'Safe Haven' And The Occupational Hazards Of A Nicholas Sparks Film

Filming a Nicholas Sparks movie isn't all rain-drenched make outs with Ryan Gosling or sunny beach frolics with Liam Hemsworth. Nope, as the stars of "Safe Haven" (out now) can attest, there are plenty of occupational hazards involved with filming a romance set largely in the North Carolina woods.

"There was a lot of tick conversations," Cobie Smulders told. "[Director] Lasse Hallstrom got me real paranoid about Lyme disease."

In fact, Smulders got a little too familiar with one of the tiny terrors. "I only found one," she mused. "It was fine. They're like a leech. They really get in there. You're not only taking my blood — take my blood and go — but don't make yourself comfortable on my skin. Don't make it your home."

According to co-star Julianne Hough, ticks weren't the only wildlife prowling the set.

"Most of our scenes were in the woods, in the cabin, walking through these pathways where there were alligators. So ticks, alligators. I think someone said something about a small bear," Hough said. "It was quite the experience there. It was dreadful. It was beautiful, but it was hot and sticky and tick-infested. I don't know how our makeup stayed on."

Of course, any relief from shooting the film's obligatory storm scene was also short-lived: "It was actually kind of cold, though, when we ran into the diner because the diner was freezing because of the air-conditioning," Hough explained of her scene with co-star Josh Duhamel.

So don't let all that movie romance blind you: It's tough being an actor.

"Safe Haven" is out now.