The Big Picture

The art of stunt work is a testament to the hard work of backstage experts and the bravery of trained professionals. Tom Cruise, Jackie Chan, Sylvester Stallone, and Harrison Ford are admired for performing their own stunts, showcasing their dedication as actors. Stunt work is finally receiving industry recognition, with the introduction of a new category at the Nation Board of Review awards.

The art of stunt work is impressive at any age, where the ability to render death defying stunts on screen is a testament to the hard work of numerous backstage experts and the bravery of trained professionals. Often, action and adventure movies make it seem like their lead actors are actually plunged into moments of peril through the use of stunt doubles, where these experts perform the dangerous act and are then edited in post-production so that the lead actor appears to be the one taking on the stunt. But in some cases, the actors themselves are the ones performing the scene, meaning some are capable of performing their own stunts without a body double. This is tough enough for younger stars, where it becomes even more staggering that many well-known performers have been doing their own stunts for decades.

Tom Cruise, Jackie Chan, and Sylvester Stallone Aren’t the Oldest Stunt Performers in Hollywood
Image via Netflix

At age 61, Tom Cruise deserves an honorable mention for a long career of impressive stunt work. Beginning in 1996, the Mission: Impossible franchise is defined by its thrilling action sequences and unbelievable stunts, many of which are performed by Cruise. The underwater heist featured in Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation is widely held to be Cruise’s most impressive stunt performance in the franchise. The star underwent intensive training for over a year to be able to hold breath for an extended period of four to six minutes.

When it comes to stunts, Jackie Chan is another name that immediately comes to mind. The 69-year-old star began his decades-long career as a stunt double and martial arts choreographer, before transitioning into leading roles. Many of his best known films feature Chan performing his own stunts, which include the bus chase in Police Story, the alley jump in Rumble in the Bronx and the building slide in Who Am I?. More recently, Chan can be seen performing stunts with John Cena in the Netflix film Hidden Strike.

At age 77, Sylvester Stallone endures as one of the greatest stars to perform their own stunts. In The Expendables, Stallone performed a number of risky stunts, where one scene involving a fight with wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin led to a serious hairline fracture. Despite this injury, the star is yet to retire, recently reprising his Expendables role in Expend4bles.

Harrison Ford Owns the Title of the Oldest Stunt-Performing Star With ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’
Image via Disney

Currently, the star who endures as the oldest actor to perform their own stunts is the one and only Harrison Ford, who, at 81 years old, boasts a decades long career of action and adventure. The star’s commitment to doing his own stunts has led to some of the best and most realistic action sequences that have ever graced our screens, including in the Indiana Jones franchise. Raiders of the Lost Ark features numerous examples of Ford’s daring, including the moment where the star is dragged across the ground by a speeding truck. Ford filmed some of this sequence without a stunt double, despite the physical demands involved.

These stunts have also caused numerous injuries over the years, most recently during the filming of 2023’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, where filming schedules had to be reorganized after Harrison Ford sustained a shoulder injury. But the star is known for a certain stubbornness when it comes to being coddled on-set. Talking to Esquire in the build-up to Indiana Jones 5, Ford describes how stunt teams attempted to assist him in dismounting from a horse during filming to make for a smoother shot. The star recreates his characteristic response: “Leave me alone, I’m an old man getting off a horse and I want it to look like that!” This commitment to realism is a testament to Ford’s dedication as an actor, where even in his 80s, no effort is too great for the sake of a convincing on screen take.

Ford’s dedication to his craft notably led to serious injury during his work on Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The star’s return to the franchise produced widespread excitement and anticipation, but in the build-up to the release of Episode VII, there were also concerns for the state of Ford’s safety after it emerged that he had broken his leg whilst filming. Although fans initially imagined this injury occurred whilst filming a stunt, confirmation later emerged that an accident involving a hydraulic door on the set of the Millennium Falcon had in fact caused the injury, an operational error which resulted in a $2 million dollar fine for the production company. This goes to show that actors working with complex sets and machinery are sometimes exposed to dangerous contexts, even when stunts aren’t involved.

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Stunt Work Is Finally Receiving the Industry Recognition It Deserves
Image via United Film Distribution Company

Whether stunts are performed by the stars themselves or by stunt professionals, the rendering of dangerous acts onscreen is a difficult and daring feat deserving of widespread industry recognition. Fortunately, stunts will be getting a whole new wave of attention next year, as the prestigious film awards body, the Nation Board of Review, has recently added a new category to its annual list of prizes. Their next ceremony is to be held in January 2024, where there will be a brand-new category recognizing Achievement in Stunt Artistry. The introduction of these awards is likely to bring the art of cinematic stunts fully into the limelight, helping movie-goers to view stunts as more than just a behind-the-scenes gimmick, but as a credible facet of filmmaking. This may even have a knock-on effect for other major awarding bodies in the future.

Ultimately, the accolade of performing your own stunts is something that will always impress an action-loving audience. The work of Ford, Chan, Cruise, and Stallone seems to show that some real-life stars are just as daring as the characters they play on screen, a revelation that ignites our imaginations and piques our curiosity.