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Melissa McCarthy Broke Her Nose in Pursuit of a Joke

Photo: John Shearer/2011 Getty Images
BEVERLY HILLS, CA - JUNE 16:  Actress Melissa McCarthy arrives at the 2011 Women In Film Crystal + Lucy Awards with presenting sponsor PANDORA jewelry at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on June 16, 2011 in Beverly Hills, California.  (Photo by John Shearer/Getty Images For Pandora Jewelry)
Melissa McCarthy Photo: John Shearer/2011 Getty Images

Bridesmaids’ breakout star Melissa McCarthy will do anything for a laugh, and she’s a great improviser, says everyone in this new GQ story. Tragically, some of her best material, including a bit about a squirrel burrowing into her vagina, did not make it into the final cut of the film. But her commitment to the joke is nothing new! Back in her Groundlings days, she was just as passionate: One sketch involved popping balloons, and “she couldn’t get one to pop, but she wasn’t going to lose,†says her husband Ben Falcone, who played Air Marshal Jon in Bridesmaids. “She finally head-butts the freaking thing, and it pops, and she smashes her face into the stage and breaks her nose. To this day she’s like, ‘Well, the audience liked it.’†[GQ]

Melissa McCarthy Broke Her Nose in Pursuit of a Joke