Rhys Darby Says Final Canyon Traverse Tested Him Most in Utah
rhys darby says the hardest part of his June 2 episode of Bear Grylls Is Running Wild came at the end, when the final canyon traverse in Utah pushed him past the earlier rappels and climbs. The New Zealand actor and comedian called the sequence the point where the adventure became physical and emotional at once.
Utah’s Canyonlands Sequence
The June 2 episode puts Darby and Bear Grylls in the Canyonlands of Utah for a run that includes rappelling, climbing out of canyons, and a Tyrolean traverse. Darby said he had done similar activities as a young 20-year-old while serving in the New Zealand army, and that he was never one to be scared of heights.
Darby said he came into the show with a personal connection to Grylls, having worked with him on a few occasions some years back in New Zealand. He also hosted A Wild Night with Bear Grylls, Live on Stage in New Zealand in 2012, which gives this episode a cleaner read than a random celebrity cameo: he is returning to a familiar world, but the terrain is doing the work.
The Final Traverse
“I just hadn’t done anything like that before,” Darby said of the final canyon traverse. He said the hardest part was dropping off the cliff and hanging suspended upside down, then struggling to get up off the rope and climb once he reached the other side.
“It was difficult to drop off the cliff and just hang there suspended upside down. I think I was tired, too, as this was the final challenge. Once I reached the other side, I struggled to get up off the rope and climb up. I was so emotional when Bear spoke to me immediately after. [But] completing that final traverse, finally pulling myself up back onto the cliff top, and then being airlifted while suspended on the end of a rope dangling from a helicopter…as we flew [back] I could see all the mighty terrain that I had conquered. What a legendary feeling!”
Bear Grylls Is Running Wild
Darby said he tried to keep fear out of the equation. “Bear has the safest safety team. Of course, there’s certainly apprehension and a bit of unease when you’re told to go over the edge of a giant rock face, but I just concentrated on my technique and definitely didn’t look down.”
That is the real draw here: the episode is not selling an abstract survival fantasy, but a specific, staged test that leaves a 52-year-old performer talking about technique, fatigue, and emotional release in the same breath. Bear Grylls Is Running Wild airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on Fox, and Darby’s account makes the Utah episode sound built for viewers who want to see whether a familiar comic presence can still hold his nerve when the rope goes tight.
