Kathy Najimy Recalls Filming Half of Hocus Pocus 2 with a Broken Rib: 'I Fell Like an Accordion'
Charles Sykes/Invision/AP/Shutterstock Kathy Najimy at the Hocus Pocus 2 premiere
Kathy Najimy had to form a calming circle to get through the second half of shooting her scenes for Hocus Pocus 2.
In an exclusive chat with PEOPLE surrounding her partnership with Airbnb, the actress, 65, reveals she broke a rib the day she paused filming the sequel while on a holiday break late last year.
"The day I wrapped, I went over to my friend's house. And I saw that she had one of those machines that you put your legs in and you go upside down and it stretches you, because I have one. And I said, 'Oh my God, I have one of these in home.' "
Once Najimy got into the machine, "It flipped up, my foot didn't quite make it into the thing ... and I fell like an accordion," she recalls. "And broke my rib."
"So my whole week off that we were supposed to enjoy the holidays, I was healing, but it's fine," Najimy says. "And then I was back at work wrapped up. Half the movie, I have a broken rib."
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.
Matt Kennedy/Courtesy of Disney Enterprises, Inc. Kathy Najimy, Bette Midler and Sarah Jessica Parker in Hocus Pocus 2 (2022)
When it comes to the stunts in both Hocus Pocus 2 and the original 1993 film, though, Najimy couldn't get enough — especially the flying, which she "loved so much."
"I've jumped out of an airplane twice," she says. "I love heights, I love to be scared, I love the whole thing. So [with] the flying, I kept saying, 'More, keep me up. Don't bring me down. Keep me up.' "
"In fact, when there was not the technology that we have now, they would hoist us up, literally, with ropes," the Sister Act star continues. "But now it's a whole different thing."
One costar who shared her penchant for the daring? Sarah Jessica Parker. "Sarah and I ... they'd say, 'Lunchtime.' And we'd say, 'Just leave us up here,' " Najimy remembers.
RELATED VIDEO: Hocus Pocus 2: The Sanderson Sisters Learn About Modern-Day Beauty Secrets in Exclusive Clip — Watch
Najimy says her character Mary — the frequently confused, children's-souls-obsessed middle Sanderson sister with the signature mouth quirk — came back "freakily easily" for her, despite almost three decades having passed since she last played Mary on the big screen.
Of the first film, she reflects, "It just really is very generational, but nobody is more surprised than we are about how this movie and these characters have just flooded through people's Halloweens and they really take it seriously. They really, really look forward to it. And it's flattering."
As for a third installment of Hocus Pocus, she's adamant about the "never say never" mantra.
"It was fun, but it's not nothing. It's a lot, but who knows? ... Who knew that almost 30 years later we'd be doing this sequel?" she tells PEOPLE, joking, "I think if we did it 30 years later again, well, there would be walkers and canes involved. The flying might just be a little one-foot blip off the ground."
Hocus Pocus 2 lands Friday on Disney+.