Who doesn’t enjoy a good action-packed blockbuster every now and then? These extremely popular movies feature some of the most beloved actors, whom we unknowingly credit for all the incredible stunts they do. However, the men and women behind these incredible action sequences do not receive the recognition they deserve. There are numerous amazing stunt doubles of famous actors, and we have selected five of the most well known for their work with the likes of John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Harrison Ford and Uma Thurman.
1. Chuck Roberson
The first in our top of amazing stunt doubles of famous actors is Chuck Roberson, the man who did all famous and dangerous action scenes of John Wayne across 25 amazing years. He was present in classics as The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Searchers and Rio Bravo. However, Roberson did not stop here and also pursued other jobs such as actor and stunt coordinator. Wayne was capable of doing the stunts himself, but that would not have been smart, since Roberson did break several ribs and his arms, as well as fractured his back during the stunts.
2. Buddy Van Horn
An experienced horse rider, Van Horn managed to find work as a stunt double during the times when the Western genre was truly popular. He started working with Clint Eastwood in 1969 in the movie Coogan’s Bluff. This was the beginning of a collaboration that spanned over decades and included grand performances: Stranger in High Plains Drifter, Dirty Harry, Preacher in Pale Rider and Thunderbolt. After retiring from stunts, Van Horn worked as a stunt coordinator on later films with Eastwood.
3. Peter Kent
Peter Kent is one of the amazing stunt doubles of famous actors thanks to his work with Arnold Schwarzenegger. When Schwarzenegger first saw him, he ironically joked that Kent was too tall and thin to be his double. Kent ended up collaborating with the famous actor on fourteen movies, among which the Terminator series, True Lies, Commando and Predator. Unfortunately, he had to retire after suffering an accident in 1996 during the filming of Eraser, when he was hit by a heavy shipping container while hanging from a wire. After breaking a couple of bones including his collar bone, Kent continued to be a stunt coordinator and actor. Furthermore, he opened his own stunt school and is at the moment a city councilor in British Columbia, Canada.
4. Vic Armstrong
Harrison Ford had wonderful performances in both Star Wars movies and Indiana Jones ones, but these would not have been possible without the talent of his stunt double named Vic Armstrong. Armstrong started his career as the double of Gregory Peck with the movie Arabesque in 1966, and continued collaborating with Richard Harris and Sean Connery. His talent was proven once again after working with Christopher Reeve on the Superman movies. It was only after these movies that he became the personal double of Harrison Ford, working with him on the first three Indiana Jones movies, as well as Blade Runner, Return of the Jedi and Witness.
5. Zoë Bell
Lastly, one of the truly amazing stunt doubles of famous actors, Zoë Bell started her career by studying dance and martial arts. She begun doing stunts in 1992 and ended up working on famous movies like Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and TV series like Xena: Warrior Princess. However, her most popular gig remains the Kill Bill series, where she was originally simply a team member. However, someone saw her potential and thus she became Uma Thurman’s stunt double. For this role she studied the Wushu traditional fighting method for six weeks in China. Her more recent work includes The Hateful Eight, Death Proof and the Lost TV series.