Ever gone to an action movie and been in awe of the leading actor's skills at performing action feats? Chances are, it's not that actor or actress it's their stunt double! Stunt doubles have been around since silent films and there's no sign of that ever-changing.
In many cases, even if the actor or actress was capable of performing a specific stunt, they would not be allowed to because they could be injured and that would put a halt on production.
More Than Just Action Movies
On other occasions, stunt doubles are used for many other skills that the actor or actress does not possess such as dancing, swimming or acrobatics skills. Whether it's television or a movie, they all have at least one double and sometimes even many more.
You might also be interested to learn that even animals have stunts or there are several animals that look alike but they all have only one trick up their paws!
Bruce Willis
Bruce Willis from the many Die Hard movies has quite a few stunt doubles to fill in for him. One of these people is Stuart Wilson who is a major risk-taker but also is a stunt coordinator and fight scene choreographer! So the next time you see Bruce “in action” you might just wonder who that guy really is.
Loved "For 20 Seconds"
Wilson spoke about his work and said, “If you pull off a stunt that's really dangerous or really technical and it comes out right and everybody loves it for 20 seconds, you're somebody. And then you go back to obscurity again.”
Margot Robbie
Margo is famous for her Harley Quinn character but her stunts are performed by Ingrid Kleinig who is world-famous for her daring stunts and amazing physical abilities. Outside of her work on the Suicide Squad movie, she had performed stunts on Mad Max: Fury Road, Ant-Man, Wasp and Justice League. She is always high-in-demand due to her skills.
Holding Breath For 5 Minutes
Speaking of Kleinig's skills, she said the most challenging stunt she ever performed in Suicide Squad was learning how to hold her breath for 5 minutes while underwater and being sent headfirst through the windshield of a Lamborghini. That is just amazing! She is in such demand, you will certainly see many more stunts from this very talented stunt woman.
Penelope Cruz
In Zoolander 2, Penelope Cruz's character performed many hilarious stunts on a motorcycle. In reality, that was her stunt double who happened to be a man with a beard in drag! He performed all the incredible motorcycle stunts, believe it or not!
Really, Really Ridiculously Small Profits
Unfortunately, Zoolander 2 did not do as well as the predecessor Zoolander. Even though Zoolander 2 was a really funny movie, the critics tore it to shreds by writing really negative reviews. The movie barely banked $56 million at the box office and the entire budget was only $55 million. Ouch!
Zoe Saldana
Zoe Saldana is pictured here with her stunt double for the film Guardians of the Galaxy. Her stunt double is stuntwoman Chloé Bruce. Also, just for the record, prosthetic faces were used to create the distinct color and facial markings of Zoe's character.
Blue And Green
In the film Guardians of the Galaxy, Zoe played the character Gamora who is an orphan who is looking for redemption for crimes she committed in the past. While commenting on the film, Saldana said, “I was just excited to be asked to join by James Gunn and to also play someone green. I've been blue before in Avatar.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Yes, even muscleman and movie star, Arnold Schwarzenegger has his own stunt doubles. Even though he was once a seven-time winner of the Mr. Olympia contest, he still needed his stunt doubles. One stunt double is muscular Peter Kent who appeared in many of Arnold's movies and took all the hits and punches for him.
Longtime Collaboration
Peter Kent was Arnold's stunt double for many decades in films including The Terminator Series, Air America, Kindergarten Cop, True Lies, and Jingle All The Way. After ending his stuntman career, he became a stunt coordinator which he is still very active in today.
Karen Gillan
In this shot of Scottish actress Karen Gillan, she is dressed up as her character Ruby Roundhouse from the film Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle. Also in the shot, there are also two of her stunt doubles dressed up but not exactly in jungle attire.
Notable Roles
Gillan has been in a number of large budget films including Guardians of the Galaxy and several of the Avenger movies. We're not really sure if “dance fighting” is something Karen is very good at, but her stunt doubles can dance circles around this stunt. If you don't get the gist, you really should see the movie.
