I love ABC’s series Will Trent. It had been on my radar for a while, but I found myself home alone for several hours on a Saturday morning back in February and decided to finally give it a shot. I ended up watching the entire two-and-half seasons in just over a week and putting the first few books in the series that it’s based on in my Libby queue. Now, I’m sadly at that point where I have to wait sob weekly for new episodes. I know I’ve said it before, but I really am a binge-watcher through-and-through.
Will Trent star Ramón Rodriguez is co-starring in an upcoming Amazon Prime movie called G20. It stars Viola Davis as the badass President who has to save the world. It sounds like someone said, “Air Force One, but mix it with White House Down and make it global.” Ramón popped up on Good Morning America this week and he had a crazy story to tell. Apparently, his nickname on the G20 set was “scorpion king,” thanks to being stung three times by a scorpion while sleeping in his room on his first night on set.
Viola Davis puts up quite a fight in her new action movie G20 — but her costar in the upcoming film, Ramon Rodriguez, could’ve used her might off-camera during a harrowing encounter with a scorpion during production of the film in South Africa.
“We were in Cape Town, we’d just arrived there, the time difference is like nine hours,” the Will Trent series actor said Wednesday morning on Good Morning America, after cohost Lara Spencer asked him about his on-set nickname, “Scorpion King,” during the interview.
“I’m finally falling asleep, and I feel something on my back, a little tingling. I swipe at it, and I feel like a hot needle to the back of my shoulder,” Rodriguez remembered. “I jump out of bed, I put my phone light on, and it’s a scorpion staring at me in bed that stung me in my sleep. I swiped it, I killed it.”
Rodriguez said that his “New Yorker” instincts then kicked in. “If there’s one, there’s more, like, where’s the rest of the scorpions? I didn’t find them. I’m so tired, I go back to bed,” he said.
He confirmed that he “didn’t get it treated” immediately after it happened, but when he called a friend back home, she quickly advised him to get help from a local doctor.
“They sent a doctor and [he looked at the] scorpion,” Rodriguez continued. “First of all, it stung me three times. I saw three welts on my back. He said, ‘You’re lucky. If a scorpion has big pincers, that means the venom is low. If it had small pincers, high venom.’ Luckily, mine had low venom. So, when I went back to set, from that moment, they called me the Scorpion King.”
Rodriguez said that his “New Yorker” instincts then kicked in. “If there’s one, there’s more, like, where’s the rest of the scorpions? I didn’t find them. I’m so tired, I go back to bed,” he said.
He confirmed that he “didn’t get it treated” immediately after it happened, but when he called a friend back home, she quickly advised him to get help from a local doctor.
“They sent a doctor and [he looked at the] scorpion,” Rodriguez continued. “First of all, it stung me three times. I saw three welts on my back. He said, ‘You’re lucky. If a scorpion has big pincers, that means the venom is low. If it had small pincers, high venom.’ Luckily, mine had low venom. So, when I went back to set, from that moment, they called me the Scorpion King.”
Holy sh-t! That is truly scary. Like, having a scorpion sting you in your sleep is absolutely nightmare fuel. I cannot believe that he just went back to sleep! I live in a wooded neighborhood in North Carolina and my most irrational fear is having a snake get into the toilet when I get up to pee in the middle of the night. I cannot add scorpions into the irrational mix here. I am so glad that Ramón’s friend convinced him to go to the doctor. That could have been so bad. Eeek, I’m getting chills just thinking about it.
You can watch Ramón’s full interview below. There are spoilers for this season of Will Trent, so I won’t talk about it too much because IYKYK. But, he says that the events of a few weeks ago are a central theme for the rest of the season. Is this current storyline in the books? He also confirms that they’ve been picked up for a fourth one. Yay! I can’t wait to start reading the books. I hope it’s as good as the show.
Photos credit: Dave Allocca/Starpix/INSTARimages, Faye’s Vision/Cover Images, Getty
I live in NC too and I too check in the night if I have to use the bathroom if there is a snake in the toilet!!!!! My husband thinks I’m nuts but I saw a video of a water snake removed from a toilet in NC it had come up through the plumbing.
I lived in a scorpion-y climate for a while and was getting dressed for work in a sleeveless top when a scorpion stung my armpit! Yes, they live in clothes. We knew to check our shoes before wearing, but on a hangar, ick. It was exactly as described in the article — a hot needle. Didn’t see a doc and the pain subsided during the day. The worst part is that they are nasty looking critters.
Nightmare fuel, for sure! I’m glad he’s okay. My irrational fear is the same, with the toilet, only it’s cockroaches coming up — really don’t need to add snakes OR scorpions to that! 😬
Re: the books. They’re REALLY good, but very different. For the first two seasons the show seemed to keep more to the books, if not in the things that happened, then in spirit. (Plus some great upgrades, like the casting of Amanda and Faith.) Season three has taken a big departure from the books. Like Rosie, I watched the show first, loved it, then read the books, loved them, and then had to readjust to the show. Works best if you see them as two different things. Especially with this third season.
One night, when I was about twelve, a scorpion crawled through an open window and fell on me while I was sleeping. Temporary pain, massive fright. It also stung me three times. I guess that’s their thing? I’m also a Scorpio.
I’m in Vegas and rented a house that had a scorpion problem. It was scary & I feared for my cat more than myself! After putting diatomaceous earth down where I knew they were coming in, it solved the issue in a few days thankfully.
Love the show.
That’s scary about the scorpion bite. Glad it wasn’t too serious.
I love the series so much! So I wanted to read the books too.
But I will warn you that the books are very dark and almost every character has a different look which made me a little crazy, because Ramon is so perfect in that role.
I stopped reading them which makes me feel weird inside but I felt I was doing my psyche damage.
Kind of like the Patricia Cornwall books- so well written but I had to stop.
I love Will Trent and I even watch it week to week. 😂. New binge rec: North of North on Netflix. It’s a bit Schitts Creek and Ted Lasso among the indigenous. Very real, funny, and sweet.
I love the show. He’s amazing in the movie. I’m sure the supporters of the crazy orange man in office will hate the movie because of it’s diversity and the brown and black people are major characters.