If you don’t know who Zoe Bell is at this point then you’re either too young or you haven’t watched any Quentin Tarantino movies since these are the projects where she’s been featured rather prominently as a stuntwoman and actress. Bell has done plenty of other things in her career but it’s fair to say that a lot of people love what she’s done in Tarantino’s movies since she was the stunt double for Uma Thurman through the Kill Bill movies and as anyone can imagine, she’s been through the wringer a couple of times. This is a woman that’s actually damaged the vertebrae in her back and kept on working until another stunt put her down for a while. Calling her tough is kind of underestimating her, but she’s had to recuperate a few times in her career after taking some pretty heavy hits.
She’s been a stuntwoman, an actress, a fight choreographer, and a stunt coordinator in her time in the business, and she’s wracked up both roles and awards as well, which definitely proves that she’s every bit as good as she’s said to be since Zoe has been gaining recognition for a while now and has earned every bit of it. As of now, she’s still working, but it would appear that she alternates between one task and another when it comes to her career, perhaps to give herself a break from time to time, or maybe because she simply takes the jobs as they come. But just watching her on the set is kind of fun since when one realizes how many stunts she’s taken on and how many times she’s been knocked on her duff they can come to appreciate that this woman is extraordinarily tough at times and can take a great deal of punishment. But she can also help out in other ways that help to make the movie something special since being able to take damage isn’t the only skill she ever learned.
What’s kind of amusing is that it sounds as though her start into the stuntperson life began when her father helped out an injured stuntman, as he’s a doctor, and ended up bringing home a number for Zoe to call so that she could get started. It didn’t take much more than that and she was on her way to a career. Seeing as how she was already quite active and had been training in the martial arts it’s likely that Zoe had at least a strong base to work from when it came to getting into her chosen field. There are quite a few people out there that look at the role of a stuntperson and think that it looks like fun since honestly, they do a number of things in a lot of movies and shows, and even commercials, that do look as though they would make an adrenaline junkie’s day. The only downside that a lot of people still find out the hard way is that when a stunt goes wrong there are a few consequences to be paid.
Taking care of one’s body, making sure a stunt goes the way it’s supposed to, and hoping that everything goes the way that is required to get everyone home safe and sound at night is the goal. No one walks onto the set thinking ‘Gee, I’d love to break a few bones today’, which is why stunts, as glamorous and amazing as they look on screen, are still planned out in a meticulous manner with safety being of great importance and the skill of the stuntperson being taken into account. Essentially, one might think that the best stuntperson for the job will be brought in more often than not, and that does make sense. But even with that in mind, since many stunt people are taught to be safe and mindful of each stunt, things can happen. Zoe is just one person that’s living proof of this since she’s incurred injuries that have sidelined her in the past and yet she healed, took the time to make sure she was good to go, and was back at it again.
Zoe is still working, though as mentioned above it does appear that she switches back and forth between acting, performing stunts, choreographing fight scenes, and simply enjoying her work. One thing that can be said about this woman is that she’s there for the chance to make something great happen, and she doesn’t disappoint. Like a lot of people she’s worked with Quentin Tarantino quite a bit, but, just like the rest, she goes her own way when there’s a job to be done. At the end of the day, she is one of the more recognizable stuntwomen in the business, and she is one of the most amazing to watch.
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