Rupert Friend missed daughter’s birth due to Jurassic World Rebirth filming
He was doing a stunt when he got a call from his wife.
Rupert Friend has revealed he accidentally missed the birth of his baby daughter while filming Jurassic World Rebirth.
During an appearance on the Today show on Monday, the English actor, 43, shared that he had recently welcomed a little girl with his wife, athlete-actress Aimee Mullins, 49.
However, Rupert confessed he didn’t actually witness the birth because he had just returned to London to film the dinosaur movie Jurassic World Rebirth after a trip to New York to see Aimee.
‘I’m hoisted up on a wire, a hundred feet in the air, doing a stunt, and the crew start saying, “Get him down, get him down,”‘ he recalled, before describing how he was handed a phone. ‘I’m like, “Honey, I’m a little busy.”‘
Rupert then revealed Aimee told him her waters had broken and she was in labour.
‘Then it was a mad dash to get on the last seat on the last plane out of England to get all the way back to the States to be there for the birth, which I very sadly missed,’ the Homeland actor continued.
Aimee Mullins gave birth to their daughter without Rupert there (Picture: Michael Buckner/WWD via Getty Images) The actor rushed to get the first plane back to the US (Picture: Neil Mockford/FilmMagic)To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
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Previous Page Next PageRupert, who plays Martin Krebs in the upcoming Jurassic Park sequel, was able to watch his daughter’s birth via video call at the airport.
‘(I) nearly missed the flight and there was that fateful thing where it was like, “Do I stay on FaceTime ’cause I need to see this? Or do I get the plane because I need to get there?”‘ Rupert recounted.
‘And then, that wonderful – I’ll never forget it – sound came through the airport and they said, “Ding-dong, your flight is delayed for 20 minutes,” and that’s when they said, “You have a baby girl.” It was amazing.’
While Rupert didn’t share his daughter’s name, he joked that she’s ‘always gonna be a dino baby’.
Jurassic World: Rebirth, also starring Scarlett Johansson and Mahershala Ali, hits theatres on 2 July.
Rupert and Aimee tied the knot in 2016 after meeting three years previously.
Aimee and Rupert eloped in 2016 having met three years previously (Picture: James Devaney/GC Images)While Aimee acts – having starred in Stranger Things as Eleven’s mother – she first garnered fame as an athlete.
She was the first female amputee ever to compete in the The National Collegiate Athletic Association, and she took part in the 1996 Paralympics as a sprinter.
Aimee was born with fibular hemimelia – missing fibula bones – and as a result, both her legs were amputated below the knee when she was one year old.
Despite being told she would never walk again, Aimee learnt to walk using prosthetic legs by the age of two, before taking up sports.
Previously reflecting on their wedding, Rupert revealed on Live With Kelly in 2017 that they eloped with just two witnesses.
‘We got married in a compost shed at a beautiful farm in the rain — it was the perfect wedding — and then we went and played pool in Manhattan,’ Friend said.
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