15 Stunt People

They are daredevils. They are in great physical shape. They are not movie stars, but they make a lot of money. These brave folks—stunt people—are the hidden heroes of many movies.

Stunt people were around long before films. Even Shakespeare probably used them in fight scenes. To be good, a fight scene has to look real. Punches must land on enemies’ jaws. Swords must fight with sharp swords. Several actors are usually in a fight scene. Their moves must be set up so that no one gets hurts. It is almost like planning a dance performance.

If a movie scene is dangerous, stunt people usually fill in for the stars. You may think you see Tom Cruise running along the top of a train. But it is probably his stunt double. Stunt people must resemble the stars they stand in for. Their height and build should be about the same. But when close-ups are needed, the film focuses on the star.

Some stunt people specialize in certain kinds of scenes. For instance, a stunt woman named Jan Davis specializes in all kinds of jumps. She has leapt from planes and even off the top of a waterfall. Each jump required careful planning and expert timing.

Yakima Canutt was a famous cowboy stunt man. Among other stunts, he could jump from a second story window onto a horse’s back. He invented the famous trick of sliding under a moving stagecoach. (Maybe you’ve seen this stunt in TV westerns.) Canutt also figured out a new way to make a punch look real. He was the only stunt man ever to get an Oscar.

他们是敢闯敢干的人。他们身体素质极佳。他们不是电影明星，但能赚很多钱。这些勇敢的人——特技演员——是许多电影中隐藏的英雄。

特技演员在电影出现很久以前就存在了。甚至莎士比亚可能在打斗场景中就使用过他们。要演得好，打斗场景必须看起来真实。拳头必须打在敌人的下巴上。剑必须和锋利的剑交锋。几个演员通常会出现在一个打斗场景中。他们的动作必须设计好，这样才不会有人受伤。这几乎就像策划一场舞蹈表演。

如果电影场景很危险，特技演员通常会替明星出演。你可能以为自己看到的是汤姆·克鲁斯在火车顶部奔跑，但那很可能是他的特技替身。特技演员必须和他们替身的明星外形相似，身高和体型应该差不多。但当需要特写镜头时，电影镜头就会聚焦在明星身上。

有些特技演员专门擅长某些类型的场景。例如，一位名叫简·戴维斯的特技女演员擅长各种跳跃。她从飞机上甚至从瀑布顶部跳下过。每一次跳跃都需要精心策划和专业的时机把握。

雅基马·卡纳特是一位著名的牛仔特技演员。在众多特技中，他能从二楼的窗户跳到马背上。他发明了从行驶的公共马车下滑过的著名特技（也许你在电视西部片中见过这个特技）。卡纳特还想出了一种让出拳看起来真实的新方法。他是唯一一位获得奥斯卡奖的特技演员。