Deep Dive: The Rubric - Stunts

This year the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (aka The Oscars people) finally announced that they would start a new award for 'Achievement in Stunt Design' starting in 2027. In their announcement they remarked “Since the early days of cinema, stunt design has been an integral part of filmmaking. We are proud to honor the innovative work of these technical and creative artists, and we congratulate them for their commitment and dedication in reaching this momentous occasion.” It's a move that is long overdue and recognizes the tireless effort and incredibly risky sacrifices that this group of professionals has endured for over a century. So for this Deep Dive, we will look at the history of stunts, a few of the notable contributors to the field, the techniques stunt performers use, and then highlight some of the most famous stunts ever put to film. 

What is Stunt Design

Of course, if we are going to discuss stunts, we should try to first define exactly what stunt design encompasses. Stunts themselves are considered a physical feat that often requires special skills and are performed for the purposes of overall film execution. Stunt design (sometimes called stunt coordination), then, is the person or team in charge of all aspects of the stunts including the planning, choreography and execution of them. 

In addition to stunt coordination, there is also a great variety of types of stunts, as well as stunt performers.  An obvious example, and perhaps the most prevalent, is known as stage combat. This would include scenes that require things like hand-to-hand fighting, sword fights, gun fights, or just your standard guy getting shot. These types of stunts would then generally be performed by a stunt actor with experience in martial arts, acrobatics, or a more niche skill like sword fighting. Another and slightly more specialized area of stunt performance would include stunt driving. This could be as simple as a stunt performer driving down a narrow street, or may include someone being in a car that goes off of a ramp or obstacle and then crashes. There could also just be more straightforward action such as a racing movie where the stunt performers who have a background in racing can provide a sense of realism to a scene. Point being, stunt work can be extremely varied and requires expertise from a wide variety of skill sets and personnel. 

The Origins and Progress of Stunts

It can be a bit difficult to nail down exactly where/when stunt work began. Obviously we are focused on films, but the origins of stunt work almost certainly began on the stage. As storytelling jumped from the theater and onto screens starting in the late 1800s/early 1900s, filmmakers quickly realized they had a need for performers that were willing to take on physical risks that their main actors either couldn't or wouldn't do themselves. As early as 1903, films like The Great Train Robbery began employing people like Frank Hanaway to specifically accomplish these tasks. This film features several shoot outs as well some simple stunt falls, but it was the start of an entire sub-industry within Hollywood. 

As little as five years later, stunts were already quickly growing in terms of ambition and risk. In the original The Count of Monte Cristo, for example, an acrobat was employed to jump from a cliff into water (for a grand total of $5 by the way). During this time, we also saw a rise in teams of stunt performers like The Keystone Kops. This collection of performers included a wide range of backgrounds such as acrobatics, race car drivers and prize-fighters that together helped create early examples of slapstick comedy during the early 1910s. Similar to the Keystone Kops, individual performers also began rising to prominence in part due to their willingness to take place in stunts. Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton were huge stars of this era and are responsible for pulling off some of the most famous early stunt work (we will talk more about all of these later). 

As the popularity of films began to grow with the advent of 'talkies' in the late 1920s and 1930s, filmmakers and stunt actors began pioneering a ton of new techniques - some of which are still used today. Partly, this was also a response to the extreme danger involved in early stunt work that frequently resulted in catastrophic injuries or deaths for the performers. One early example of this is the adoption of fake punches, a technique that was made popular due to the collaboration of John Wayne and his stunt double Yakima Canutt. Together they developed a more realistic approach to fake fighting which included the use of particular camera angles and performance techniques to 'sell' a punch. Canutt was also a major innovator in other films and helped pioneer technologies such as L-stirrups which allowed performers to safely fall off a horse without getting caught up in the stirrup. Canutt also helped develop early versions of wire rig in order to remove performers from a wagon before a crash.  

As Hollywood moved into the 40s and 50s, performers like Tom Steele began forming 'collectives' of stunt performers. Steele would then approach various studios and convinced them that utilizing his teams would save time, money, and increase safety during filming. Steele also developed techniques to help keep his performers safe and helped usher in the use of stunt pads. Other prominent figures such as Jock Mahoney began dabbling in the notion of choreographed scenes. While this method was already involved in the filmmaking process, he made it a standard that stunts should involve a great deal of preparation and specific timing to enhance safety and the final product on film. 