Harrison Ford
In this shot, Harrison is with stuntman Vic Armstrong who appeared as Ford's stunt double in the first three Indiana Jones movies. He also played a Nazi soldier in Raiders of the Lost Ark and was a stunt arranger and stunt coordinator.
Three Times Lucky
Armstrong was not able to appear in the last Indiana Jones film Kingdom of the Crystal Skull due to a scheduling conflict. At that time, he was filming The Mummy – Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. He has always been very busy indeed!
Ian McKellen
British actor and recipient of 6 Laurence Olivier Awards, is probably known best by many movie buffs as Gandalf from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Sir Ian had many body doubles and stuntmen during the filming of the stunning trilogy. We're not really sure what's going on with these shoes though!
Not One Size Fits All
Also, there were so many different heights including the hobbits who looked a great deal smaller than they really were. Also, the hobbits had their own dwarf-sized body doubles. Outside of the role of Gandalf, McKellen is also well-known for his role in the X-Men movies.
Dave Bautista
Dave Bautista, the former WWE wrestler, actually had his own stunt doubles, which might be a surprise to most. He actually played the part of Drax, also known as Drax the Destroyer, in the film The Guardians of the Galaxy.
Relateable Role
Quite honestly, I actually have a lot in common with Drax that it's not even funny. Just some simple things and some similarities including tragedies and tattoos. Whatever Bautista says, I can relate to, sad isn't it.
Chandler Riggs
In the wonderful world of entertainment, even children have stunt doubles. For example, take Chandler Riggs from The Walking Dead franchise. His double just happens to be a 33-year-old woman! Her height and frame are very small which made her the perfect choice to look like Riggs!
Breakout Star
Chandler has won many Saturn awards for Best Performance by a Younger Actor in a Television Series. He also won the Satellite Award for Best Cast – Television Series and the Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Television Series – Leading Young Actor.
Brad Pitt
Phil Ball who is Brad Pitt's stunt double said that being Pitt is the Pits! He even described his time as Pitt's body double for the movie World War Z as “Bizarre and Boring.” He also tweeted “Just when I thought my day job couldn’t get any more bizarre, I’m made to shave my hands.” Wow!
Being Brad Has Its Pits
Well, it didn't stop there. Ball went on to say, “Bored with my Brad hair extensions though — don’t know who I am anymore!” Can we say "wow" again? It looks like being a body double isn't all it's cracked up to be. Read on and discover other interesting little morsels about Stars and Body Doubles!
Chris Hemsworth
Chris Hemsworth's body double, Bobby Holland Hanton, has seen more than his fair share of injuries. He has snapped his groin right off the bone, torn out his shoulder and, while filming Mission Impossible, popped out his rib on the set! You could say he's probably experienced tons of injuries over his career.
A Hard Day's Work
Bobby said that he is constantly training to keep up with Hemsworth's muscle tone. When filming, he trains twice a day, one and a half hours in the gym on a daily basis, 6 days a week. During shooting, they are given 40 minutes for lunch and that's when he goes to the gym. That is definitely a hard day's work!
Henry Cavill
It only goes to show that even superheroes need their stuntmen! Henry Cavill's stuntman is the very talented, exceptionally skilled Adrian Mcgaw. He will be doubling for Cavill during the filming of Mission Impossible – Fallout. Mcgaw has a long history as a stuntman and is very well known in the industry.
DC, Star Wars, Harry Potter & More!
Adrian Mcgaw first appeared as a stuntman in Shortland Street as a stunt double then went on to appear in a number of the Power Rangers episodes. He has a very impressive list of movies under his belt including; Justice League, Wonder Woman, Rogue One, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and the list goes on and on.
Lucy Lawless
Known for her role as Xena, Lucy knows all too well she could not be a warrior princess without help from her stunt double, Zoe Bell. That's right! Before taking on the role of Uma Thurman in the Kill Bill series, Bell was a warrior princess!
