American Ninja Warrior is the place to be on TV to see athletes in peak physical condition tackling insanely tricky obstacles. The competitors are (usually) athletes who are pretty much unknown outside of the Ninja Warrior circuit, but that won't be the case in the not-too-distant future. Arrow star Stephen Amell will be running an American Ninja Warrior course, and we have a sneak peek at his performance. Check it out!
Well, this video should prove to any nonbelievers that Stephen Amell is more than just a pretty face and set of abs as the Green Arrow. With TV magic, we can never been entirely sure if an actor is doing his own stunts or if a stunt person is being concealed; considering that Oliver Queen wears a mask and a hood to obscure his identity, there's always the chance that a stunt guy is handling the superheroics in an episode. In this American Ninja Warrior run, it's clearly all Amell in action. I'd say he definitely beats Mark-Paul Gosselaar!
Stephen Amell has been open for a while about the fact that he'd like to give American Ninja Warrior a try, although the closest we've gotten to seeing Amell on an ANW obstacle is when Oliver goes for a salmon ladder workout in the Arrow bunker. Amell is finally getting the chance to show what he's made of on an obstacle course thanks to NBC's Celebrity Ninja Warrior For Red Nose Day. The special will pair celebrities with past American Ninja Warrior contestants as coaches. Record-setter Kacy Catanzaro is working with Amell and can be seen urging him on in the video.
Of course, the video cuts off just as Stephen Amell is about to give the Floating Steps a try, which leads me to believe that either he pulls off a spectacular move or totally wipes out. With all due credit to the athletic Mr. Amell, I'm inclined to think that he wipes out. If he does, I imagine that his thought as he goes down is "Not the face!" After all, Arrow is returning for Season 6, and I assume that he (and The CW) would rather that he not smash his face over hiatus.
Celebrity Ninja Warrior will also feature Erika Christensen, Ashton Eaton, Natalie Morales, Nick Swisher, Mena Suvari, Nikki Glaser, Jeff Dye, and Derek Hough. It should be interesting to see how all the celebrities compare. I'm guessing that we'll see solid showings from Nick Swisher, who was a Yankees outfielder, and Derek Hough, who is in fabulous shape as an alum of Dancing with the Stars. Former decathlete and Olympian Ashton Eaton should definitely do well. We'll have to wait and see. As an Arrow fan, I feel obligated to root for Amell to do the best, but it should be an overall Red Nose Day event to remember.
Celebrity Ninja Warrior will air on Thursday, May 25 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for the latest in TV news, and don't forget to check out our summer TV premiere schedule to discover all your viewing options now and in the coming weeks. Be sure to drop by our rundowns for cable/streaming and broadcast TV renewals and cancellations as well. Our TV season finale schedule can give you all you need to know about your shows ending.
