Stuntmen

The dream job of many men is to be a stuntman. But what exactly does a stuntman do? He replaces the actor during dangerous scenes in the film. Stuntmen have to complete a tough training. The stunts performed by a professional stuntman cannot simply be carried out by anyone. The first time a stuntman was needed for a film was in 1908, and since 1930 stuntmen have become an established part of the film crew. A stuntman will be set on fire, jump from a cliff and generally be used when things get too dangerous for the actor. Stunts in contemporary films are becoming ever more sophisticated and effective(!), which means they're becoming ever more dangerous for the stuntman himself.

That's why solid training and bodily fitness are necessary prerequisites for the stuntman's survival.

A stuntman should always be engaged in some form of physical training. In special stunt schools the future stuntman will, for example, learn how to fall properly. Other items on the curriculum will be car stunts, pryotechnic stunts, staged fights and of course acting. Trainees at stunt schools also learn martial arts like Karate or Ju-Jutsu. During the training the stuntmen are also taught how to work efficiently with other stunt teams, something which happens quite frequently in the film business. Trainees also acquire the skills of how to behave and work properly on a film set. In order to be accepted at a school for stuntmen, one has to fulfil a certain number of requirements. First of all one has to be healthy and physically fit. An extrance exam has to be passed successfully. In addition to this, one should be over eighteen, but preferably no older than 25 at the time of entrance. In exceptional cases stunt training is accessible to stuntmen of 16 ears of age. Having a valid drivers license is also required, because otherwise no car stunts could be performed. The applicant bears the costs of his training at a school for stuntmen. In addition to a basic fee, other costs can arise for more specialised types of training. However such courses are not mandatory.