It’s amazingly easy to have a lot of respect for stunt people since they do some seriously impressive things, not to mention that if a lot of the actors in various action movies had to take the kind of physical abuse that stunt people do, their careers would likely be a lot shorter. To learn that some of the favorite moments in shows and movies are actually being performed by stunt people is usually a pleasant surprise since not only do they make the scenes look good, but their expertise and their skill manage to increase the overall experience for the fans. In The Mandalorian season 2, it’s likely that a lot of people didn’t know what Rosario Dawson’s stunt double was taking on the wide shots, but everyone can agree that she did a great job. The fact that every stunt has to be coordinated and planned out is something a lot of folks still don’t fully understand since accidents are going to happen and there are bound to be actors that get a little too over-zealous at times, but the job of the stunt coordinator and the stunt people is to minimize the level of real damage that’s about to be done. Sometimes though a person has to bite the bullet and simply go through with the stunt and hope that it won’t hurt too badly.
Stunts on a movie or TV set are usually going to be well-planned and have pads anywhere and everywhere possible, safety glass if it’s needed, and many other measures in place that will seek to help the stunt people to get through the scene as easily as possible. Sometimes it simply happens that a stunt needs something extra, meaning that it will require a stunt person to go through a bit of pain to get the shot. Most people in the business will admit that this does happen and there are times when it can’t be avoided. But it’s also a good point to make that it’s likely that a stunt person, hopefully, has excellent medical coverage since it also feels likely that there are times when they’re bound to need it. From minor to major injuries this is the kind of job that really needs benefits such as medical insurance since otherwise, it feels that a lot of people might give an emphatic ‘hell no’ when asked to perform one stunt or another. There are definitely some stunts that aren’t quite as hard as others, and there are actors that will take one for the team and perform their own stunts now and then when it can be allowed. One thing about main actors is that a lot of times they won’t be able to do their own stunts since it’s not allowed.
Actors aren’t usually allowed to do stunts since if they do end up getting injured then filming has to stop and a lot of money is lost. But as the years have gone by more and more actors have taken to doing at least a few of their own stunts as several of them have trained quite rigorously in order to be able to take on the physical stress of each stunt. A lot of actors still prefer to have a stunt double since they either don’t do the training or they don’t possess the skills that their characters do, and thus they need a stunt double. Of course, a lot of stunts are taken care of with special effects and green screens as well, which kind of feels like cheating but is still something that a lot of people continue to like. Stunts are a big part of what helps to make an action movie great since people want to see the death-defying action that people engage in since it provides a rush that folks enjoy and gives them a bit of inspiration. The one thing about that inspiration though is that while it’s easy to feel when looking at how stunt people operate, it’s important to not emulate them to such a degree that one ends up in the hospital. It’s one thing if a person has aspirations towards being a stunt person. Then it might be time to start brushing up on your martial arts techniques, learning how to take a fall and many other parts of being a stunt person. But otherwise, the people in the movies are trained professionals and have typically had years of experience to fine-tune their bodies and their abilities, so just getting out there and trying to do what they do isn’t wise, nor is it something that’s going to turn out that well.
It’s never possible to eliminate all risk since there’s always going to be something that can go wrong with a stunt. The trick is to eliminate as much risk as possible by using as many safety measures and hoping for the best.
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