Much like the early days of 'talkies', the post WWII era was one marked by a great rise in ambition. During this time, Studios began investing in early blockbuster type movies like Ben-Hur which would feature massively large action scenes. In particular, the chariot race of Ben-Hur was developed over the course of a year and utilized 78 horses, a full team to train the horses and actors, and required the film's star, Charlton Heston, to get three hour horse riding lessons every day while on site. The stunt designer, Yakima Canutt, also provided the film's director with an early example of what would later be called a 'pre-vis' which involved him shooting an example of the scene beforehand with only his stunt performers. As designed, the scene was so dangerous that the studio approved building a full infirmary next to the set just in case of injuries. Ultimately only one performer actually got seriously injured during filming; a testament to the growing safety precautions and heavy planning involved in stunt performance. 

As Hollywood transitioned into the 1960s and 70s, stunt performers began banding together more and more. In 1961, the Stuntmen's Association of Motion Pictures (SAMP) was founded by two of the more famous stunt double of the era: Loren Janes and Richard Geary. This move allowed for great advocacy within the stunt industry and gave birth to new on set roles such as Stunt Coordinators. However, as a product of its time, the Association served only to benefit white male performers which caused other groups such as the Stunt Women's Association and the Black Stuntmen's Association to also form. In particular, these associations helped combat problematic tendencies within Hollywood stunts such a 'wigging' (where male performers donned women's garb during stunts), as well as 'paint downs' (where white performers were painted to look like other ethnicities). 

Unfortunately, this era also represented a down turn for the stunt profession. During this time, backlash to violence on TV and film became a political issue and studios began the shy away from including too many action sequences. This was also a time where audiences began drifting away from certain genres such as the Western. The net result meant that there was less and less stunt work to go around, leading to wide spread layoffs and career shifts. 

Coming out of the 70s and 80s, stunt work began to rebound and a new wave of stunt artist began working in the industry. With that, there was another boon of growing technology and filming techniques. This era saw the rise of things like the use of squibs, which was the use of small explosive and fake blood that simulated realistic bullet hits. The creation of airbags within the car industry also gave birth to their utilization within film and TV to increase performer safety. And creations like the Air Ram allowed filmmakers to simulate explosions and were paired with other new techniques in wire work that allowed performers to get safely 'blown up' on screen. 

Changing audience sentiments also led to changes within the industry. Outside of Hollywood, martial artists like Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan brought Martial Arts action movies to the west and inspired a new generation of stunt performers to focus on new sets of skills. This also marked another change in fight choreography thanks to the efforts of actors like Chan who displayed incredible use of creativity and precision in their scene designs. 

Finally in the more modern eras of Hollywood, stunt work changed yet again due to new technologies. With the advent of CGI in the 1990s and 2000s, filmmakers suddenly had almost no bounds on what could be put on screen. This also paved the way for new avenues of collaboration on set. Suddenly VFX and Stunt Designers could work together in the planning, design and execution of stunt work, which has led to major achievements in both stunts and safety. 

Techniques of Stunt Work

We have already mentioned quite a few of the various technologies or techniques that go into stunt work, but let's take a closer look at a few of the more notable ones. 

First, one of the most common and famous use of stunt performers is as stunt doubles. This is when a film utilizes a stunt performer to replace one of the actors on screen in order to perform a particularly dangerous act, or one that requires a particular skill set the actors doesn't have. Theoretically, any stunt performer could be used as a double, but some have made entire careers out of it thanks to having a particular appearance or build that closely resembles the main actor. Additionally, there are many different types of doubles. Despite the reputation, not all stunt work is the dangerous stuff. For instance, some scenes may require the need for a 'dance double' if an actor is unable or unwilling to perform a certain dance move. A sillier, but still often used, example might be a 'hand double' where the second unit is filming closeup shots that would only feature a part of an actor such as a hand, arm or leg. And in the interest of protecting actors, many films utilize 'body doubles' during scenes where the actor does not feel comfortable being nude on screen.  

