“The Fall Guy,” an upcoming action comedy starring Ryan Gosling as a movie stunt double, is a celebration of the artisans behind our favorite action films.
Chris O’Hara was the head of the stunt department on “The Fall Guy,” a position that is traditionally recognized with the credit of stunt coordinator and often accompanied by a second unit director credit, both of which are titles officially recognized by the Screen Actors Guild and Directors Guild of America. But Universal announced on April 9 that O’Hara would receive the first-ever “stunt designer” credit, a title “The Fall Guy” team hopes will better encapsulate the multifaceted nature and artistic contribution of the job.
“Stunt Designers are the creative architects behind fight scenes, high falls, and more, and deserve to be recognized for the creative leadership of their contributions,” said “Fall Guy” director David Leitch in a press release. “Universal’s decision to allow [producer] Kelly [McCormick] and me to add ‘Stunt Designer’ to Chris’ credit on ‘The Fall Guy’ marks a groundbreaking move for a major studio. We hope this will pave the way for the stunts industry to get the recognition it deserves.”
Leitch was a former stunt performer and coordinator himself before becoming one of Hollywood’s biggest action directors (“Atomic Blonde,” “Bullet Train,” “Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw”). He and McCormick, his 87North producing partner and wife (Gosling credited the couple as being the inspiration behind his and Emily Blunt’s characters in the film), have been out front in the campaign to establish stunts as its own branch within the Academy, an important first step in following casting directors’ lead in getting a category at the Academy Awards. The couple was at last month’s Oscar ceremony promoting the celebration of stunts, having produced the highlight reel of 2024 movie stunts introduced by “Fall Guy” stars Gosling and Blunt.
The title change from coordinator to designer is yet another important step in stunts becoming properly recognized. Coordinators don’t win Oscars; costume designers, production designers, and the artisans behind a film’s sound design do.
“It is our hope that the Stunt Designer credit on ‘The Fall Guy’ inspires other film and television productions to grant use of it for their own stunt professionals. If widely utilized, it may lead to greater overall recognition of the artistic contributions the stunt community provides our industry,” said McCormick in the release, which also noted the first-of-its-kind credit came from the producer contacting the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) and the Directors Guild of America (DGA) in collaboration with Universal.
“The Fall Guy” will open theatrically on May 3.
