‘The Righteous Gemstones’ Star Tim Baltz on Filming BJ’s Pole-Dancing Accident

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for The Righteous Gemstones Season 4 Episode 3, “To Grieve Like the Rest of Men Who Have No Hope.”]

The Righteous Gemstones continues to make big moves in its fourth and final season as Judy Gemstone’s (Edi Patterson) husband BJ (Tim Baltz) took centerstage for a pole dancing competition in the episode, “To Grieve Like the Rest of Men Who Have No Hope.”

After his new passion was teased in Episode 2, it was time for the Gemstone by marriage to flaunt his skills in competition, which took a lot of training. “It was probably two months of training. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do,” Baltz tells TV Insider.

As viewers may recall, BJ has had several big moments over the seasons, among the most notable being his pink-tinged baptism in Season 2, and his big fight against naked musician Stephen (Stephen Schneider) in Season 3, but none of them have put Baltz through as big of a challenge as Season 4’s pole-dancing shenanigans.

HBO

In Episode 2 of this season, Judy stumbled into BJ’s class, but in Episode 3, he was showcasing his skills for all to see. Baltz says the routine in Episode 2 was done, “all by myself, which was crazy. When I first started, I was like, there’s no way I’m gonna do half of this.”

Ultimately, Baltz reveals, it was the instructor who really got him to go all-in onscreen. “The woman who was training us was the real deal, and got me prepared for it, believing that I could do it.”

When it came time for the routine in Episode 3, Baltz reveals, “[I had] two other stunt people, including one guy who was like a legit world-class pole fitness dancer.  And it was a pretty grueling day actually.”

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“Yeah, it was,” Patterson confirms. “That day was wild.” For fans who did tune into the sequence, they’d know that Judy was sitting nearby as her husband danced, but one risky upside-down move saw BJ come sliding down the pole, head-first into the ground, injuring his neck.

But is he paralyzed? Only time will tell, but for now, BJ’s wheelchair-bound, which may or may not lead to some interesting circumstances in his and Judy’s home. Stay tuned to see where it goes and let us know what you think of BJ’s pole-dancing pastime in this latest season of The Righteous Gemstones.

The Righteous Gemstones, Season 4, Sundays, 10/9c, HBO and Max

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