As for getting these stunt doubles on screen, directors and stunt coordinators have used a variety of techniques. The simplest way of employing a stunt double could come from simple editing tricks where the scene cuts away from the main actor to a different shot or angle where the stunt double has now taken their place. A more complex but very effective technique is famously known as a 'texas switch'. As the name implies, this technique is when the filmmakers utilize something within the shot to disguise the 'switch' such as a pillar or car. A simple but fun instance of this is in Edgar Wright's Hot Fuzz. In it, there is a scene where Simon Pegg's police character leaps over a series of short fences in pursuit of a criminal which culminates in him doing an acrobatic flip over the last fence.  The sequence is done as one continuous static shot and involves Pegg swapping out with his double while disappearing quickly behind one of the fences. The stunt performer then finishes the sequence which includes the acrobatic closer. 

Additionally, with the advent of CGI, filmmakers can utilize technology to aid in switching out actors. One such digital based technique is known as using digi-doubles. This is where a VFX team, using real or fake footage, completely replaces an actor with a digital double. This allows the character to perform superhuman feats or execute a scene which involves an impossible or incredibly dangerous sequence. However, despite the advancements in CGI, audiences can be quick to detect a digital replacement which runs the risk of breaking immersion. Instead, filmmakers may use a more simplistic approach. As early as the 1990s, films were already experimenting with techniques that allowed VFX artists to replace the face of a stunt actor with the face of the main actor. This 'face-swap' allows a stunt performer to execute the task while hiding the swap and opens up the possibilities for directors who are no longer bound by shooting from a particular angle or distance to disguise things. 

A second technique that we should mention is colloquially referred to as wire work. In truth 'wire work' encompasses an entire arsenal of tools that stunt coordinators can use to bring a stunt to fruition. One of the more popular uses of wires is called a 'ratchet pull'. This method basically involves strapping a stunt performer to a cable that can be rapidly pulled, either by hand or mechanical device, in order to simulate a large force imposed on them; such as getting punched very hard or shot. 

Other notable uses of wires include techniques such as a 'dead man'. Similar to a ratchet pull, the dead man involves attaching a performer to a cable and getting pulled. However, in this case, the length of the cable is fixed and the performer runs until they are basically 'snapped back'. This could be useful in a scene where a character is shot while in motion, or run into an object at a high speed. A 'suspension rig' or 'wire rig' involves a setup where the performer must execute something that otherwise defies gravity. This could be like astronauts floating in outer space or a superhero taking flight. As a final example, stunt teams also utilize 'descender rigs', which are usually used to facilitate a character falling from a great height. This setup usually involves using wires to create a 'controlled' fall that either brings the actor down at a slow speed, or uses a more variable approach which progressively slows the performer down as the approach the ground or a padding system. 

Outside of wire work, there are a huge number of stunts that require more specific techniques or technologies. For instance an extremely often used stunt involves a character interacting with a glass object such as getting thrown through glass windows or getting dropped onto a glass table. Having a stunt person interact with real glass is obviously extremely dangerous. Instead, a variety of alternative have been utilized. For example, tempered glass usually breaks into tiny, harmless shards. By utilizing pressure plates and timing, stunt coordinators can orchestrate a stunt where the glass is pre-broken right before stunt performers hit it which creates a safer effect. Even simpler, stunt coordinators may elect to utilize 'stunt glass' or 'breakaway glass' which is typically made of sugar or special resins and are incredibly brittle and safe to use.  

Specific types of stunts, such as driving scenes, may also require specialized techniques or technologies. If a director wants to shoot a driving scene that prominently features the actor doing the driving, it may be impractical to use CGI or train the actor on how to execute it. Instead, stunt coordinators may bring in a 'biscuit rig' which essentially uses a stunt car and driver that is pulling another car with the actors in it. Other specific types of stunts may include a character getting lit on fire. Over the years, stunt performers have developed a variety of techniques to execute such scenes as safely as possible. In this instance, the performer will likely be wearing multiple layers of fireproof suiting and being entirely covered in what is known as 'zel jel' (fire retardant gel). Once the particular shot is done, the safety team off camera will then rush in and spray the performer down with fire extinguishers. 

Notable Stunt Performers

As alluded to earlier, the history of stunt work in film is marked by a number of important figures that have helped propel stunts into what they are today. We already mentioned more than a few, but will quickly take a look at some of history's greatest stunt people. 

