I've been defenestrated, shot at, thrown into walls, fallen 25 feet hundreds of times. I got paid to call Justin Bieber a bitch. I've been a stunt nerd, zombie, cowboy, ninja and pirate. Stunt performer for live shows, film and TV. AMA

What is the story behind getting paid to call Justin Beiber a bitch?

Got hired on to a Punk'd episode with Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus. The set-up was that she thought she was punking Bieber; we were playing skateboarders and he would park in our skating area, which would piss us off and we would "destroy" his car while he was at lunch. In reality we had met with Bieber ahead of time and worked out the scene to where we would get in a fight with him. He pushed me down, tripped another stunt guy and "kicked" him in the side "breaking his rib." Then he ran off and Miley was basically blamed for a prank gone horribly wrong, thus punking her.

Did you guys really trash a car? What was it like to work with Beiber and Miley?

The trashing the car was just a set-up for what Miley thought was going to happen, the "fight" with Bieber happened instead.

Miley Cyrus was really nice, but since we were actually punking her, they didn't have us talk to her much so we wouldn't give anything away (hired stunt guys as improv actors, so it's understandable they'd be a little worried). I don't want to burn any bridges, suffice it to say, Bieber came across as really young.

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions :)

That's what lazy Sundays are for! Well, lazy until I go be a pirate in a few hours.

Pirate?

I'm the Purple Pirate at Pirate's Dinner Adventure, Buena Park. Work is at 3, but I'll be back in a couple hours after that.

I should read more. I see you posted that in the content of the post...sorry.

No worries.

I've been to that pirate show!!! It was quite a few years ago when it first opened up but that shit was so fun!!! I fell in love with the green emo pirate. Me and my friend go our picture with him as he carried us in either arm. Either way its a fun show and it basically made my nieces and nephews as happy as can be!! Thanks for that.

It's a fun show to work at and the kids always seem to have a great time. Makes working there not feel like work most of the time.

Ah, the pirate place by Medevial Times, near Knott's? I've never been, even though I love pirates. Now I feel compelled to check it out.

It's a fun show, silly but fun.

I don't want to burn any bridges, suffice it to say, Bieber came across as really young.

That means he was a prick

I wouldn't say that. Just...immature? More concerned with his self image than things like our safety.

Yeah that sounds like a prick alright. You didn't say it, I did, so all the bridges are wet as fuck and nonburnable. You should have kicked him in the nuts and said, "Unpunk that, bitch."

That would have gotten great ratings. You should write these.

*edit for spelling. It said wright, hence the comment below.

http://youtu.be/_6eotOZ7fQw

Link for the curious

Which dude are you?

I think he is the one that calls him a bitch and gets shoved down around 1:50, with short black hair.

Correct.

You double-punking scoundrel.

If I were Bieber I would worry about being triple-punked.

The day was already confusing enough with who knew what.

I up voted this because you properly used "defenstrate".

Thanks! You don't know how incredibly happy it makes me to be able to say I've been defenestrated.

What does that mean?

To be thrown out of a window, or I guess just fall out of one.

I believe it is specifically to be thrown out of a window. I was thrown, so my stunt qualifies :).

what does being thrown through a window feel like?

The guys who built it did a fantastic job. It was made of sugar glass and balsa wood, but looked amazingly real. With the adrenaline, I barely registered it was there. I wasn't sure how much resistance there would be, so I hit it pretty hard and it just kind of disappeared,

Does sugar glass hurt if you land on it the right way? I know it's supposed to break easily but it seems like it would still be very painful to land on.

The pieces can be pretty darn sharp, but usually they powder under weight. Probably won't get more than cut up.

Instant Diabeetus!

The untold dangers of stunt work.

You mean that they would powder when you first break the window or after being landed on? In the second case... yowch.

Some of it powders with initial impact. As for the rest, it really depends on what pads you are wearing and what you are landing on. If it was between a harder surface of your body and cement, I think the sugar glass would probably break apart, but I could be wrong. Don't really want to test the theory.

Came to the thread looking for this answer haha

What's the most fun thing you've done on the job?

High falls are pretty darn fun once you have done enough that you don't need to think about them. Still need to focus, but you can enjoy the ride.

-What's the worst injury you've received on the job? Off the job? -Favorite film you've been in? Favorite film period? -What is the best music genre?!

