Actress Melora Hardin, best known for her role on The Office, has shared a startling behind-the-scenes story from her early career, revealing she was bitten by a monkey co-star not once, but twice.
A Pesky Primate on 'Equal Justice'
The 58-year-old star recounted the incident, which took place during a guest appearance on the ABC drama Equal Justice in the early 1990s. Hardin appeared alongside Sarah Jessica Parker, who was then playing law graduate Jo Ann Harris. During an episode, a scene involving a monkey took a painful turn.
'I had actually done something with Sarah Jessica Parker, where I also had to deal with a monkey, and the monkey bit me on that one,' Hardin told Entertainment Weekly. She clarified that while the bite did not draw blood, it did break the skin.
History Repeats with Marcel on 'Friends'
This was not an isolated event for the actress. She suffered a similar fate while working with the famous capuchin monkey Marcel on an episode of the hit sitcom Friends. Hardin described the animals as 'high-strung' and 'highly anxious'.
'It was a similar thing. He just was jumping around in the scene and he just decided to bite me,' she detailed, noting it was the same species of monkey. Reflecting on the lack of major fuss at the time, she mused, 'if today that happened to an actress, I don't know, would they sue?'
Moving On From the Bites
The Hollywood veteran took the incidents in her stride. Her pragmatic solution at the time was simple: 'We put a Band-Aid on it, and then we did it again.' Hardin, a self-professed animal lover, emphasised she holds no grudge.
Her career, which began with roles in series like Dirty Dancing and films such as Clint Eastwood's Absolute Power, flourished despite the furry interruptions. She remains active, with recent roles in Netflix's The Bold Type and Mr. Monk's Last Case: A Monk Movie.
Off-screen, Hardin celebrated the New Year with her husband of over 25 years, Gildart Jackson, sharing joyful moments on Instagram with their followers. The couple are parents to two daughters, Rory, 24, and Piper, 21.
