Mark Ruffalo Recalls Saving Woody Harrelson From a Bar Brawl While Filming the Original Now You See Me

The Horsemen are back this fall, but first, a quick detour: Mark Ruffalo says he once yanked Woody Harrelson out of a bar fight while they were shooting the first Now You See Me. Yes, really. And yes, it happened in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. Of course it did.

Ruffalo rescuing Harrelson, NOLA edition

The story came up on Woody Harrelson and Ted Danson’s podcast, 'Where Everybody Knows Your Name', when Ruffalo — who co-starred in the first two magician-heist movies — stopped by. They were filming the original Now You See Me in New Orleans, shooting on the street with long lenses, grabbing moments on the fly, and even getting pulled into crowded bars mid-scene. One of those bars got a little too real.

As Ruffalo tells it, a woman came up to Harrelson in the crush of the crowd to gush about him. Woody, being Woody, thanked her and put a hand on her arm. Then some guy shoved the woman aside and pushed Woody. According to Ruffalo, Harrelson’s instinctive response was not to shove back, but to go straight for the punch — which, to be fair, is a very Woody-in-a-bar-in-Mardi-Gras response. A full-on scrum started to break out, fast.

'I grabbed you and I pulled you out. Cause I was like, This could be fun, but it also just could go so disastrously wrong because you and I might be able to handle ourselves but the rest of the folks we were with… I don’t think so.'

Harrelson laughed as Ruffalo relived it. Danson, ever the honest one, admitted he’d probably be the guy who says, 'I’ll be right back, I’ll call someone.' Honestly, valid.

So what is Now You See Me: Now You Don’t?

The third film aims to bring back the original crew while passing the deck to some new blood. The setup: two generations of illusionists team up for a bigger, more global con, with the franchise’s usual sleight-of-hand, gotchas, and look-how-did-they-do-that magic gags baked in.

• Returning Horsemen: Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher
• New magicians: Justice Smith, Dominic Sessa, Ariana Greenblatt
• Main target: Veronika Vanderberg (Rosamund Pike), a diamond heiress tied to arms dealers, traffickers, and warlords
• Ally: the legendary Thaddeus (Morgan Freeman)
• Director: Ruben Fleischer (Venom, Uncharted, Zombieland)
• Screenplay: Seth Grahame-Smith, Michael Lesslie, Paul Wernick & Rhett Reese
• Story: Eric Warren Singer; based on characters created by Boaz Yakin & Edward Ricourt
• Presented by Lionsgate, in association with Media Capital Technologies; a Cohen Pictures production
• Release date: November 14

So, yes, the magic is back soon. And if the on-set war stories are any indication, the wildest action might still be just off camera — preferably not in a Bourbon Street bar this time.