Some of the action scenes in high production movies are so incredible and mind-blowing that we tend to forget that real people are performing in these scenes. Movie stunts can be dangerous to perform and require hard work, training, and consistent effort to pull off.
While most movies use stunt doubles for action scenes that actors cannot do themselves, some actors perform their own stunts! Let’s take a look at some of the more recognizable ones:
Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan has dominated action movies since the ’70s and has some big hits like Rush Hour and The Karate Kid. He has built his entire career on his incredible stunts and his dedication to always performing them on his own. In fact, he’s so good that he even designed the stunts in Rush Hour himself.
Tom Holland
Tom Holland is still relatively new to the world of action and is making a name for himself in his role as Marvel’s Spider-Man. He performs as many of his stunts as he can and has taken ownership of the role. He has a background in gymnastics that he says has played a huge role in preparing him for his movie stunts.
Kristen Stewart
Kristen Stewart may not be one of the first names you think of when it comes to action stars, but she belongs on this list. Stewart started out with performing action scenes in the last two Twilight movies but got her big action role in the latest adaptation of the Charlie’s Angels movie, for which she trained extensively.
Tom Cruise
Any list of actors who perform their own stunts would be incomplete without Tom Cruise. He has performed some of the most incredible and dangerous stunts in the Mission Impossible movie series and shows no signs of slowing down. The seventh movie of the series is set to release in 2022, in which Cruise performs a death-defying stunt on a sky-scraper!
Dwayne Johnson
Dwayne Johnson has built an amazing reputation for himself with his professional wrestling career and earned the title Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. He performs his own stunts to be as authentic as possible and feel a sense of ownership of his roles. Some of his big action roles were in movies like Rampage, Skyscraper, and the Fast and Furious series.
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie has performed some amazing stuntwork throughout her career. She is best known for her action roles in the movies Salt, Wanted, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and the Lara Croft: Tomb Raider series. For the Tomb Raider series, Jolie trained vigorously and gained fifteen pounds of muscle for her role.
Movie Stunts Are An Art
Movie stunts are no joke and are way harder than they sometimes look. The actors we have talked about go through intense training, exercise, and diet to be able to perform their stunts. We’re so impressed by their dedication and commitment to their roles! Be sure to watch some of the movies that we’ve mentioned to see these star in action.
