Author: Maja Aro

This month is a little more geared towards all you filmmakers out there, but also can be a good reminder to all you talented actresses to ask for a stunt coordinator to be present if you have an action scene, and to know that you can ask for a stunt double. So, the question… When should I bring in a stunt coordinator?  Well, the sooner you bring one on board, even as an advisor at first, the sooner you could weed out additional costs, or realize, depending on your budget, what moments are real story beats, and what moments you…

Sometimes our schedules can get so busy, that we forget to take time for ourselves.  It’s easy to forget, especially when your job never feels like work, and you’re actually excited to go to work. But taking time for yourself, to rejuvenate your body and clear your mind is so important in this industry. I myself often falling victim to the work addiction, as I genuinely love my job that much.  Of course, when you are new to the industry, you do need to prioritise the job a bit to become known and established in your respective field.  However, it…

VANCOUVER – As with any industry there are always places and positions to move into, move up to, grow into and so on.  I am a firm believer that there is never truly a ceiling anywhere, especially in the arts, only ceilings you make for yourself.  The stunt industry is no different, just sometimes confusing, or to me at least comical.  Our industry really is a community, so much in fact that some days you might be the boss on one show, and then be in the mix as a performer/co-worker on another show the next day.  Just because you…

I have touched on training over the past few months, more specifically how important it is as a stunt performer.  I have not, however, indulged much in what I actually do as part of my training regime.  My day-to-day schedule is not anything extraordinary, so I will not bore you with that.   This month I’d love to share a little bit about what I was up to last month, specifically in regards to training, but need to segue into it in a way that makes sense.  I’d like to break it down in a way that everyone can hopefully take…

As I briefly touched upon last month, I consider myself and my colleagues professional athletes.  We train our craft, hone our skills and when given the opportunity use those skills to achieve great feats for your cinematic or small screen entertainment.  That being said, there is still a fairly common misconception of what my job actually is, and the type of people who become successful working stunt performers.  That misconception is made very prevalent in the common questions I am often asked whenever someone new I meet discovers what my profession is. There’s always that one question that is typically…

Starting any new profession is daunting, but starting one where there are no specific qualifications, school courses, internships or interviews, is really daunting.  Then throw in that jumping off buildings, getting hit by cars, and set on fire could be (and are) just part of a regular day and well, I think most people wouldn’t even apply.   Myself and my fellow stunt performers and coordinators aren’t exactly most people, we leap (literally) at the opportunity to do all of these things. So, with no straight forward way into stunts, how does one become a professional stunt performer?  That answer is…