Dave Franco finally addressed the years-long rumor that Zac Efron broke his hand while grabbing his crotch filming a scene from the 2014 hit comedy “Neighbors.” Turns out it was probably a dislocated thumb, but everything else is correct.
Efron first shared the anecdote on a 2014 episode of “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.” The actor joked that he broke his hand because Franco had “balls of steel.”
While appearing on Wednesday’s episode of “Call Her Daddy” host Alex Cooper asked Franco to confirm the story and wondered how Efron could have broken his hand “filming a scene where he grabs your penis.” After the “Together” star admitted it was indeed true, she asked for more details about what could have possibly happened.
“It definitely wasn’t because my penis was hard,” Franco began with a laugh.
“Good to clarify,” Cooper added.
“Yeah. I’m trying to remember if I was wearing a cup and he came in just really strong,” he continued. “I think it was a dislocated thumb to be fair, but it, it happened. There’s a scene where I think we’re both grabbing each other’s crotches at the same time. And I just think he came in with enough force from the wrong angle.”
Cooper said it was a beautiful anecdote the two actors shared before adding she thinks most people would assume that Franco was “just randomly hard on set.”
At that, the “Now You See Me” actor regained his memory of the context of the story and the plot of the film.
“The character actually, now that I think about it, not to walk through the whole synopsis of ‘Neighbors’ in this interview, but he grabs my crotch and we’re both holding on like who’s gonna let go first and then my character actually to get him to let go, I have a trick where I go Zen and I know how to get hard on cue. So, I do get hard in this hand. That’s what makes him let go,” he said.
“And can you do that in your real life?” Cooper asked as a joke to which Franco answered “No” with a laugh.
“Neighbors” was a hit buddy comedy starring Efron and Franco as two fraternity brothers whose world is rocked when Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne move into the house next door with their small baby. All four actors reprised their roles in 2016’s “Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising.” Franco’s latest film “Together” is a body horror romance and stars his real life spouse Alison Brie.
You can watch the full “Call Her Daddy” episode in the video above.
