Arielle Kebbel Had No Idea What She Was Getting Into Before Marshals Filming Began

Arielle Kebbel Had No Idea What She Was Getting Into Before Marshals Filming Began When I can Only Imagine 2 star Arielle Kebbel signed on to play Belle in the hit CBS drama Marshals, she pictured wide Montana skies and horseback rides. What she got instead was an exhausting crash course in tactical combat — and she is not shy about admitting it nearly knocked her off her feet.

“My mind was fully set on horses and Montana, I did not realize how many large guns I would be carrying up and down mountains when I said yes.” — Kebbel told PEOPLE. What followed, however, was anything but a scenic adventure.

What Happened During Marshals Filming Prep Will Surprise You

Long before cameras rolled, the entire Marshals cast was put through rigorous military-style weapons training. Every single cast member — including Ash Santos and Tatanka Means — had to earn their place on screen before Marshals filming officially kicked off.

The drills were thorough, covering everything from correct body posture and head alignment while handling firearms to precise footwork during tactical movements. The team also practiced breaking down doors and mastered a non-verbal communication system used by real-world law enforcement officers in high-pressure situations.

“We would do a lot of drills working as a team,” Kebbel shared. Nothing was left to chance.

The Marshals Filming Schedule Demanded Peak Physical Condition

Kebbel walked into Marshals filming with serious physical preparation already under her belt. Years of demanding stunt work had taught her to treat her body like a machine — disciplined sleep schedules, clean nutrition, and constant hydration were non-negotiable for her.

“I felt like I had a good idea of what I was getting into,” she said. “I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. I knew I had to treat my body like an athlete.”

But no amount of prior experience fully prepared her for one specific element of Marshals filming — the weapons.

Arielle Kebbel Opens Up About the Toughest Part of Marshals Filming

“I’d say I got my butt kicked a bit in training,” Kebbel admitted openly. The culprit? Military-grade M4 rifles — weapons she had never handled before in her entire career.

“In all my years of stunt training, fight training, and weapon training, I hadn’t actually used M4 rifles before,” she confessed. “So the pieces that were new to me, I had to work fast and furious to get very comfortable with, in a short amount of time.”

Carrying heavy firearms up and down mountain terrain while maintaining proper form is no small feat — and Kebbel quickly learned that Marshals filming would demand every ounce of her strength and focus.

How Her Past Career Secretly Prepared Her for Marshals Filming

Looking back now, Kebbel connects the dots between every grueling project she pushed through and the performer she became on the Marshals filming set.

“There were times where I would go, ‘I don’t know if I can keep doing this,'” she recalled. “And now I realize it was training me for this.”

That quiet resilience — the kind built through years of physical and mental challenges — is exactly what makes her portrayal of Belle feel so believable and grounded on screen.

Marshals airs every Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.