A Real Warrior
Zoe Bell's incredible track record includes appearing as a stuntwoman in an amazing 66 episodes of Xena Warrior Princess episodes for Lucy Lawless. She also was an actress and stuntwoman in The Hateful Eight and starred in her own documentary “Double Dare” about her work. I wouldn't look anytime soon for Bell to just kickback. No, she will be kicking butt for a very long time yet to come.
Ronda Rousey
Talk about an actress and her double looking so much alike, it's almost impossible to tell them apart! Ronda Rousey is an actress, an Olympic judoka, and MMA Fighter while her stunt double is none other than Caitlin Dechelle, black belt master! I personally would not mess with either one of these two ladies unless I wanted my butt kicked!
Working With Jackie Chan
Caitlin appeared in several movies with Jackie Chan including Nickelodeon's Supah Ninjas and 9 episodes of the very popular series Teen Wolf. She also was Rousey's stunt double in the movie Fast & Furious 7, which took a lot of skill and guts.
Jennifer Lopez
For Jennifer's music video “Follow the Leader”, she used a male stunt double who, amazingly, really did look like her! This only goes to show that looks can be deceiving! Sometimes, a stunt double can actually be a different gender!
Movie Magic Indeed
As the picture shows, they were both wearing matching jumpsuits that were black and had matching braided hair. Her video was filmed in Mexico and just watching the film, you can't even tell that a stunt double was used. That's what they call Movie Magic!
Megan Fox
Stacey Carino is Megan Fox's stuntwoman and is very well know in the industry for her daredevil stunts and amazing skills. She had even broken her neck and never knew it until she had been x-ray many years later! In an interview, Stacey said, “I know exactly when I did that, but I didn’t realize it was broken”.
She was under the impression that if you broke your neck, you would be paralyzed.
Sharing The Burden?
Stacey said that on some occasions Megan would perform her own stunts. She thinks Fox is a real trooper doing stunts such as running and falling. Carino is also quite flattered that she has been compared to this sex symbol but doesn't let it go to her head or make a big deal out of it.
Angelina Jolie
Being a stunt double is not always about risks or physical strength, just ask Janene Carleton who was the stunt double for Angelina Jolie in the movie “Salt”.
Going Hungry For Three Months!
Just like male stunt doubles who must match an actor's muscle tone, if the actress is slimmer than you, then you have to drop some weight. When doubling for Angelina in the film Salt, she literally went hungry for three months. There are also many cases where an actress must drop weight for a particular role, it's all a part of show business!
Michael J. Fox
During the filming of Back to the Future, Michael actually did most of his own stunts with the skateboard, but he has his own team of stunt doubles to do the more risky, difficult stunts. One, in particular, is expert stuntman Charlie Croughwell.
The First Of Many
Charlie really does look a lot like Michael although he is slightly shorter. While filming Back to the Future, Michael and Charlie became really good friends and Charlies became Fox's stunt double in a number of his other movies. Way to go!
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson also has his fair share of stunt doubles including Tanoai Reed who has a very strong family resemblance to The Rock because they just so happen to be cousins. Tanoai has been Johnson's stunt double ever since the 2002 film The Scorpion King.
"I feel like I’m 83"
Reed has been Johnson's stunt double for 16 years and admits it takes quite a toll on his body. He is jumping off buildings, being hit by cars, and crashing into stuff. He said there are times he feels like he's 83-years-old. After his years in football, he really thought he would work on healing his body but I guess that's just not in the cards.
Chris Pratt
This is a picture of actor Chris Pratt and his stunt double Tony McFarr on the set of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Tony started his career in 2011, filming the television series “Bones” and is still going strong.
From Jurassic To Outer Space
Tony has remained Chris' stuntman ever since the 2015 film Jurassic World. Other films have included Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 and Passengers. Read on to discover other actors and their stunt doubles who are look-alikes.
Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett's stuntwoman is one of the most sought after, talented artists in the business. Heidi Moneymaker performed the biggest stunts for Johansson's character, Black Widow, in the Avengers movies. To date, she has 74 credited stunt roles to her name!
A-List Double
Moneymaker did reveal that her greatest fear would have been spending her life sitting behind a desk for a living. Other actors, she has done stunts for include Drew Barrymore, Julianne Moore, Michelle Rodriguez, and Ruby Rose.
Johnny Depp
It is pretty well known that Johnny Depp is not someone who wants to do his own stunts. He prefers the close-ups and then leaves the stunts to the professionals. Guess he learned the hard way while filming On Stranger Tides he ended up limping for weeks because he hurt his back.
Risky Business
During the filming Pirates of the Caribbean, one of his stunt doubles were injured. The director said that was one of the scariest moments ever. What many people might not realize, simple stunts in Westerns are some of the most dangerous.
I have the greatest respect for actors, stunts people and, directors that can make everything look so easy but in actuality are very dangerous.
Olivia Munn
It seems that actress Olivia Munn from X-Men has come under criticism for claiming she did all her own stunts. She said her character is so powerful and lethal that it was important for her to carry out the stunts on her own, to make it more believable for the audience.
Undue Credit
Well, it seems that this was not the case according to the film people. Stunt people from all over were fuming when she made those comments. They said that Munn performed some or even a lot of her stunts but she certainly needed help from her stunt double, Julia Rekaikyna.
Emilia Clarke
Emilia Clarke's double was model Rose Mac who was hired for the 6-week filming of Game of Thrones in Spain. And she never even auditioned.
Selfie Stuntwoman
It seems she posted a selfie on Twitter and later on was asked by one of the agencies to send in her body measurements but she had no idea why. It turned out they needed a double for Daenerys.
Uma Thurman
Zoe Bell was the stuntwoman for Uma Thurman in Kill Bill Vol 1 and 2. Tarantino loved her work so much, he made her the star in Death Proof which happens to center around a stuntman.
From Stuntwoman To Star
Bell said, with great pride, that she can physically kick many men's asses. But realized with age is her vulnerability as a source of strength and thinks that's somewhat ironic.
Jennifer Garner
Shauna Duggins is Jennifer's stuntwoman and personal friend. They have worked together for years on the series Alias and has doubled for her many films including 13 Going on 30, Elektra, Daredevil, and Arthur.
Changing The Industry
Duggins was the first stuntwoman nominated for the Outstanding Stunt Coordination Emmy and has been a pioneer in the field of stuntwomen. She said that years ago, they would dress men up as women to do stunts but at some point, they realized that women can fall down too!
Natalie Portman
It seems there's controversy behind the ballerina stunt double for the film Black Swan, Sarah Lane. She said there was a cover-up regarding Portman's dancing in the movie. That said, the producers stood behind Portman.
Did She Really Deserve The Oscar?
Lane said that the full-body shots were Portman (about 5%) but the other shots were of her. Shots of her face and arms were Natalie but nothing to do with the dancing.
Gal Gadot
Even Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman needs a double for the daring jumps and fight scenes. As Godot was pregnant the time, it was imperative. Her stunt double was Alicia Vela-Bailey.
Working Woman
Vela-Bailey is very well known as a stuntwoman who has worked on many movies including Wonder Woman, Avatar, Divergent, and Lights Out. She has so many movies and shows to her name, it's impossible to keep count.
Ryan Reynolds
Ryan Reynolds has suffered many serious injuries so he no longer does his own stunts. His stunt double is the very talented Alex Kyshkovych who performs all the really tough scenes. He performed the stunts in both Deadpool 1 and Deadpool 2.
The Magic Of Special Effects
Although Kyshkovych does not look anything like Reynolds, creating a mask seems to have done the trick, leaving the audience believing that Reynolds performed those death-defying stunts. Kyshkovych has also done the stunts in Arrow and various X-Men movies.