Amy Johnston - How to Stunt in Hollywood

Introduction

I put this booktogether for many reasons. First off, let me tell you that stunt professionalsdont sign up for their career to gain attention or become famous. Stuntprofessionals have some of the most important and often dangerous jobs inHollywood, but they dont get the proper credit or light shined on theirtalents, hard work and dedication. These professionals are incredibly inspiring,from following their dreams, travelling the world and loving every singlesecond of their work, to remaining active both mentally and physically. Theyunderstand their bodies and movement on a completely different level than mostpeople. They are artists in motion, athletes and entrepreneurs. They have somuch to teach us!

Thats why I amhere. Consider me your middle man, well, middle woman.

Let me tell you alittle bit about me and my journey. I, like many others, came to themesmerizing land of Hollywood to break into the film industry. Coming from alifelong martial arts practice, I wanted to be the next big female action star!I wanted to jump out of windows, fight some bad guys, be lit on fire and diginto the psychology of different characters as an actor. Typical girl stuff,right?! When I moved to Hollywood from a small town in Wyoming at the tenderage of 18, people I met in and out of the industry kept telling me that Icouldnt achieve everything I set out to do, and that I should focus solely onone thing, whether that was acting OR stunt work. That it wasnt possible to bea woman, who does stunts and also acts. Thats not sellable, is what I heardover and over. Dont disrespect other stunt professionals by trying to be anactor or Dont disrespect other actors by trying to do your own stunt work,I would hear. Its one or the other, Amy, you cant do both! Even as Istarted breaking into stunt work more and gaining success, several mentors andpeople I looked up to kept telling me that I could only be one thing, either astunt woman or an actress, not both. This confused me for a long time as to whypeople would tell me that. Honestly, it still confuses me. What was wrong withdoing more than one thing that I was passionate about? Why cant I doeverything that I enjoy? I respectfully took their passionate thoughts but keptmoving forward towards my goals.

I can say, today,that I am so glad and proud of myself for not letting other peoples thoughtson my journey weigh me down and stop me from what I wanted to achieve. I haveworked as a stunt performer on many big films, shows and videos games. I havealso done exactly what everyone said I couldnt do. I am a woman who acts anddoes stunt work, and yes, usually at the same time. I have jumped out ofwindows, fought lots of bad guys, been lit on fire and have had so much funplaying different characters! I absolutely love what I do and wont settle forhalf of what I want because, well, why on earth would I do that? This is notwithout hard work, education, passion and a good team of people around me.

What I am gettingat is that nobody can tell you what your personal road or journey should looklike. Take advice and help from anyone you can, the more the merrier. Thefastest way you can get better is by being around and learning from those whoare where you want to be. But when it comes down to your personal roaduntraveled, you need to know you. When I say that, I mean you need to know youwithout the noise of other peoples opinions. Only you can decide the journeyyou want to take. Dont let others steer you on your ride. It is yours toenjoy.

With that said, Iwouldnt be where I am today without the great people around me. The people whohave helped push me and mold me into the woman I am now. The ones who gave me achance! I am constantly inspired by the community around me and I want to sharethat same inspiration with you in this book.

Let this book be agoldmine of advice and insight to you, whether you would like to get into theentertainment business, quit your 9 to 5 job that you arent happy with, orjust live a more active and fulfilling lifestyle. If none of those apply toyou, dont worry, this book is here to inspire and educate all walks of life.

Like I mentionedpreviously, you are the leader in your journey but do make sure to listenclosely to those who have come before you. Learn from their failures, theirsuccesses and their mindset. Take in everything but use not everything. That ishow you can truly travel through your journey with ease!

What do stuntprofessionals eat? How do they train their bodies to do such incredible feats?How do they stay calm under pressure? What are they thinking about before theyjump off the side of a building or drive a car off a huge ramp straight intothe water? You may just say, they are daredevils. Then I say, you need to readthis book to understand that they are not.

In this book, Ihave interviewed some of Hollywoods top stunt professionals. I have had thepleasure to work with many of them and I am excited to introduce them to you.They come from different cities, states, countries and backgrounds to pursuetheir hopes and dreams, to go after what they want and to keep striving forwardbeyond the unknown.

Please enjoyinsight and inspiration from World Class Stunt Professionals.

There are two ways for you to read the interviews in this book. Firstis the standard interview structure where the person being interviewed answerseach question. Alternatively, the Q & A collection in the second half ofthe book is structured so that you can read all answers to a specific question.I did this so that you can get a different perspective on the answers as awhole, to look at the similarities and differences between the answers. Feelfree to flip back and forth to your liking.

*Asterisks, if any, will beexplained at the end of each interview.

Give yourself the chance to succeed instead ofthe time in which to fail!