16 stunts people who've reached the top of the Hollwood body double ladder
Most of Tinsel Town's finest rely on body doubles to handle the more dangerous scenes when shooting a movie - stunts people, professional dancers, sportsmen and women, and other highly skilled professionals who are willing to put their lives at risk.
Until now, these brave people were kept in the background when it came to marketing and promoting movies, but times have changed - stars are now 'showing off' their body doubles so that their invaluable skills receive the attention that they deserve!
Meet 16 of these amazing body doubles, who've all featured in some of the highest grossing blockbusters!
1. Jacob Tomuri doubled Tom Hardy
Jacob Tomuri began his career in The Lord of the Rings and Avatar, but has recently become a regular body double for Tom Hardy including the movies Mad Max, Legend and The Revenant.
Apart from putting his life on the line, Tomuri and Hardy have become good buddies and the stuntman will be returning in Hardy's latest venture Venom.
2. Buster Reeves has doubled both Tom Hardy and Brad Pitt
Buster Reeves is not just an actor in his own right, but also a well-known stuntman. He's managed to flex his muscles in numerous TV series and movies, including Game of Thrones, Troy and The Dark Knight.
Being a karate black belt, he's managed to corner a niche in Hollywood and is now considered to be one of the best in the business.
Buster Reeves even managed to beat his own Guinness World Record! Having achieved the record for 218 high kicks in one minute (using a mannequin, of course!), he then went on to perform a mind-blowing 256!
3. Tanoai Reed doubled Dwayne Johnson
Tanoai Reed is not just The Rock's cousin, but also an actor and stuntman - perfect for when Dwayne Johnson needs a body double. They physically resemble each other, meaning make-up artists and costume designers don't have too much work to do!
That said, Tanoai is not just his cousin's double - he also appeared in Iron Man II and The Avengers.
4. Paul Darnell doubled Robert Pattinson
Paul Darnell is not just a stuntman, but also a Parkour and freerunning professional. He actively promotes these sports, which he believes aren't well-known enough in the USA.
As a dad, he also makes sure he spends as much time as possible with his kids!
5. William Spencer doubled Andrew Garfield
Hunky William Spencer is a skateboard pro - a sport that he combines with Parkouring for added dramatic effect.
This made William the perfect double for Andrew Garfield in The Amazing Spider-Man. Not only does he physically resemble Garfield, but his skateboarding skills were exactly what the directors needed!
6. Charlize Theron was doubled by Monique Ganderton
Monique Ganderton is a professional stuntwoman who's doubled Sigourney Weaver, Leelee Sobieski, Daryl Hannah, Rebecca Romijn, Famke Janssen and Charlize Theron.
Her acting talents have also led to her being cast in X-Men: Apocalypse, as well as the TV series Supernatural.
Her rise to stuntwoman fame was completely accidental - she wanted to become a journalist and model, but a chance encounter with Sylvester Stallone made her change her mind!
7. Tara Macken doubled Cara Delevingne and Ruth Negga
Tara Macken started off as a professional dancer and gymnast. When she left her native Kuwait to move to California, she became a stuntwoman and actress.
She appeared in numerous TV series, including Sons of Anarchy and Hawaii 5-0. Macken also doubled Ruth Negga in the series Preacher and was cast as one of Cara Delevingne's two doubles in the movie Suicide Squad.
8. Alicia Vela-Bailey doubled Gal Gadot, Kate Beckinsale and Shailene Woodley
Remember the stunning blonde in Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ? We're not talking about the lead, but stuntwoman Alicia Vela-Bailey!
Her first blockbuster appearance was when she doubled Milla Jovovich in 2006's Ultraviolet. Her talents were swiftly recognized and she went on to double Charlize Theron, Jennifer Lawrence, Gal Gadot, Shailene Woodley and Kate Beckinsale. She also performed some impressive stunts in James Cameron's Avatar.
Vela-Bailey also has another passion - dressing up as horror characters, which made her perfect for bloodthirsty movies such as Annabelle: Creation and Hostel.
9. Zoe Bell doubled both Lucy Lawless and Uma Thurman
Part of New Zealand's national gymnastics team, Bell quickly turned to stunts. This Taekwondo expert wanted to move into film and landed her first stuntwoman contract at the tender age of 14. She body-doubled in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, followed by Xena: Warrior Princess, where she performed Lucy Lawless's stunts.
Quentin Tarantino spotted her and asked her to double Uma Thurman and other actresses in his movies. It was in 2007, with the release of Death Proof that Zoe Bell became one of the most sought-after stuntwomen in Hollywood.
10. Heidi Moneymaker doubled Scarlett Johansson
Heidi Moneymaker, as with a lot of stunts people, was a gymnast before entering the movie world.
Every time a Marvel movie involving Natasha Romanoff (AKA Black Widow) went into production, Moneymaker would double the actress Scarlett Johansson. Seeing how many movies are in the pipeline, it looks like Moneymaker will have work lined up for the rest of her life!
11. Bobby Holland doubled Chris Hemsworth
Bobby Holland was a medal-winning gymnast and semi-professional soccer player, before his sporting talents led him into stunt work - a career that he loves and which included doubling for Chris Hemsworth in Thor.
It took 4 years of intensive training to reach his goal, including kickboxing, alongside hours of swimming and bodybuilding!
Even though he has 35 movies under his belt, doubling Chris Hemsworth was his favorite job!
12. Luci Romberg doubled Duis Barrymore, Melissa McCarthy and Peter Dinklage!
Luci Romberg's fighting skills have earned her the nickname 'Iron Luci'. Her freeruninng and Parkour performances have also outdone a lot of men!
Despite battling an eating disorder, she's risen to the top of her game and has doubled Melissa McCarthy in Ghostbusters, Drew Barrymore in the Netflix series Santa Clarita Diet as well as Peter Dinklage in The Boss.
13. Kiran Shah doubled Elijah Wood
A lot of people recognize Kiran Shah from the Star Wars franchise, but not many people realize that's he's officially the shortest professional stuntman in the world - an accolade that got him into the Guinness Book of World Records!
He was famously cast to double Elijah Wood for certain scenes in The Lord of the Rings movies.
14. Mike Carpenter doubled Jared Padalecki
One thing that makes the series Supernatural so successful is that the cast get on really well and it was Mike Carpenter who was chosen to double Jared Padalecki.
However, Carpenter has also appeared in numerous other productions including Watchmen.
15. Will Erichson is Ryan Reynolds' double
Will Erichson doubled Ryan Reynolds for numerous dangerous stunts in Deadpool 2 and has also appeared in the TV series Wayward Pines and Supernatural.
16. Mark Slaughter has doubled Gwendoline Christie and Alexander Skarsgard
Even muscular Brienne de Torth in Game Of Thrones needs a double, but it wasn't easy to find a woman who was tall enough. Instead the directors cast Mark Slaughter to act as Brienne's double in several scenes.
He also featured in Tarzan and performed numerous stunts in Outlander, where he doubles Sam Heughan for the more dangerous scenes.
By Straker Julia
Writer
Passionate about writing, I write articles on the subjects that I love. Creativity and Animals themes are my favorites!
