Wrestlers and acting

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I'm not sure if the Colosseum is the right place or Sensorium. Move this if it goes in the other.

Do wrestlers who decide to act in tv and/or movies need a stunt double?

 

Are you seriously trying to suggest that men that have bikini wax's, bleached blonde hair and wear tight bright spandax cannot do their own stunts?

Off Topic: I always wondered about guys that watched WWE and still thought they were cool. Its a pantomime loaded with homoeroticism.

 

I'm not suggesting anything. I'm asking if wrestlers need stunt(wo)men during movies/tv. I know The Rock and Roddy Piper didn't have one for the easy fight scenes (punches being thrown). But what about jumping off 5 story buildings and getting shot?

 

Relax Kuemper, I was only joking. Though I guess for 'insurance reasons' they wouldn't be allowed to do certain stunts. however I think they feel pressure to make public that they do some stunts, or their fans will think they are not so tough.

 

Well, if TOM effing CRUISE does most of his stunts himself...

 

Depends what sort of stunts they are. For some stunts (like the car-driving ones), the stunt man is required because he's an expert car driver. Nothing to do with risk.

 

Yeah, but he's nuts.

 

But who would miss him if he messed up?

But seriously, I guess it depends on the stunt...

Also on the topic, I took a date to see Walking Tall and apologized to her after the movie was over...

 

Depends on the stunt. A few wrestler/actors have injured themselves severely doing their own stunts (like Amy Dumas, who broke her neck on the set of Dark Angel performing a huracanrana), but most would be used to working injured. Falls, bumps, impacts and that sort of stuff - no problem, I'd imagine. Something that requires specialist expertise - like HB said.

Of course, they rarely make a decent movie, but hey, that's not the topic, now is it?

Sigh. More of the same crap that wrestling fans like myself have to deal with. Just because there's a homoerotic subtext (if you want to see it that way - you don't really have to look for it), doesn't make it an invalid form of entertainment. Think of it as a soap opera with more cartoonish violence, if that helps.

 

Once upon a time (few years back) where actors had to use stunts (that's why Jackie Chan had to do his movies outside USA) just because there were stunt organizations which had contracts with ensurance companies. But then actors like Harrison Ford, Tom Cruise and Stallone started to do their own produced movies where they didn't care about 'third-party' people getting in their movies, so they did their moves and so everything started to roll that way. Nowadays, many actors ask to do the stunts, but is not that bad if they want the stunts doubles. As Harbourboy said, in movies lots of actors don't drive too well, but in the remake of The Italian Job, all the actors/actress took driving lessons so they were the real drivers in the movie.

 

Nowadays, they have cameras everywhere. Need a close-up of the star I guess.

I feel the same about Tom, Ara.

 

I am of the opinion that most pro wrestlers and the like do their own stunts in movies. The exception would be something like HB pointed out - you need professional drivers for some scenes. The way I see it, most of what a pro wrestler does are stunts when performing. They already have the knowledge of how to take a fall without serious injury, how to hit people without actually hitting them, etc.

As NS pointed out, Dumas did get seriously hurt doing a TV show, but that was more of a freak accident - the same thing could have happened to her in the ring.

@Gnarff - Walking Tall wasn't THAT bad. I actually found it rather humorous in parts.

 

side note. Jackie chan is the chairman/president of stuntmen/women union of hong kong for several years.

Yes, it depends on the stunt and/or willingness of the actor to perform the stunt. If the actor thinks he can do the stunt, and conformtable doing so, what is that to do him from doing so? The act is a better publicity for the movie, yes? If Jackie chan was no doing all his stunts back in hong kong, he wouldn't gain this much fame initially. As mentioned above, stunt like car chasing needs driving expert. Jackie did car chasing himself because he took the time to become driving expert.

 

Actually, you hear more about guys getting hurt in actual Wrestling matches on blown spots. They would be best suited for fight scenes, but I agree with Harbs about the Driving scenes and High falls...

 

Professional Wrestling is like one big stunt show as it is. Surely they can handle most physical stunts themselves.

 

Provided there's a big spring under the floorboards