Action is now streaming on Peacock.
The past eleven years have given me quite the insight into covering stunts as part of my regular syllabus on this site. Getting to meet, talk to and occasionally hang out with stunt performers is an amazing add-on to what I do.
The most interesting thing though, is the more industry-tethered work that producers venture in covering that field for documentary purposes. With any luck, the documentary films and shows covering stunts will finally motivate The Academy to make the stunt community whole by attributing a new awards category in its ceremony. It’s a talking point that continues to endure with the help of actors like Keanu Reeves, David Harbor, and Winston Duke who help spotlight these below-the-line screen heroes in Action, a new six-part hourlong documentary on Peacock.
Directed by Chelsea Allen and Bridger Nielsen, Action ventures a look into the tireless work of stunt performers and coordinators behind two recent big screen studio features. Reeves bookends the series with a foreword and afterword, with the remainder cutting into the hefty, chapterized behind-the-scenes saga into Tommy Wirkola’s Violent Night, and The Fall Guy, the latest from director David Leitch whose 87North also produced the docuseries alongside Universal Pictures Content Group.
For the first three episodes, Action goes on to cover Leitch mentee and stunt coordinator Jonathan “Jojo” Eusebio, and the rigorous training and scheduling behind the fight action pre-vizualizing for Violent Night. It also introduces his team, largely including stuntwoman and up-and-coming action actress Mitra Suri, as well as the core members of Germany’s Reel Deal Action, Can Aydin, Yoon Cha-lee and Phong Giang.
The documentary doesn’t wait too long before getting a little more harrowing and emotional with each episode. We see how the pandemic affected Eusebio and his team for well over a week before it was time to catch up. The series also touches on the more intimate and arduous details of the members’ lives away from the set. Those aspects tend to range from the demands of the job and the increase in pressures to meet the demand, to the equal duress of managing work, marriage and parenthood, and in a few instances, personal tragedy.
The remainder of the series pivots from the endgame on Violent Night to Leitch’s work on The Fall Guy in Australia. Big set pieces and stunts, and the mechanics therein are the main course as Action dives into the constant trial-and-error of the sequences. These episodes also lend us an eye into Leitch’s history and heyday with Chad Stahelski in launching 87eleven, prior to branching out with wife and partner Kelly McCormick for 87North. We also get an extensive look into Leitch’s team, partly including Chris O’Hara, who just recently eked in an industry-first on the movie as Stunt Designer.
Additionally, we get introduced to the stunt players who double The Fall Guy star Ryan Gosling, partly including fight double Justin Eaton, parkour double Ben Jenkin, high fall double Troy Brown and stunt driver Logan Holladay, who are just several of the hands on deck for making Gosling look as good as possible in the film. Amid the backdrop of these profiles are the epic stunts and set pieces of the production, including a record-breaking beachside “cannonroll,” a “sidewinder,” a high gall from a helicopter, a fire stunt, and a milestone 200-foot car jump.
What was especially eye-opening for me was learning a little more about a few of the performers. Suri shares a moving and honest look into her struggles as a single parent and the turmoil, and essentially, the community behind her, that foundates her endurance. I was especially humored to finally see a photo of Aydin’s beautiful family, knowing how private his life usually is and getting a glimpse into seeing what Mrs. Aydin and the children look like.
I met Aydin back in 2015, and it was through him that I got the chance to meet Eusebio that evening, and it was a very laid back and chill time we had talking. I was green. I geeked out. Aydin geeked out over “He-Man”. Eusebio espoused over his love of old school samurai shows I never had access to growing up.
To that end, my experience here was way different compared to seeing Eusebio on the set of Violent Night, seeing him work to solve problems and conquer the usual inconveniences of filmmaking, mounted by suddenly catching Covid-19 and trying to earn his place in the industry as a director. Thankfully, he’s finally getting the chance to that with his feature debut, With Love, and Action really shows what went into making it happen, pulling no punches in the process.
Moreover, it was quite the gutpunch see Giang as vulnerable as he was before putting himself back together for his interview; You can imagine seeing some of his performances in the Reel Deal Action shorts and then seeing him here, learning what it takes to follow your dreams and making important choices to set goals, even if it means potentially disappointing the people you love.
It makes me happy to see that the stunt industry is gaining a little more ground with journalists and filmmakers interested in what they do. I see the articles and interviews, which I think do exponential justice for the community in the years since I took the time carving myself a space in stunt coverage via The Hit List. The same goes for Action, and it helps to see a few notable A-listers help carry the torch for this community in this regard.
The extensive and spectacular footage showcasing the stunt talent on Violent Night and The Fall Guy is an inspiring thing to see. I was doing punching and choreo drills in my seat at times, and if you’re like me and doing the same thing, that tells you even more just how important it is to give these fall guys and gals in, and beyond Action, the credit where it’s due.
