An actor with prior experience in action movies can be helpful to a stunt coordinator. Ideally, the performer already knows their limits, and can more accurately discern which stunts they can and can’t handle. Further, if their abilities fall more in the “can” category, the crew can leverage the actor’s skills to add extra dimensions to the film. Such was the case with Ryan Reynolds’ “The Adam Project,” in which the “Deadpool” star performed much of the complex martial arts choreography, including the final battle against the baddies.
“Ryan is a very physical actor,” director Shawn Levy said in a promotional video. “He’s obviously done a lot of action movies, so as much as possible, we are choreographing pieces in longer sections where the real actors are doing the real stunts of real martial arts so that the audience understands they’re seeing something authentic.” Not to be outdone, newcomer Walker Scobell tried his hand at a few stunts, too. Playing a 12-year-old version of Reynolds’ character, Scobell flew into the climactic battle attached to wires, nailing his character’s self-proclaimed “superhero landing.”
Stunt coordinator Jim Churchman elaborated how he balances principal actors with stunt performers. “The challenge is always where to draw the line,” Churchman said. “How much do we do practically? How much do they do digitally? Typically, I like to push the line as far as we can. I think you get some of the best action when you have a nice marriage of the two disciplines.”