On the job, sprained ankle. Off the job, broken 5th metatarsal on my left foot. So fairly injury free thus far.

Only been in one movie so far and it hasn't released yet. But I guess that one.

Tough one, let me think about it and I'll get back to you.

What movie will you be in, because I want to see you and your skills at work. You sound like a pretty cool guy (or girl, not sure and not sure if it was already stated)

I'm a guy and thank you. It is called Dark Summer. Not sure how much I can say, but it was a pretty easy stunt. If you see the main guy fall down in front of a sliding glass door, that's me.

Spoiler alert much?

Well, since I already ruined it I can tell you how it ends. Credits.

I've heard that Johnny Knoxsville has to use a catheter on a daily basis because of sustained trauma. Would you be willing to similarly trade ongoing health issues for some sort of widespread noteriety?

Not the kind of stunts I'm interested in. Despite my career path, I am a very careful person. I analyze the crap out of anything I do. I want it to look good, but, more importantly, I want it to be repeatable (not just for multiple takes, which happens most of the time, but for years down the line). My safety to paycheck ratio is very heavily weighted towards the safety end.

Johnny Knoxville is hardly a stunt guy. He gets hurt for real, not to make it look real.

Yeah, Knoxville is more daredevil than stuntman

Daredevil would be a good term for the jackass bunch. Taking risk for the sake of it.

How did you get into it? What kind of training is required / what does the typical stuntman's resume look like?

In high school I started doing parkour and around that time decided I wanted to do stunt work (I had acted since I was a kid, martial arts for something like 20 years now, always making fight scenes with my friends, so parkour was just kind of the final push to do it).

Typical resume of someone who is more serious is usually; some form of martial art (some more than others), some form of gymnastics (some more than others), parkour is pretty common now, weapons (bladed and gunpowder) and whatever falling ability they have. Some people pad their ability list, which is never a good idea.

Could you please elaborate on the falling ability?

Absolutely. A big one is high falls, which type you can do (face-off, header, suicide, back-off) and from how high. The other would be if you have experience just hitting the ground. It is usually called ground pounding, but it is basically your willingness to hit cement with no padding. Experience in how to break-fall minimizes the amount those falls suck, but they will always, always suck.

Woah, so part of your job is just falling from height and landing on cement? How high are we talking?

Sorry for the confusion, there was intended to be a separation between high falls and hitting cement. That being said, hitting the ground from higher up isn't unheard of, but I haven't hit cement from more than about 5 feet, I would say. Rolling out of a fall, I've gone about 12'.

How did you get the job? Sounds like it'd be a fun line of work.

Auditioned for the Pirate's Lair show at Disneyland, CA. First stunt show. Worked with a group of fantastic stuntmen and women. Learned a lot of what I needed to do from them. Went to work at the Wild West Stunt Show at Knott's Berry Farm, mainly to learn high falls. Met a bunch of super talented people there. A connection from Knott's got me Glee. My uncommon size (5'7, 120lbs) and young look has gotten me most of my jobs from there. It doesn't hurt that I can act, which has gotten me several jobs.

Yo I'm 5'8 125 and I act. How does one make this happen? Haha

I'm 5'10" and 120 lbs. My time to shine!!

Dude, I literally just saw a post from a coordinator looking for a double for a 5'10, 125lbs guy in Texas. The people that were submitting were all bigger then the guy they needed to double. Get to it.

nope you dont sound full of yourself. cool thread tho

Sorry if it comes across that way.

What is the favorite thing you have been paid to do?

Throwing myself into a car windshield for Holliston. Funny story, actually. It was a car in front of a green screen set-up and they wanted me to hit the car like I had just been hit by the car. No coordinator, so I just walked through exactly how I was hitting, where I was going (thankfully they had a pad to throw on the floor so I didn't have to hit cement afterward). They wanted a roll over the windshield, so that's what I did. First take went well, exactly how I planned. They wanted another one. I thought, "I've got this" and put a little more into the second hit. Broke the windshield right on the bottom, dead center. Thank God, it didn't interfere with their shots, actresses kept going and they loved it (used it for the show). Two takes and I was done. First shot of the day, wrapped an hour after I got to set.

*edit: Thanks for the gold!

Your job seems absolutely beautiful, funnest thing you have thrown yourself into is a car?

