Stop doing stunts if you aren’t a stuntperson. No one is impressed. You’re also putting stunt people out of work. And if you get seriously hurt or killed, the film could tank or be canceled and the next film might not be able to secure insurance.
It is not that easy to define where “stunt” begins. If an actor tells me “I won’t run down this alley, have the stunt person do it” I’m not gonna applaud him for being lazy. Actors doing small stunts is completely normal and should be. Big stunts of course should be done by professional stunt people.
James Marsters who played Spike on Buffy talked about this. He would do stunts he thought he could do and would benefit the scene. However if both feet come off the ground it’s not him.
I think it was Dwayne Johnson Danny Trejo who said in an interview that he never does his stunts, for exactly the reasons given. The key point is also that if the actor performing a key role in the movie gets injured it’ll cause at least delays, possibly worse. But it will affect literally hundreds of people just so s/he can feel like a macho for doing the dangerous thing.
A stunt person getting injured isn’t just less likely (it’s literally their job), it’s also much less problematic for everyone else involved if it does happen.
It’s not either/or - a lot of actors take training for action roles seriously and they work closely with the stunt team to get the best coverage possible.
He’s still the star of the movie, though. So the risk of him getting injured or dying because of a stunt puts the future of the production in jeopardy, even if he has more skills than the typical action star.
He broke his leg filming a stunt (bad landing onto a boat). Filming stopped for two weeks and he had to film the remaining scenes after with a cast on his ankle.
He stopped doing major stunts after that because he realized it wasn’t the right idea.
Stop doing stunts if you aren’t a stuntperson. No one is impressed. You’re also putting stunt people out of work. And if you get seriously hurt or killed, the film could tank or be canceled and the next film might not be able to secure insurance.
It is not that easy to define where “stunt” begins. If an actor tells me “I won’t run down this alley, have the stunt person do it” I’m not gonna applaud him for being lazy. Actors doing small stunts is completely normal and should be. Big stunts of course should be done by professional stunt people.
James Marsters who played Spike on Buffy talked about this. He would do stunts he thought he could do and would benefit the scene. However if both feet come off the ground it’s not him.
I think it was
Dwayne JohnsonDanny Trejo who said in an interview that he never does his stunts, for exactly the reasons given. The key point is also that if the actor performing a key role in the movie gets injured it’ll cause at least delays, possibly worse. But it will affect literally hundreds of people just so s/he can feel like a macho for doing the dangerous thing.A stunt person getting injured isn’t just less likely (it’s literally their job), it’s also much less problematic for everyone else involved if it does happen.
Performing stunts yourself is pure ego.
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Danny Trejo has said the same. It is taking work from someone trained to do this and risking the whole production.
Ahh you might be right, it might have been Danny Trejo who I had in mind. Updated my comment, thank you!
It’s not either/or - a lot of actors take training for action roles seriously and they work closely with the stunt team to get the best coverage possible.
Big appreciation for stunt actors. Only Murders S4 has a lot to say about this!
Jackie Chan:
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He’s still the star of the movie, though. So the risk of him getting injured or dying because of a stunt puts the future of the production in jeopardy, even if he has more skills than the typical action star.
Iirc Jackie became a famous movie star because of his stuntman work and owns a stuntman company
Good but also poor example.
He broke his leg filming a stunt (bad landing onto a boat). Filming stopped for two weeks and he had to film the remaining scenes after with a cast on his ankle.
He stopped doing major stunts after that because he realized it wasn’t the right idea.
Didn’t he start as a stunt actor for Bruce Lee?
Never heard that, cool if true.