Behind the scenes: 5 stunt doubles you should know
In LatinAmerican Post we present you the stunt doubles that are behind the most extreme pirouettes of the action characters
The heroes of action movies are admired by children and adults. The face of admiration is usually that of the actor who plays these characters, but they have another face: that of the stunt doubles that do the pirouettes that we admire so much. It is normal that the spies or agents that we watch in the action movies will need from one moment to another to escape from some villain or to chase someone else jumping over the roofs of the buildings.
Leer en español: Detrás de cámara: 5 dobles de acción que deberías conocer
These scenes feature stunt doubles that lend their body and their abilities so we can watch our heroes flee from or catch their enemies. This is a profession for which there is a lot of money in Hollywood. Here we show you the most iconic stunt doubles.
Dar Robinson
He is the most famous and best-paid stunt double of all time, according to The Richest. This was due to the versatility of pirouettes he could do. He was the double of the famous action actor Steve McQueen in the movie Papillon. Then, he was double of Christopher Plummer and Burt Reynolds, both renowned actors of Hollywood for their roles in films of this genre.
One of his most daring feats was a freefall jump 900 meters up from the Toronto National Tower. Robinson died at 39 years old in the practice of his profession. He lost control of the motorcycle that maneuvered in the filming of a scene for the movie Million Dollar Industry.
Michelle Yeoh
Although there are not many heroines of action (something that is changing today), double women are equally important than men. The work in the industry of the so-called stunts is not only to be doubles of other actors but to coordinate and choreograph the scenes of combats and persecution.
It is just this the greatest talent of Yeoh. She has worked with Jackie Chan on several occasions and he has told several media outlets, including the Goliath portal, that he would not trust the coordination of his action scenes to anyone else.
However, according to The Richest, this talented double had no education in martial arts but in ballet. This Malaysian actress is known for her role as Bond girl in Tomorrow Never Dies, but by then she had a lot of experience working with the master of martial arts on screen before.
You can also read: 10 curiosities about makeup and costumes in Hollywood
Sir Eddie Kidd
This British double is highly respected in the industry. Queen Elizabeth II gave him the title of knight, for which he is now called Sir. He was double of two James Bond: Timothy Dalton in 1987 and Pierce Brosnan in 1995. The Bond, then, could change but his double remained the same.
According to Goliath, in 1979 he broke the world record for the longest jump on a motorcycle, with a jump of 120 feet while going to 90 miles per hour for the movie The Living Daylights, in which he doubled Harrison Ford. Kidd is also a victim of his own profession, because in 1996 he suffered a motorcycle accident that caused a brain injury that caused paralysis.
Wendy Leech
It's amazing how many classic roles this woman has done, sometimes for men. Her most classic role is that of C-3PO in the original Star Wars movie in 1977. She was the double of the actor Anthony Daniels and she is in the robot costume in many scenes of this science fiction classic.
Speaking of original films, she lent many of her pirouettes in the first Superman and Indiana Jones movies. So, Leech is a pioneer of this big-screen industry. In addition, she was the double of Sharon Stone in the action film classic Total Recall.
Vic Armstrong
As if Wendy Leech could not be more interesting, she is married to Vic Armstrong, another great action double. Like his wife, Armstrong also did stunts in the first Superman and Indiana Jones movies. In fact, he was the double official of Christopher Reeves and Harrison Ford respectively.
He was also George Lazenby's double as James Bond in the movie On Her Majesty's Secret Service. After being the double of all these icons of action movies, he started coordinating stunts. They are the choreographies of fight and persecution of Terminator 2: Judgment Day. He has already won a BAFTA award for his career and contributions to the film industry.
LatinAmerican Post | Juliana Rodríguez Pabón
Translated from "Estos son los 5 dobles de los más icónicos héroes de acción"