Yeah, car was fun. Wall hurt a bit.

Walls too? You just can't get enough...

For a SAG-AFTRA daily ($859), there are not a lot of objects I would not throw myself into, onto, or off of.

Favorite unpaid gig was a proof of concept for Seth Green and Dan Fogler (nothing ever happened with it). I got to be a ninja and fight both of them. The coordinator was Garrett Warren (Avatar, Real Steel, Ender's Game...90 something credits). Seth Green was awesome and his wife was super nice as well. Everyone made sure we knew they were very grateful we were volunteering our time (even bought pizza for everyone). Great experience all around and got this awesome picture.

SAXON!!! You have been our pirate each time we have gone for our friends birthdays. We are all 27+ and by far cheer the loudest for you even though we know your outcome. On a few occasions you've shushed us. It's all good though. My question is, do you plan on moving up in ranks or will you always be the comedic relief pirate? Either way, good on you and we'll sit in your section regardless.

Haha, awesome! I try not to quiet my section unless there are lines that need to be said, or just funny lines I want to say. Believe me, we would much rather have the rowdy audiences than the dead ones. For me, I actually rank Saxon pretty high. Aside from Magee, it is the one role where you can get away with practically anything. If a joke bombs, it's Saxon. Forget something, it's Saxon. Most of all, it is the one role where your jokes can usually get the other actors to break character and that is always fun.

I do plan on cross-training to other pirates (though I'm the full-time purple and don't have much coverage, so I wouldn't get to do other roles all that much).

Awesome. Gotta enjoy what you do. That's most important. Here's our motley crew with you haha. http://imgur.com/UjW0k1W

Hilarious, come say hi next time you guys see the show.

Are you a supporter of the campaign for the Oscars to introduce a stunt category?

Are awards important to you or in the business in general?

Do you have any awards or titles?

I absolutely support stunt people getting recognized at awards shows. I think every other aspect is represented, but for whatever reason stunt work isn't.

I have a couple trophys for ballroom dancing in college...that count?

How was being a zombie?

I was a zombie ninja, so pretty awesome. Shambling might get old pretty fast, though I would gladly do it for Walking Dead!

Thanks for the answer! You're my first IAMA where I actually got a reply :D

Also zombie ninja? Was it for a tv show because I would watch the shit out of it. And walking dead would be a cool gig

It was actually for a friend's music video parody of Psy's Gentleman. He also did Gunman Style (I was a ninja in that one as well and coordinated both. Gentleman has 2 million views and Gunman Style has like 44 millions views now, which is awesome.)

Wow both were well done! You did a great evil ninja zombie...or evil zombie ninja...or zombie ninja evil...anyway you were pretty good!

Thanks, dude. The shoots were a little stressful, but Jervy managed to get some cool stuff put together.

Have you ever been refenestrated?

I am trying to decide what a refenestration would actually entail. Pulled back into a window? Thrown back through a broken window you were previously thrown out of? Either way, I can't say I have. New goal, perhaps.

How's your sperm count?

Haven't checked, but I'll go with optimal on account of my giant balls ;).

Might be cancer

Just checked WebMD, definitely cancer.

My research says that it's AIDS. Doctor, do you concur?

I'm not a doctor, but definitely worried about cancer-AIDS now. This AMA was a terrible idea.

Damnit Jim I'm a stuntman, not a doctor.

No cheating; name the episode where Bones says, "I'm a Doctor, not a bricklayer."

Isn't it the one in which they go to the mining colony that's being terrorized by an acidic nonhumanoid life form?

Yes it is (silicone based lifeform)! Love that episode.

I'll admit, I haven't seen all of them. In fact I'm just starting to watch it on Netflix.

The Devil in the Dark. It's amazing. One of my father's favorite episodes (also Day of the Dove) and it became one of mine, too.

Rip in peace!

Planning on making a DVD disc with my video will.

What the hell made you even consider being a stuntman?

I would probably kill myself at a desk job, so the alternative seemed less risky.

Just wanted to pop in and say it was excited when I just learned you were a stuntman on The Mindy Project. Tell me about that.

Also, I would like to put on a nice dress and take you to dinner, where we would proceed to cause a scene and eventually maybe I would "slam" your face into a table so everyone in the restaurant would be like "what a crazy bitch". We would then proceed to calmly finish dinner, and perhaps make out in the car when you drop me off. If you'd like.

