Paul Bettany Says He ‘Blew Out’ 10 Blood Vessels in His Eye While Filming ‘VisionQuest’: ‘I Was Just Wildly Overacting’

Paul Bettany might play Marvel superhero Vision, but an on-screen acting choice while filming “VisionQuest” nearly cost him that very sense when the “Iron Man” actor accidentally popped 10 blood vessels in his eyes.

“I was pretending to have a device on my head that is doing something to my brain, and I was just wildly overacting, and I blew out about 10 blood vessels in my eye,” said Bettany during a recent appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” “It was a lesson in less is more,” he laughed, before Kimmel showed audiences a shot of his blood-filled eyeball.

Bettany continued, explaining that his eye stayed that way for two weeks and production had to “take it out” of the final shots. “The irony is the actor playing Vision is kind of myopic, you know,” said Bettany. “Can’t see a thing when I take my glasses off, which is great, depending on the actor,” he joked.

“VisionQuest,” Marvel’s long-awaited eight-episode spinoff of “WandaVision,” debuted on Disney+ on October 14. Bettany stars as the android and former Avenger, and the TV series marks his return to the MCU after having roles in “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” “Captain America: Civil War,” “Avengers: Infinity War” and “WandaVision.” Within the universe, he was first introduced in the first “Iron Man” movie as J.A.R.V.I.S., the AI voice that controls Tony Stark’s powerful suit of armor.

The show also stars James Spader, who reprises his role as Ultron from “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, James D’Arcy, Orla Brady, Emily Hampshire and Ruaridh Mollica.