Punisher star Jon Bernthal quit major film over daughter's coma ordeal

Photo credit: Getty Images
Photo credit: Getty Images

From Digital Spy

The Punisher star Jon Bernthal was lined up for a role in a major movie when a serious health scare for his daughter turned his world upside down.

After the first season of The Punisher had debuted on Netflix, Bernthal was supposed to start shooting on First Man, the Ryan Gosling-led biographical drama about Neil Armstrong's journey to the moon.

Bernthal told Men's Health he was set to play Dave Scott (a part that ultimately went to Christopher Abbott), but he dropped out of the film when his then-2-year-old daughter Adeline unexpectedly suffered a seizure and went into a coma.

Photo credit: Getty Images
Photo credit: Getty Images

Related: The Punisher season 2 set to drop straight after Christmas

She was diagnosed with encephalitis – a potentially fatal viral infection that causes inflammation of the brain. Adeline was in a coma for three days, and when she awoke she didn't recognise her family.

Bernthal added that it was his trauma-nurse wife Erin who got him and the rest of the family through the ordeal, saying: "People talk about bravery like fake macho bravery, but my wife didn’t flinch. What I saw in my wife was courage and beauty unlike I’d ever seen."

Thankfully, Adeline has since made a full recovery.

Bernthal will be returning for a second season of Netflix's The Punisher in January 2019. Here's everything you need to know about the new episodes.


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