I doubled the nerdy intern when he got thrown into a wall. It was fun, didn't interact with the main cast that much. Three takes, kinda banged up my arm on the painting around take two. The trashcan falling late was unintentional and almost made me start laughing.

Sounds like a fun time all around.

would you rather fall 25 feet 100 more times or 100 feet 1 time?

Right at this moment, I would rather fall 25', 100 more times. I can do those falls entirely by reflex, now. With training, 100' fall would definitely be a much bigger paycheck, but there aren't many places to learn a skill like that.

[deleted]

I was assuming safety equipment would be present for both. Even a 25' fall could kill you without it. As far as I know, foam pads usually aren't used past 25'. Boxes can be used to about that height as well (possibly higher? Not sure the limit on that). An air bags would be used for any really big high fall.

A 25' fall can kill you without safety equipment.

True story.

Do you get to hang out with the actors you are playing for?

Depends. I try not to get in anyone's way, so unless they talk to me I don't bother them. It's also kind of weird on set, because every time I've worked everyone has already been working together for a long time and I'm just there for a day. Some actors go out of their way to talk to you, though. I recently worked with Rob Corddry and he was awesome.

What were you doing working with Rob Corddry?

He is on an episode of Trophy Wife that should be coming up.

I want to get my start in being a stunt man.

A little about me. I'll be 76 in 3 months. I have all my hair and teeth.

What advice can you give me?

Squats and oats.

What's the worst you have been injured while doing a stunt?

So far, a sprained ankle at Pirate's. So, nothing serious and may it stay that way.

Harrrrd landing?

The judges gave it a "Sea".

Best I could do.

I'm so sorry.

You must be pretty good at your job then! Thanks for the reply!

I am a careful man. I have a very good sense of what I can and can't do and will go over everything many many times, if not practically then mentally. I wouldn't say my personality type is common in the industry, but it has prevented any accidents on my end so far.

What is your personality according to Myer & Briggs personality test?

edit: If you don't know don't take the test for me, it be sweet if you knew though.

INTJ.

Was there ever a stunt you had to think about for a minute? Like, "Should I really be doing this?"

Going from a 10' high fall to an 18' one. Took about 10 minutes visualizing how I was going to fall before I did from that height. The transition from 18' to 25' was actually easier.

Is there a reason for the big gap between heights?

The windmill we fall off of has two heights, 10' and 18', the high fall at the stage we do the main show at is about 25'. Just what they were built as.

I'm super late to this post but hopefully you'll see it anyways. I just wanted to say thank you for being a pirate at Pirate Dinner Adventure. My brother is autistic and his favorite thing is pirates. Every year for his birthday we go to Pirate Adventure to see you guys perform and you are always awesome. All of the pirates we have had any interaction with have been amazing, understanding, and so considerate of my brother. They always pose for pictures, sign whatever he asks, and never break character. He loves watching you all perform and I love you for making his day every year. Thank you!!

You are very welcome! It is always nice to hear things like this.

Are you ok?

So far so good.

What was the hardest stunt you ever made?

Did you seriously injured while making a stunt?

What is the stunt you like the most?

What kind of Vacuum Cleaner do you have?

EDIT: I would pay to call justin bieber a bitch. How did you feel after that?

Hardest stunt, probably going off the 25' high fall at Knott's for the first time. The pad looked tiny.

Never injured on a real stunt job other than bruises and scrapes. Live shows I've sprained my ankle a couple times.

Favorite stunt so far was going through a window for a prank type show (can't give details, won't air for awhile).

All of them. All the vacuum cleaners.

What has been your personal favorite "stunt" out of everything?

This wasn't a paid stunt, but right when I started live shows, I free climbed the outside of my high school theater. It was probably about 40' and I don't think I'd ever do something like that again for free, but standing on top of the theater was kind of a proud moment (if you watch my stunt reel, it is the clip at the very end).

You sound like you've seen a lot - what's one stunt or category of stunts that you would always refuse?

Alternately:

What's the craziest stunt you've turned down?

Haven't ever been asked to do something on a set that I couldn't do/ would not feel comfortable doing. I have not trained in any vehicle stunts, so I would never put myself in a position to do one until I had training. I would never lie to get a job. If I don't have the experience, I tell the coordinator straight up and they can decide.

