The Big Picture

Welcome to a new episode of Collider Ladies Night with Zoë Bell!
Bell sits down with Perri Nemiroff in Austin at Fantastic Fest where her movie,
Raze
, celebrated its 10th anniversary.
During their chat, Bell revisited her journey from Xena stunt double to working as the stunt coordinator on $100 million+ movies like
Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
and
Thor: Ragnarok
.

Roughly 10 years ago, when I was in my early days of covering film festivals, I was thrilled to get the opportunity to sit down with the team responsible for a movie that spotlighted a group of women who were, and still are, utter forces in film and television. That team? The filmmakers behind Raze, led by prolific stunt performer and coordinator, Zoë Bell.

Well aware of her work in Kill Bill, Death Proof, Inglorious Basterds, Whip It, and then some, I was quite eager to see what Bell could do both in front of and behind the lens in new ways. Not only did she headline Raze, but she also produced it and heavily contributed to the development of the story and the action right from the start. It was a significant leap that suggested she’d continue to soar in film and television in a multitude of ways.

Sure enough, at the end of September 2024, there we were celebrating Raze 10 years after release, discussing her accomplishments working on blockbusters like Thor: Ragnarok and Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, and teasing her upcoming feature directorial debut. Bell is a proven unstoppable powerhouse in this business, and it was a treat and honor to get to discuss how she found her craft and voice in such a high-pressure line of work, and how she continues to expand that skill set every step of the way, making a bigger and bigger mark on this industry with her art.

How Zoë Bell Became a Stunt Performer & Actor
“To entertain people fighting and flipping … I was like, ‘I’m sorry, you get paid to do that?’”
Image via Dimension Films

Bell’s roadmap begins with the discovery of movie magic.

“I can tell you the first movie I remember seeing. I was born on a tiny little island off the coast of Auckland that did not have a theater. So it was a sheet in the town hall and fold-out chairs, and it was
The Wizard of Oz
.
I just remember being like, ‘It’s like I’m dreaming, but I’m awake.’
”

While Bell’s love of film was instant, she admits, “It took me a long time to understand that people make movies.” Her entryway into the craft and process of filmmaking? Gymnastics and martial arts.

“I met people who were getting paid to perform, which I’d always been attracted to —
to entertain people fighting and flipping. I was like, ‘I’m sorry, you get paid to do that?
You’re not paying someone?’ That, for me, was just like, ‘I’m made for that. I need that.’ It was the first time I’d driven for something career-wise.”

Finding Her People in Filmmaking
“It was basically walking into a circus in a hotel room.”

Bell’s itch to entertain by fighting and flipping on screen was further confirmed when she met others in that line of work.

“I remember the first time I met stunt people. I had done an audition, didn’t know what that was, got the job, didn’t know what that was, got in a van with a bunch of people that I didn’t know, got dropped off in a town that I had never been to, walked into a hotel room that was filled with — it was basically walking into a circus in a hotel room. It’s all these stunt people,
someone was lying on the bed fake farting, someone was drinking a beer, and I was like, ‘Oh, my people!’
[Laughs] So I
immediately
felt kindred in that space.”

Learning the Ropes on the Set of ‘Xena’
Image via Renaissance Pictures

After finding her people, Bell’s trial by fire happened on the set of Xena: Warrior Princess.

“I do remember my first day on set as Xena

with the wig and the whole shebang. It got to the point where that was just my second skin, but on that first day, I was so aware of wearing a wig and having bangs. I remember standing on my mark and the, ‘3, 2, 1,’ and I got yanked backwards and smashed through a whole bunch of breakaway furniture. They’re like, ‘Alright, we’re gonna reset.’ And I was like, ‘Okay.’ So I walked back to my mark and I just stood there because I didn’t know where to go or what to do.”

The Xena AD, Axel Paton, explained to Bell that a reset would take about half an hour, and she could use that time as an opportunity to step off set and take a break. Bell recalled, “I was like, ‘Okay, and where do I go?’ He was like, ‘Wherever you want.’ [Laughs] I can remember that new-girl-at-school feeling.”

Roughly three months into working on Xena, Bell recognized she had shed that “new-girl-at-school feeling” and had confidence in herself and her craft. She explained:

“Every time they would say ‘cut,’ I’d go, ‘Oh my god. It’s definitely me. I fucked it up. Sorry! What did I do? What did I do wrong?’ And then about three months in, they said ‘cut,’ and I was like, ‘I
know
that wasn’t me.’ I was like, ‘Oh, that’s a different feeling!’ Now I
know
when it’s me [laughs], and I generally know when it’s not me. But that was a huge shift for me.”

How and When to Say “No” to Quentin Tarantino
Image via Sony Pictures Releasing

Around 2008, Bell would experience another major shift — going from stunt performer to stunt coordinator on the Rick Jacobson-directed film, Bitch Slap, kicking off a steady stream of coordinator opportunities.

“That was a $100,000 film or something, and then
Once Upon a Time
[
in Hollywood
] was $100
million
film. Very different budgets. But for me,
the low-budget side of it was my comfort zone
. I love being in the indie space. I really enjoy it. The girls would show up, and I would put blankets down in my front yard — not even stunt mats, just blankets — and I was figuring out choreography with my partner at the time. It was super low-rent, but kind of where some of that magic comes from, you know? In that situation, there was less terror at $100,000 and more just like, ‘Oh, this is the difference in terms of,
I
get to create stuff.
My
voice is what you see.’ That was really enjoyable for me.”

