Many assume that the life of an actor is cushy and lax. But a lot of times, this perception couldn't be further from the truth.

Take, for example, the cast of Emergency! While the show was immensely popular with viewers and critics, the cast often had to work at breakneck speeds to ensure they kept in time with the filming schedule.

The series stars, Randolph Mantooth and Kevin Tighe were incredibly honest about the brutal shooting schedule during an interview with the News and Record.

"Last season we worked fifteen to eighteen hours a day until we were ill," said Tighe. "There was never a show in which so much was done in so little time."

While the quick pace certainly kept the show from overspending time (and money), sometimes they were to the detriment of the show itself. "Things were so frantic, we'd get rewrites of scenes after we'd already done them," he said. "Or sometimes they'd deliver lines to us moments before we were to do them."

In one instance, the cast had a particularly long night go from bad to worse. "One night, we finished the last scene of a show at 11:30 p.m. and thought we were going home," said Tighe. "We were so tired we couldn't even think."

"Instead, they hauled us to Santa Monica harbor to do a scene they forgot from the previous show," said Mantooth. "As long as we say the dialogue and the lights don't go out, they print it."

If it sounds like an unfair situation, you certainly wouldn't be wrong. However, the two actors granted that the popular series gave them the visibility they needed to boost their careers and become stars.

"We think where we'd be if we weren't on the show," said Mantooth.

Watch Emergency! on MeTV!

Weekdays at 5 PM

*available in most MeTV markets

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