Just in time for the 100th Academy Awards,the 2028 Oscars will have a category for stunts. From the grandfather of stunts and master of the pratfall,Buster Keaton, to the entire career ofJackie Chan, to the tireless work ofChad StahelskiandDavid Leitch– two stuntmen turned directors – and their team at 87Eleven forJohn Wick, this is long overdue. Stunt performers have long been a crucial part of filmmaking, using choreography and physical acumen in, of course, the action genre, but they’re also responsible for a backflip you take for granted in a teen cheerleading drama, as well as a clumsy meet-cute in your favorite rom-com. To put it simply,stunt designersand performers are the foundation upon which all filmmaking is built.
The details of eligibility for stunts at theOscarswon’t be unveiled until 2027 – and there’s no guarantee that the award will even make the broadcast – but for action enthusiasts, the many coordinators, designers, consultants, and stunt performers whose contributions to the industry are crucial, it’s a step in the right direction. The Academy should use this opportunity to be part of making stunts safer. In emphasizing design, the Academy is already halfway there. There’s even precedence for focusing on safety.
The First Honorary Award for Stunts Rewarded Safety
While calls for stunt recognition at the Oscars started in the early 90s, this effort has intensified in the last decade or so. With the growing popularity – and escalating feats – of franchises likeFast and Furious, it’s gotten harder to deny that the spectacle of action is artistic work. Films likeMad Max: Fury Roadand any entry in theJohn Wickseries make it impossible for even the most cerebral and pretentious of film aficionados to deny that action is storytelling. WithThe Fall Guy, the aforementioned Leitch (Bullet Train,Deadpool 2) made a subtle change in crediting, callingChris O’Hara’s (Baby Driver,Jurassic World) work stuntdesignrather than stuntcoordination.Just like dancers or actors, stunt performers are artists who use their bodies as a vessel, most often with greater risk than the dancers or actors.
The Academy’s history with stunts, thin as it may be, is already safety-forward.Yakima Canutt, a rodeo rider turned stuntman, was the first stunt performer to ever receive an award. He was given an Honorary Award for safety after inventing harnesses, cable rigs, and wagon releases that kept actors and horses safe in Western action sequences. Academy recognition, acclaim – and maybe wider eligibility rules – could be the catalyst the industry needs to get producers to shell out the extra cash for safety.
And, yes,the price tag is arguably the greatest hurdle that holds back crucial safety standards in the stunt industry. Particularly where guns are concerned.
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Production Practices Need To Catch Up With Stunt Design
The tragic death ofBrandon Leeon the set ofThe Crowhappened after the production switched to non-union work that had significantly fewer safety requirements. Lee, son of martial arts and action legendBruce Lee, diedafter a series of avoidable mistakes. A blank round – a round containing no bullet but loaded with powder so that the gun sounds realistic and still makes a visible flash – ignited with residue and a lodged fragment from a dummy round used in close-ups.
The more recent death ofHalyna Hutchinson the set ofRusthas reignited conversations about set safety, in and out of the industry. Hutchins' death happened in a world where a combination of plug guns, rubber guns, and CGI can eliminate risk entirely. Instead, Rust was using a real revolver on set.
Speaking withThe Hollywood Reporterin 2023, Chad Stahelski said:
“ […] for the last 100 years, Hollywood’s been using real firearms. And for prop houses, armorers or supply houses to switch over, it would make their entire stock of real firearms useless. It comes down to the fact that it would cost certain people a great deal of money to switch over. No one wants to say that, but that’s the real reason. You don’t need firearms. The alternative is just going to cost you more money.”
The Academy’s eligibility requirements could emphasize properly staffed, gun-free productionsand encourage producers to take an interest in – and provide solutions to – this financial gap.
While there is a belief that awarding stunts will make individual stunt performers more dangerous, nominating designers instead of individual performers – oractors who do their own actionafter the stunt team choreographs and safety-tests it – removes that element entirely. But that thinking is also a fallacy. Stunt performers aren’t adrenaline junkies studios find off the street, especially as the stunt industry itself is expanding into its own production companies. Designing, choreographing, and replicating stunts – as well as improvising at the moment for human error, weather conditions, set changes, and more – takes incredible attention to detail and self-control. Additionally, SAG-AFTRA prioritizes safety protocols on set for stunt performers and has a myriad of training programs that increase safe performances by every individual.Those in the stunt industry have proven that they’ll handle any hurdle to safetyon their own end. It’s time for the rest of the industry to step up. The Oscar and the acclaim that comes with it could be the carrot and the stick.