Buster Keaton

A prolific star of the silent era, Buster Keaton's rise to prominence was heavily due to his willingness to perform his own stunts. Keaton began his career as a child performer in his family's traveling vaudeville act. Then, as an adult he made the transition from stage to film after meeting director Roscoe Arbuckle. Despite his initial reservations about film as a medium, Keaton and Arbuckle ended up collaborating on over 14 short films, with Keaton taking a prominent role in the choreographing and filming of certain scenes. By 1920, Keaton was given his first starring role in a full length feature film, The Saphead, and was also given his own production unit which was aptly named Buster Keaton Productions. Over the next decade Keaton ended up staring and directing in several major pictures including The General, Sherlock Jr., Steamboat Bill Jr., and The Cameraman. However, in the 1930s, Keaton's career took a hit after he began struggling with alcoholism which led to a string of behind the scenes incidents. Later in life, he would return to prominence after reviving his career with TV appearances and smaller roles; though his most famous achievements remain locked in the 1920s. In the end, Keaton's contributions to film are still relevant to this day and his deft physical performances and his understanding of comedy and story served as an inspiration for every subsequent generation. As Orson Wells once described him: "He was, as we're now beginning to realize, the greatest of all the clowns in the history of cinema."

Dar Robinson

On November 21, 1986, Dar Robinson was performing a motorcycle stunt on the set of Million Dollar Mystery. The stunt was a fairly routine one that only required Dar and another stuntman to execute a speed run past a static camera. Tragically during the stunt, Robinson went past the braking point of a turn and ended up riding straight off a cliff and perished. His death illustrates that even the most 'routine' stunts can go horrifically wrong. However, more importantly, his life is an illustration of tremendous dedication to craft and timeless contributions. Over his career Robinson broke 19 world records and set 21 'world 's firsts'. His innovations in stunt performance are still utilized today and he is responsible for various techniques including the invention of a decelerator cable rig that helps augment or replace high falling into pads. Maybe most impressively, Robinson's performances (which includes working on films like Stick, Sharky's Machine and Lethal Weapon) never resulted in any major injuries or broken bones - a testament to his planning and care. Sadly, even the most carefully laid plans can eventually go wrong. 

Jeannie Epper

Daughter of professional stunt performers, Jeannie was almost destined to become one of Hollywood's greatest stunt performers of all time. Her career began early as she was one of the first child stunt doubles to work in the industry. However, in a field dominated by men, Jeannie's full breakout wouldn't occur until the 1970s when she started stunt doubling for Lynda Carter on Wonder Woman. She would then go on to double on some of the more iconic shows of the 70s and 80s including The Bionic Woman and Charlie's Angels. Over the next nearly 50 years, Epper would be either an actor, stunt performer or stunt coordinator for some of Hollywood's biggest films and TV shows including Romancing the Stone, Catch Me if You Can, Minority Report, and the Kill Bill movies. Additionally, she was a major advocate for other women within the industry and both helped found the Stuntwomen's Association of Motion Pictures, as well as serve as its president in the 1990s. Unsurprisingly, in 2007 she became the first woman to receive a lifetime achievement award from the Taurus World Stunt Awards.

Jackie Chan

There are probably dozens of more contributors to the stunt community that we could go through, but for the sake of brevity we will end with a slightly full circle selection. In a 1996 interview for the LA Times, an interviewer asked Jackie Chan about where he drew inspiration from, noting specifically similarities to silent film era star Harold Lloyd. Chan responded “Not only Harold Lloyd, but Charlie Chaplin. And Buster Keaton—I think he's the best. And [during] their time they didn't have protection—elbow pads, knee pads, or special effects computers. They really surprised me. They did all [their own] crazy stunts—that's why I learned everything from them.” 

Nearly 100 years later, one of the most prominent stunt performers of modern times was still citing the work of Buster Keaton. And though Jackie may deflect his credit to his teachers and inspirations, he is an international star known for incredible displays of martial arts and slapstick inspired action in his films. As one of the few stunt actors to transition into a full blown movie stars, he has also managed to help generate over $5.8 billion in box office returns. 

