In fire and in water: what stunts did famous actors perform without understudies?

We are used to the fact that in the most spectacular and dangerous moments in movies, famous actors are usually replaced by specially trained stuntmen. However, some stars do not resort to the help of stunt doubles and prefer to perform the most difficult and often extremely risky stunts themselves. Let’s remember five breathtaking scenes from the movies in which famous actors starred personally.

Tom Cruise in “Mission Impossible.”

Many probably remember the mesmerizing scene in the movie “Mission Impossible 2”, when the hero Tom Cruise hangs on a rock. The actor performed the stunt without the help of a stuntman. To shoot the perfect frame, the artist had to make a dangerous maneuver several times.

And in the third part of the same series, Cruise’s character jumps from a 25-meter building. According to the idea of the director of the fall had to shoot a close-up, and therefore resort to the help of stuntmen actor could not. The director of stunts for the picture Vic Armstrong said that during the filming of this episode, he himself was so worried that in his head carried headlines, announcing the tragic death of the star.

Angelina Jolie in “Extremely Dangerous.”

Beauty Angelina Jolie should not be underestimated either. At one time, it was the roles in action, action and adventure films that brought her wide fame. For example, in “Extremely Dangerous” actress jumps from a truck and rides on the hood of the car, while firing weapons. And all this without the help of understudies.

Daniel Craig in “Quantum of Solace.”

Performing the role of James Bond, Daniel Craig had to come face to face with his fears and, first of all, with the fear of heights. The actor personally jumped on a moving bus from the third floor and on the train, going at high speed.

Unfortunately, without injuries did not do without – up to broken bones. However, the image of the legendary agent 007 requires certain sacrifices – he needs to fit in.

Matt Damon in “Jason Bourne”

Matt Damon for quite a long time prefers to perform stunts on his own. One of the first such experiences he had while filming “Saving Private Ryan”. However, he had to really “sweat” on the set of a series of films about Jason Bourne. Jumping off a bridge, actions underwater without scuba tanks, the collision of cars – all this Matt did without the help of stuntmen.

Jason Statham in “The Mechanic.”

Jason Statham was made famous by Guy Ritchie’s movie “Cards, Money, Two Guns”. At the time of filming, the budget of the project was small, and there was no money for a stuntman. Therefore, the actor had to perform all the stunts himself.

Statham has always been known for his athletic physique and excellent form, in addition, he is an excellent driver. That is why in scenes of fights, chases, jumps and extreme driving (for example, in the trilogy “Carrier” and a series of films “Mechanic”), the actor did not need help.

But still Statham is not superhuman: on the set of “Unstoppable 3” in the truck, in which the actor performed his stunt, the brakes failed, and Jason had to drive straight into the Black Sea to save himself.

This is only a small part of the stunts that famous movie stars performed independently. Now you know that fame and millions of fans are not so easy to get.