Jack Falahee’s ‘HTGAWM’ Costar Aja Naomi King Helped Him Make Acting Return After Injury: ‘Tough Time’ (Exclusive)

Jack Falahee is “eternally grateful” to his former How to Get Away With Murder costar Aja Naomi King for helping him return to acting after he was forced to hit pause due to an on-set injury.

During an exclusive interview with Us Weekly about his guest spot on Grosse Pointe Garden Society, Falahee, 36, explained why it was “a really emotional experience” to be filming again, saying, “It was really nice. To be honest, I have had some very lean years. It’s been really tough in the industry and coming out of the pandemic and into the strike. Then last year, I was on a film and I ruptured my Achilles [tendon] — and that took me out for the entire year.”

Falahee didn’t expect to have to take a step back from his career. “At the end of last year, I was recovering from surgery and really down. I was having a really tough time and I just reached out to a couple of friends that I knew were working and asked for help,” he recalled. “I asked if they would keep an eye out for anything that might be right for me.”

King, 40, who currently stars on Grosse Pointe Garden Society, came through “one day later.”

“[She] called me and was like, ‘There’s a really fun little arc on my show, and all the scenes would be with me.’ That’s just a testament to who she is as a person. She could tell that I was having a tough time,” he recalled. “And I stayed with her and her [husband] Dan [King] and their son while we were filming. There was a snowstorm in Atlanta, and it hadn’t snowed in 13 years so production got shut down.”

Falahee was grateful for the extra time he spent with King, adding, “It was just so nice to be living with them and not only get to observe how much she’s grown as an actress and a leader on set — but also as a partner and a mother. It was nice to be inside of their world for a little bit. And Dan is a good friend of mine as well. He was getting me into the gym and feeding me and cooking me delicious meals. It was a very therapeutic moment in my life and started this year on a really positive note for me. So I’m just eternally grateful.”

Before Grosse Pointe Garden Society, Falahee and King starred on HTGAWM, which ran on ABC from 2014 to 2020. Falahee then moved on to other roles — including his upcoming movie Shattered Ice — which is when he suffered the health issue.

“That film held a really special place in my heart. The way that I got into acting was through the advice of a grief counselor after I lost a friend who died by suicide. She suggested I do the fall musical at my high school as a way of catharsis. It stuck, obviously,” he told Us. “When that film project came around, it obviously dealt with mental health and the tragedy that surrounds a community when that happens.”

Despite the challenges, Falahee is extremely grateful for the experience.

“I got hurt on day four of a 30-day shoot. I quickly went and got surgery, and they gave me five days off. Then I shot the rest of the film on a knee scooter in a cast,” he recalled. “Our brilliant cinematographer did a great job of cheating my legs out of the film. Luckily, I wasn’t playing an athlete and was playing the coach so I’m standing in most of the film. But it proved to be a really good challenge where I was just so grateful to be working and on a set in a post-pandemic and post-strike Hollywood. I would set a mantra every day where I was like, ‘All right, this sucks. This is the worst thing that has happened to me in my body, but I’m just not going to complain and I’m going to show up and try and be a team player.’”

Falahee is determined to hit the ground running now that he is feeling better. While discussing his role on Grosse Pointe Garden Society, the actor was already filming his new project.

“I’m doing a lot of murder [projects]. I’m shooting a horror film right now, and I’m not a fan of horror. I’m trying to tackle this in an immersive [or] like exposure therapy,” he joked to Us. “This is where I’m hoping that if I see how the sausage gets made then maybe I’ll be able to be a fan of horror. There’s some iconic horror actors in this project so I’m learning a lot about the genre. But it is by far the bloodiest thing I have done — and they don’t hold any punches. I keep texting my mom photos of me just covered in blood.”

Falahee’s onscreen reunion with King starts on Sunday, March 30, when he joins the NBC series as Pierce, a.k.a the charming owner of Goldman Properties, who has a run-in with Catherine. Pierce becomes an unlikely adversary for Catherine and returns for a second episode of the show.

“It’s not often in our industry that you do get to work with people again,” Falahee shared with Us. “I definitely subscribe to that in this line of work because I know it is unlikely that I’ll get to work with people again — but I desperately hope to.”

Grosse Pointe Garden Society airs on NBC Sundays at 10 p.m. ET before making the move to Fridays starting April 4 at 8 p.m. ET. New episodes are available to stream on Peacock the next day.