Stuntmen Are Turning into Action Directors
2020-04-25
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1Some of today's top action directors were first doubles for Brad Pitt, Keanu Reeves and Hugh Jackman.
2A double is a person who looks like an actor and takes the actor's place in some scenes in a movie or TV show.
3The one who doubles during the filming of dangerous scenes or a stunt is called a stuntman.
4Increasingly, stuntmen and those who set up the stunts are becoming filmmakers themselves.
5They have years of experience doing complex shots and reducing safety risks for cast and crew members.
6They have also worked closely with movie stars.
7All of these experiences have given them a basis for directing films - especially action movies.
8"Extraction," a Netflix film starring Chris Hemsworth, is the directorial debut of Sam Hargrave.
9Hargrave doubled for Chris Evans on "Captain America" and Hugh Jackman on "Wolverine."
10He also set up stunts on films like "Avengers: Endgame" and "Hunger Games: Mockingjay."
11Hargrave is the latest in a line of stuntmen who have gone from stepping in for actors to directing them.
12Chad Stahelski and David Leitch are two other examples.
13Stahelski and Leitch are well known stuntmen.
14They have been leading the field since 1997 with their action design company 87Eleven.
15Stahelski set up the fighting scenes in "300" and the stunts in "The Expendables."
16Leitch was Brad Pitt's stunt double in "Fight Club" and doubled for Keanu Reeves in "The Matrix."
17They started as filmmakers with the action-filled "John Wick" movies.
18Stahelski directed and Leitch produced the movies.
19Leitch, himself, also directed "Atomic Blonde" and "Deadpool 2."
20Ric Roman Waugh, the son of a stuntman, is another example.
21He was one of the founding members of Stunts Unlimited.
22Waugh did stunt work in many films in the 1990s, including "The Last of the Mohicans," "The Crow" and "Lethal Weapon 2."
23He moved to directing in 2001′s "In the Shadows."
24He also directed last year's "Angel Has Fallen."
25Nash Edgerton has worked for some time as a stuntman.
26He doubled for actor Ewan McGregor's Star Wars character, Obi-Wan Kenobi.
27He did stunt work in "The Thin Red Line," "Superman Returns" and "Zero Dark Thirty."
28Edgerton also made short films, some with his brother, actor Joel Edgerton.
29In 2008, he directed his first feature film, "The Square."
30His latest directing effort is the 2018 comedy "Gringo" with David Oyelowo and Charlize Theron.
31One of the earliest stuntmen who became directors is Hal Needham.
32He performed stunts on "The French Connection" and "How the West Was Won."
33Needham then wrote the script for "Smokey and the Bandit" and persuaded actor Burt Reynolds, for whom he had doubled, to let him direct the movie.
34As a team, Needham and Reynolds went on to make "Hooper," "The Cannonball Run" and "Stroker Ace."
35The stuntman-turned-director has been quoted as saying not to worry about dialogue, "let's wreck some cars."
36I'm John Russell.
1Some of today's top action directors were first doubles for Brad Pitt, Keanu Reeves and Hugh Jackman. 2A double is a person who looks like an actor and takes the actor's place in some scenes in a movie or TV show. The one who doubles during the filming of dangerous scenes or a stunt is called a stuntman. 3Increasingly, stuntmen and those who set up the stunts are becoming filmmakers themselves. They have years of experience doing complex shots and reducing safety risks for cast and crew members. They have also worked closely with movie stars. 4All of these experiences have given them a basis for directing films - especially action movies. 5"Extraction," a Netflix film starring Chris Hemsworth, is the directorial debut of Sam Hargrave. Hargrave doubled for Chris Evans on "Captain America" and Hugh Jackman on "Wolverine." He also set up stunts on films like "Avengers: Endgame" and "Hunger Games: Mockingjay." 6Hargrave is the latest in a line of stuntmen who have gone from stepping in for actors to directing them. Chad Stahelski and David Leitch are two other examples. 7Stahelski and Leitch are well known stuntmen. They have been leading the field since 1997 with their action design company 87Eleven. 8Stahelski set up the fighting scenes in "300" and the stunts in "The Expendables." Leitch was Brad Pitt's stunt double in "Fight Club" and doubled for Keanu Reeves in "The Matrix." 9They started as filmmakers with the action-filled "John Wick" movies. Stahelski directed and Leitch produced the movies. Leitch, himself, also directed "Atomic Blonde" and "Deadpool 2." 10Ric Roman Waugh, the son of a stuntman, is another example. He was one of the founding members of Stunts Unlimited. Waugh did stunt work in many films in the 1990s, including "The Last of the Mohicans," "The Crow" and "Lethal Weapon 2." He moved to directing in 2001′s "In the Shadows." He also directed last year's "Angel Has Fallen." 11Nash Edgerton has worked for some time as a stuntman. He doubled for actor Ewan McGregor's Star Wars character, Obi-Wan Kenobi. He did stunt work in "The Thin Red Line," "Superman Returns" and "Zero Dark Thirty." Edgerton also made short films, some with his brother, actor Joel Edgerton. In 2008, he directed his first feature film, "The Square." His latest directing effort is the 2018 comedy "Gringo" with David Oyelowo and Charlize Theron. 12One of the earliest stuntmen who became directors is Hal Needham. He performed stunts on "The French Connection" and "How the West Was Won." Needham then wrote the script for "Smokey and the Bandit" and persuaded actor Burt Reynolds, for whom he had doubled, to let him direct the movie. As a team, Needham and Reynolds went on to make "Hooper," "The Cannonball Run" and "Stroker Ace." 13The stuntman-turned-director has been quoted as saying not to worry about dialogue, "let's wreck some cars." 14I'm John Russell. 15Jake Coyle reported on this story for the Associated Press. John Russell adapted it for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. 16_________________________________________________________________ 17Words in This Story 18scene - n. a division of an act in a play during which the action takes place in a single place without a break in time 19stunt - n. a difficult action or scene that is done by actors in a movie 20debut - n. the first time an actor, musician, athlete, etc., does something in public or for the public 21script - n.the written form of a play, movie, television show, etc. 22dialogue - n. the things that are said by the characters in a story, movie, play, etc.