Leveling up to a production with a reported $90 – $96 million budget afforded Bell more resources, but it also came with more ambitious set pieces, and that meant, sometimes, she’d have to say no to Quentin Tarantino.

“Stepping into
Once Upon a Time
, because we had big gags and proper dangerous stuff, I was like, ‘My job is safety, first and foremost.’ I mean, it always is, but I’m gonna have to figure out how to say no to Quentin. I’m usually like, ‘Yeah, we’ll make that work,’ because it’s just me. But when I’m in charge of the safety of others, I was like, ‘Oh, different!’”

Stepping into Taika Waititi’s Marvel Cinematic Universe
“His approach is just not particularly Marvel.”
Image via Chris Hemsworth/Instagram

Not only did Bell work on rather large Tarantino-directed projects, but she also got the opportunity to step into one of the largest film franchises in history, the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

After working as a stunt performer on Iron Man 3, Bell jumped into two Taika Waititi-directed MCU films. She doubled Cate Blanchett in Thor: Ragnarok and worked as a stunt coordinator on Thor: Love and Thunder.

“
I feel like maybe I got a misrepresentative experience of the Marvel world simply because my entrance into it was Taika
[Waititi], so, A, old friends, B, country folk, but also his approach is just not particularly Marvel, I don’t think. I don’t think I approach these things that differently. When I’m looking at a sequence, whether it’s in the Tarantino-verse or if it’s in the Marvel-verse, it just is what makes sense to the characters, and how do we make it character-specific and intimate and fucking rad?”

Bell heavily attributes her character and storytelling-first approach to stunt work to Tarantino. She explained:

“Having worked with Quentin as much, I go, ‘Here’s the shape of the thing that I think you’re painting in my head. Then you give me some indication of how you want to shoot it, and we’ll work it to fit that,’ rather than, ‘Here’s how you should shoot it.’ I’m always up for ideas, but he is very specific.
He’s not shooting action just to cover it. It’s all part of the storytelling.
So, that’s an approach that’s just inherent in me.”

How ‘Raze’ Changed the Game for Zoë Bell
Image via IFC Midnight

Artists experience valuable growth every single step of the way while working in film and television, but for Bell, there’s no denying that Raze, a movie about 50 women forced to fight each other to the death, was an especially monumental game-changer.

“It was my first time in the role of producer. It was basically my first time in the role of anything behind the scenes and creatively in the beginning process, as in the development of my character, the development of the story, the development of how we were gonna approach the action, and how that was gonna grow throughout the film.”

Bell took a moment to address how Tarantino’s guidance teed her up for success in this respect, by helping her understand the importance of character motivation during stunts. She recalled:

“I think it started on
Kill Bill
. Well, it started with Quentin, basically. It was him being like, ‘What’s your motivation?’ And me being like, ‘[Laughs] To get paid.’ And him being like, ‘No, I’m serious.’ I was like, ‘Oh, my bad. To kill her.’ And he was like, ‘Why?’ And I was like, ‘
Oh
, because she destroyed my life, and I
hate
her.’ He was like, ‘Okay,
now
run up the banister.’ So, that was the beginning.”

‘Raze’ in 2014 vs. ‘Raze’ in 2024
“Oh, that’s why so many conversations about feminism and sexism came out of that.”
Image via IFC Midnight

Not only would Bell have a very long career ahead of her putting those skills to use, but Raze itself would enjoy ten full years of bolstering its fan base. After all, there’s a reason Fantastic Fest 2024 opted to program the film for a 10th anniversary celebration.

Not only did theaters full of fans get to experience the film on the big screen again, but so did Bell, and, it turns out, 10 years later, Bell was able to experience her work from the fan-perspective as well.

“
I think being 10 years older means I’m less cruel to myself by the nature of just giving less fucks about certain things and getting off your own back.
But I think, also, 10 years’ distance means I got to watch
Raze
and go, ‘I’m seeing it as a movie as opposed to a video record of that month of my life.’ I got to really appreciate everyone else’s performance all over again like it was fresh.”

That wasn’t the only new angle for Bell while watching Raze again. This 10th anniversary screening also helped her see something that might not have been a top priority while making the movie, but turned out to be an element of the film that struck a chord with many upon release in 2014. She explained:

“
I also got to recognize, ‘Oh, that’s why so many conversations about feminism and sexism came out of that.’
When we first made the movie, that was not my intention. My intention was to just speak truthfully as women characters in this film, which I guess innately does bring up questions when you’re in the female action space. But this time I was watching it and I was like, ‘I get it. I get why people are like, is this a comment on women in the business?’ And I’m like, ‘No,’ and then I watched it this time and I was like, ‘Totally. It kind of is!’”

Eager to hear even more about Bell’s journey in film and television, including her upcoming feature directorial debut? You can catch our full conversation in the video at the top of this article, or you can listen to the interview in podcast form below:

Raze is available to stream on Prime Video with AMC+.

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