May 29, 2014
Cool Jobs: Stuntman Talks Dangers & Rewards Working in the Shadows
Continued from previous page …
What are some of the movies you’ve worked on and what kind of stunts did you do for them?
I did all the “Blade” movies with Wesley Snipes. I’ve worked on movies with him for 14 years— “US Marshals,” “The Art of War,” “7 Seconds,” we did all those together. Then, I started working with Denzel Washington, whom I still work with. We just finished the movie “The Equalizer,” which is about to release soon. We also did “Unstoppable” and “Two Guns” together.
I’ve also worked with Jamie Foxx on “Django” and in “Spiderman 2” which is playing now. And I did all the work in the Iron man suit for the final third of the first movie. I did some “War Machine” stuff for Don Cheadle, but when the two suits had to fight each other they had to call in another stuntman.
What skills and experience are needed to be a stuntman?
Usually an extreme sports background or a specialty background. Professionals who are interested in the career must cultivate a range of physical skills. We have horsemen, who are specialty guys, and snow boarders, [for example.] They’ve found a specific niche, however, usually some kind of professional or expert-level background in a sport or [related aptitude.]
Are there a lot of stuntmen of color like you in the industry?
That’s a tough question. I don’t have the data in front of me. There are about 108,000 SAG members in LA. About 21,000 of those members are working actors that actually make a living at it. Roughly 50 or 60 of those making a living as stunt players are of African-American descent.
What’s the craziest stunt you’ve done?
One of my more challenging gags was the rope swing in “US Marshals.” I had to swing 18 stories high and land on a moving train. If I landed short I could have fallen to my death. If I had bounced, I would have rolled off the train and landed on the tracks and gotten electrocuted.
What motivates you to go into work each morning?
Recognition for being good at what I do. As long as the audience believes that their favorite actor is doing this crazy stuff that’s really cool in movies, they’re gonna continue to go see the movie. And as long as the right people who do the hiring for these movies know who the proper stunt people are—who the good stunt people are—that’s all I really care about. I just want to do a good job make sure that what is put on film is absolutely the best that we can muster and that the coordinators recognize that and continue to hire.