Actress Amy Adams has revealed that she once saved a stabbing victim using knowledge she learned from her role in a medical drama.
On the latest episode of the SmartLess podcast, Adams, 51, said her role in the 2004 medical TV series Dr. Vegas gave her basic knowledge of first aid that she was able to use to save the man’s life.
Adams had a small role in the short-lived TV series Dr. Vegas. She appeared as Alice Doherty, a supporting character in a single episode.
But the part came in handy years later when she and her family were the first on the scene of a stabbing after leaving their “favorite” Santa Monica restaurant.
“These people were screaming, and a guy was walking, and they were yelling, ‘He’s dying!’ And my husband’s like, ‘That’s blood!’” Adams recalled, adding that the man had been “stabbed in the neck.”
“He was bleeding, and his friends were freaking out,” she said.
Adams then used her first aid knowledge to help save the man, saying that she and the victim’s friends used beach towels they had with them to apply pressure and help stem the bleeding.
The Enchanted star recalled trying to calm the victim and keep him still, telling him, “The more you struggle, the faster you’re going to bleed. Just lay down,” as she helped manage the scene.
She said she remained very “focused” in the moment.
The man survived the stabbing, and coincidentally, Adams encountered the same man a year later while dining at a restaurant.
“A guy walks up to me… He’s like, ‘I heard a story that you and your dad were on the scene of a guy getting stabbed,’” she said. “And I was like, ‘Oh my God, it’s you.’ And it was him.”
Adams described the reunion as “crazy,” noting the man became “teary” during the emotional moment.
The actress has been nominated for an Oscar six times.
Her nominations span both lead and supporting categories, including roles in Junebug (2005), Doubt (2008), The Fighter (2010), The Master (2012), American Hustle (2013), and Vice (2018). The multiple nods place her among the most-nominated actors in Oscars history without a win.