And while many know Chan primarily as an actor, he never really stopped being a stunt performer. His career began in Hong Kong in the 1960s as a stunt person and he spent the next 60 years setting the Guinness World Record for 'Most Stunts by a Living Actor' - a title that has also made it very difficult to insure his productions. His fearlessness for stunts has come at a obvious costs though as he is also known for frequently getting injured on his stunts. He has sustained everything from a dislocated pelvis, to fractured skull, to numerous broken bones such as fingers, toes, nose, cheekbones, hips, sternum, neck, ankle and ribs. Outside of his individual efforts, Chan founded his own stunt team in the 1980s called the Jackie Chan Stunt Team which would go on to produce numerous features along side Chan and flooded the Hong Kong film industry with knowledge and experience that continues to proliferate in both Eastern and Western films to this day. 

World Famous Stunts

With all of the history and techniques in mind, it's time to actually see these professionals in action. And since stunts are highly visual, this section will mostly just be me teeing up some awesome clips. 

Ben-Hur (1959)

Since we already mentioned this film and all the work the went into it, we might as well actually take a look at the actual scene that Yakima Canutt and his team painstakingly crafted. It's a long clip, but features more than a few examples of some crazy early stunt work. In fact, if you do end up watching the whole thing, I think you'll be even more amazed by the fact that only one of the performers ended up with serious injuries. 

Project A (1983)

There is no shortage of Jackie Chan clips that we could choose from, but I'm going to go with the stunt fall scene from Project A for a few reasons. First, in the quote I used before, the reason that the interviewer asks Chan about Harold Lloyd being an inspiration is likely due to this particular scene. The Project A scene most certainly takes direct inspiration from Lloyd's 1923 film Safety Last which features the actor hanging from a clock face several stories above the ground. In Chan's version, he not only hangs about 3 stories off the ground from a clock face, but he then proceeds to freefall through several awnings and direct onto the ground. Chan was so terrified of the stunt that he delayed it for 7 days straight. When he finally followed through, he did this ridiculous stunt at least 3 times - 2 of which actually made it into the final cut. Take a look - its pretty gnarly. 

Mission Impossible - Fallout (2018)

It mean we can't have a list of incredible stunts and not have at least one Tom Cruise entry. He may be a problematic Scientology nutjob, but he has always been willing to go all in for his stunts in the Mission Impossible series. Sometimes that meant climbing the world's tallest building, sometimes it meant holding his breath underwater for over 6 minutes, and sometimes it meant hanging from the side of an airplane while it takes flight. But, ultimately what I decided to go with was the HALO jump scene from MI - Fallout. The final product actually looks quite fake compared to some of the other stunts he has done due to some added in CGI element. However, the entire sequence was shot for real and involved an entire team of jumpers to make it a reality. 

The Spy Who Loved Me (1997)

Speaking of spy movies, decades before Ethan Hunt plummeted off a cliff on a dirt bike, James Bond did a very similar stunt on skis. Famed stuntman Rick Sylvester did the honor for this one and involved skiing off the edge of Asgard Peak which has a summit of about 6,611'. 

Police Story (1985) 

I can't help but end on another Jackie Chan clip. This time we head over to the mall scene in Police Story. I included the entire scene because there are more than a few great stunts within it, but the culminating feature is Chan sliding down a 5 story pole and dropping through glass and onto wooden shop. If you watch, you can see Chan seemingly psyching himself up just before the pole stunt and then the editor did you the favor of including the same shot from 3 different angles in case you want to see it again. 

Final Thoughts 

Well I could sit around all day posting clips of incredible stunts that you should see and appreciate, but this is already quite long. Sadly, I've really only scratched the surface on all the incredible work that goes into creating these amazing sequences, but I hope some of this will give you a better appreciation of what goes into stunt work. And I'm very pleased that the Oscars are finally recognizing these people and their incredible work on the most famous film stage. Stay tuned for more Deep Dives and if you want more stunt related content you can check the links below for the sources I used. 

 

Sources 

https://www.britishactionacademy.com/blog/the-action-reel/the-evolution-of-stunts-part-five/

https://www.theguardian.com/film/article/2024/may/12/risk-and-reward-life-as-a-stunt-double 

https://fsufilmhandbook.com/stunts-and-special-effects/ 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_(occupation) 

https://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/stuntmen.htm 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLYqbmFMVPM 

https://streetscience.com.au/what-is-stunt-glass/ 

https://nofilmschool.com/learn-how-master-these-8-stunt-tricks 

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/71784/how-silent-filmmaker-buster-keaton-revolutionized-film-comedy 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Chan 

https://www.timeout.com/film/greatest-stunts-in-movie-history