Predator takes this round

In one of the big action scenes from 20th Century Fox’s double-creature feature “Alien vs. Predator,” opening Friday, Danish-born actor Carsten Norgaard broke a rib while filming in Prague while doing battle with the 8-foot-tall Predator.

“When you’re in a blizzard fighting a monster like that, things can go wrong,” the 41-year-old Norgaard said. “We took about a 15-minute recess, and then we continued working. I ended up working like six or seven more hours that day. I was in serious pain. I took a lot of painkillers and woke up the next morning and went to work for another shift and then the next day at 5 in the morning I could barely stand on my two legs.”

That’s when Norgaard went to the hospital and doctors told him of the injury. “There’s nothing you can do for a broken rib,” he said. “After [the filmmakers] knew I had broken my rib, they had to re-arrange my schedule.”

In the film, Norgaard plays Quinn, a third-generation oil driller who goes to Antarctica, where archeologists have discovered a mysterious temple in the frigid wasteland.

The movie is based on two of the most fearsome creatures in Hollywood history: the insect-like extraterrestrial introduced in Ridley Scott’s 1979 thriller, “Alien,” and the alien warrior-hunter who fights Arnold Schwarzenegger in the jungles of Central America in John McTiernan’s 1987 “Predator.”

The latest incarnation is directed by Paul W.S. Anderson (“Mortal Kombat”).

“Basically, some of the premiere filmmakers of our day, like Ridley Scott, James Cameron (“Aliens”) and David Fincher (“Alien 3”), helped create these franchises,” Norgaard said. “A lot of people grew up on them. Paul Anderson has paid homage to both franchises.”

Moviegoers might remember the ruggedly handsome Norgaard as the oily-haired Icelandic coach in “D2: The Mighty Ducks.” His other acting credits include “Soldier,” “Gods & Generals” and “The Spartans,” and he recently co-produced and starred in “The Gristle” on HBO.

Did Norgaard get to take on Alien too? “You can only do so much in a day,” he said, chuckling.

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Robert W. Welkos