Stuntman
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A stuntman is a man or a woman who works in the television or movie production industry. A stuntman is paid to do dangerous actions called stunts in movies or television shows. Dangerous actions include jumping from a height, falling down, being in a car crash, or pretending to fight with weapons such as swords or knives. It would be too dangerous for a regular actor to do these dangerous actions, so the movie or television producers hire stuntmen to do these dangerous actions.
Action movies, war movies, martial arts movies, and crime television shows use many stuntmen to do the dangerous actions depicted in the movies or shows. Jackie Chan and the Blue Angels are examples of stuntmen.
[edit] Working as a stuntman
It is dangerous to work as a stuntman. Sometimes stuntmen are hurt during the stunts they are filming. In some cases, stuntmen have even been killed doing dangerous actions in movies, such as falling from a height. As well, it can be hard for stuntmen to get steady work, because stuntmen are hired do do movies and television shows. Once the movie or television show is filmed, a stuntman may have to go without a job for some time.
Movies and television shows are filmed all over the world. This means that stuntmen may have to travel to many different regions or countries to get work. For people who like to travel, this may be an advantage. However, it can also make it hard to see friends and relatives, if you are away from home a lot. Stuntmen may get to meet famous actors and directors who are producing the movies or television shows.
[edit] Becoming a stuntman
To become a stuntman, some people go to a stuntman school. There are stuntman schools in California and Florida, where professional stuntmen teach people how to do stunts. Most people do not go to school to become stuntmen, though. People learn the skills from other more experienced stuntmen.
When a stuntman first begins working as a stuntman, they do not make much money. Once a stuntman has experience, they can ask for more money. In many countries, stuntmen have to join a union to work on film or television show productions, and pay dues (payments) to the union. There are more men working as stuntmen than women.
Usually, a stuntman does not work as a stuntman after they become 40 years old. Some experienced stuntmen become stunt coordinators, who plan the dangerous actions done by the film or television directors.
[edit] Related concepts
Another job for men or women in the television or movie production industry where people replace the actors is the job of body double. When a film has a scene with a love scene or a nudity scene that the actor does not want to do, the movie or television director may hire a man or a woman to be a body double. The man or woman pretends to be the actor for a short period, so that the love scene or nudity scene can be filmed.
