Maslany was speechless for a moment after hitting the bottom, then Grylls asked about her legs.
“It’s like a gelatinous spine at this point. It was crazy,” Maslany said, adding later: “I feel so elated, I could cry in two seconds because this… I’m riding those feelings. I feel very proud. That was so much fun.
While Maslany was complacent, Grylls was also impressed by his point of view.
“For Tatiana to do this as her first descent, a person with a fear of heights must be respected,” he said. “It’s not surprising that there’s a little emotion underneath, which is why the wilderness is so beautiful. It shakes us like rag dolls but leaves us smiling at the end. It’s magical.”
Later, after pulling bone marrow from rotting elk limbs for dinner that night, Grylls breaks the news to Maslany that she will be doused in freezing cold water the next day before being removed from the site. And after practicing with just her hand in the icy cold water, Maslany was somewhat hesitant.
“There was definitely a point where I was like, ‘I’m just going to click here.’ So I’m worried about tomorrow, I have to be honest. ‘Uh, a whole different level of fear,'” she said.
Maslany later admitted – as the bone marrow was nearing a boil – that, besides heights, she also dreaded cold and sickness and vomiting, which is why she wasn’t too fussy about the bone marrow either.
But Maslany had had her supper, and when it was time to wash in cold water the next day, she was ready. After entering, her panting reflex quickly took over, and Grylls was there to help her keep it under control. After a few moments, it was time to go back and dry off – I did.
“I’m totally hyped,” Maslany said afterwards. “I was in a different state in my body than I had been in before. And to have that orgasm afterwards is amazing.
Grylls said her ability to survive the mission was “amazing” and she was happy to see that she had learned some lessons to take with her return to the real world.
“I learned this vital thing, that the only way to overcome the things we fear in life is to do them,” Grylls said. “This is her true superpower.”
Run wild with Bear Grylls It airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on the National Geographic Channel.