KEANU REEVES' STUNT DOUBLE SHARES CANDID INSIGHT ON VITAL WORK: ‘NOT JUST STUNTS'

Vincent Bouillon started working as a stuntman from the tender age of 18, and surpassed the competition in an international callout to be ' own stunt double for .

Although he could not reveal just where fans should look out for him in the film, the French performer told Express.co.uk in an exclusive interview that unlike what many believe, the job of a stunt double includes far more important work off-screen than just filling in for an actor when danger arises.

He shared: "It's not just for doing the stunts. It's to prep the (choreography) because it's a lot of work and the actor has to learn the dialogues and so many other things to do."

The champion martial artist added that sometimes a stunt double helps with the more technical sides of filmmaking as well, performing the fight or stunt sequence to help the crew decide on camera setups and the like before filming even begins.

However, Vincent noted that the ultimate job of any stunt double is "to take care of the actor", although quickly added that he sees Keanu as a fellow stuntman saying: "He does a lot and he's very impressive."

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He continued: "It's not just about doing the stunt that he cannot do because he can do a lot of things, it's about caring. I try to copy his motion, his body (movements), and try to understand how he moves, why he moves like that, if he has any pains.

"So when you create the (fight choreography) you can say: 'Oh maybe we should replace this motion with something different because he has some trouble with his shoulder' or something like that."

"Even when we work with the other stuntmen I'm able to say 'Maybe you should be a little bit lighter when you jump over him or try to wait a moment before doing the kicks or the punch'.

"The goal is when Keanu or the other actors come up on the training day we can just go fast and be efficient to make sure everything goes in the right direction. If there's a jump landing on the knees, the double makes sure he has pads on. Just taking care of the guy."

The world of stunts is slightly different to the world of acting as the stuntmen don't necessarily audition for the roles but rather rely on their connections, network and word of mouth.

This was how Vincent's name got thrown in the ring when the production team started searching for a stunt double for their John Wick star.

The film's stunt coordinator, Laurent Demianoff, had worked with Vincent a few times before and had recommended him for the part but in an international casting, the stuntman wasn't too sure of his chances.

He shared: "(They looked at) a lot of different names, people from Spain, USA, and my name comes up. (Laurent) showed my stuntreel from youtube and the other stunt coordinator and Chad Stahelski liked it."

Then, while working as a stunt choreographer on a different "dream job" in the Cayman Islands, Vincent got a surprising call.

He excitedly explained: "I got a call: 'Hey hey, my name is duh duh duh. We need a double for Keanu Reeves' and I'm like 'What? What for John Wick?' John Wick is a dream job for stuntmen.

"It was fantastic to get the call, when I finished the call I'm just like: 'Is it real? Really? f**k yeah!'."

2023-04-02T05:14:59Z dg43tfdfdgfd