Very informative! Thanks for taking the time to respond!

Absolutely, having fun.

i'm a television producer, and I've always thought a follow-doc tv series about stuntmen and the training / prop creation / choreography etc. would make a really interesting reality show. Logistically, though, it seems impossible to produce because you'd need permissions and access to get into closed sets, and would have the headache of releasing big name talent. Not sure what my question is. Maybe I'm pitching the idea to you? Do the stuntmen you generally work with have strong personalities and do you think the process would be interesting to watch for people not in the industry?

In my experience stuntmen would make hilarious television, though you would probably have to censor a lot.

Hey man, just gotta say that your MOGA video entry is really well done. I would recommend adding some more sound effects next time though. It really make a difference having subtle punching sounds whenever you hit someone! Keep it up buddy.

Thank you! Mixing the audio was a freaking pain (also not my strong suit). They were actually present, but when I boosted the gain on them they sounded super fake to me. Foley is going to be a big project for my next videos.

What kind of stunts did you have to do on Glee?

First time I worked, I was a nerd getting thrown into a dumpster. A couple weeks ago, I doubled Kevin McHale getting knocked out of his wheelchair.

Artie can't fall out of his wheelchair himself??

He was willing to and they had him do it with the coordinator and another guy tipping the chair over using a bar they had secured to it. For the full on fall they had me step in.

Rod Kimble? Is this you? If it's not you, how hard would it be to pull off the stunts in the movie HotRod?

Not a motorcycle guy, but I would assume most of it is math based and worked out ahead of time.

From the first couple lines, I thought this was about a abusive relationship.

We hit out of love. But seriously, don't abuse spouses.

Hey man , fantastic AMA . I didn't have a Chance to look through all the comments so I apologize if this has already been asked . But how would a young person get into stunt work ? I've been a tree climber and fallen out of 70 foot pine trees and fallen off 35 foot ledges with the army , and I actually really enjoyed those experiences. I can imagine the adrenaline i had during those is similar to the adrenaline you experience every day and I fucking love it ! Any advice in breaking into a career as a stuntman .? Thanks in advance

I went the live stunt show route to start. Great training ground if you use it as one. It also gets you experience with acting and improv (can't beat a live show for learning how to roll with the unexpected). Developing skills like martial arts (for film, which is a bit different. A really good book to read is "Fight Choreography: the art of non-verbal dialogue." He goes into a lot of stuff about structuring a fight for film). Training your body to be aware of where it is when your feet aren't touching the ground is absolutely invaluable. Things like trampoline, gymnastics, and tricking can all help build this body awareness. Parkour is a great skill for life in general. Learning how to roll out of a fall has saved my ass many times. Once you have a solid skill set, start marketing yourself. Student films can be a great way to get experience on camera and build a resume. Get a good headshot, put a resume together with your sizes (height, weight, waist, inseam, hat, glove, jacket, t-shirt...those are the common ones) and skills. Find a way to get your information to coordinators. Finding a set and meeting the coordinator is called "hustling" and can be a good way to get your name out. Be polite and respectful of their time. Don't interrupt, wait for them to have a moment, introduce yourself, ask if you can leave your information and don't stay past the amount of time they seem actually interested in talking to you.

Shot at?

Wild West Stunt Show. Also John Locke shot at me on a new show for FOX.

What's the hardest stunt to do in film and TV? (That you've either done or know about?)

I would say high falls, past a certain point, would start being incredibly difficult (100'+ falls). Timing, air sense and technique would have to be spot on, or the stunt guy would be a spot, on the ground.

Who's your brother?

His name is Erik.

Damn. I was hoping it was Bob.

Sorry to disappoint. I'll ask if he'd be willing to change his name for you, though.

Is there any movie to date that you have seen which you are glad you would never have to be a stunt actor for?

Chocolate comes to mind (the Thai film). A lot falls and hits in that that were definitely real. Not the things long careers are made of. I'd also like to think I would step up and do the stuff that red trousers do, but those guys hurt themselves a lot, for far less.

What is something you'll never do even if you're offered a butt-load of money?

Situational, probably. If the stunt seemed very unsafe, or if people I was trusting my life with seemed incompetent, I might turn something down. Not sure if enough butt-loads of money would make me change my mind.