More than 30 years after embarking on his Hollywood stunt career, Chad Stahelski is praising the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for finally recognizing the field.
Following AMPAS‘ announcement Thursday that Achievement in Stunt Design will become a new category at the 100th Oscars, the John Wick director told Deadline how much he appreciates the Academy “for really putting in the time” with the decision of how best to honor the stunt community.
“None of us [in the industry] would be here if it wasn’t for the last 100 years of stunt people,” noted Stahelski over the phone during a break from editing Ballerina, which he is producing. “We’ve come a long way because a lot of other people have sacrificed a lot. So, it’s pretty cool to be here and be at the apex of an entire century of performers and coordinators and action directors. And it’s a shame that a lot of them won’t get to see where it all went to.”
With a growing call for the Oscars to establish a category for stunt professionals in recent decades, Stahelski praised the Academy for including himself and other stuntmen-turned-directors like David Leitch, J.J. Perry and Sam Hargrave in the process.
“We’re very lucky to be at the tail end of this, or at the apex where, a couple of years ago, the Academy came to us going, ‘Hey, how do we help? How do we get this going?’” he said. “And for some people, it may have looked like it’s taken a long time, but actually, I give a lot of credit to the Academy for doing it right. They took their time. They talked to a lot of the stunt community — stunt coordinators, 2nd unit directors, the women’s groups, the men’s groups. Every different aspect of the stunt community, they went and talked to and tried to find out, not just should we get an award — no one argued that — they wanted to know how to give the award, who to give it to, how do we select it and they really did their homework. And when they felt like they had a good handle on it, they announced it.”
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(L-R) Director Chad Stahelski, Laurence Fishburne and Keanu Reeves on the set of 2023’s ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’
Lionsgate/Everett Collection
Stahelski called the Stunt Design category “the best case” for the trade, explaining that AMPAS “found out that stunts are very collaborative” in their research.
“Unlike a lot of departments, we have many different coordinators,” he noted. “We have a stunt coordinator, we have a flight coordinator, we have a choreographer, we have a driving coordinator, we have an underwater coordinator — there’s quite a few that make it all work. So, how do you make the award fair and really get behind what the stunt departments are really about? So, I think they did a really good job on putting it together.”
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The inaugural award will be for films released beginning in 2027, and rules for eligibility and voting for the category will be announced that year. The specifics of the award’s presentation will be determined by the Academy’s Board of Governors and executive leadership at a future date.
Before making his directorial debut with John Wick in 2014, Stahelski got his start doing stunts on films like The Crow (1994), Escape from L.A. (1996), Alien Resurrection (1997), The Matrix (1999), Spider-Man 2 (2004), Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), Live Free or Die Hard (2007), Rambo (2008) and The Hunger Games (2012). Working in various roles in the stunt department, he said he “couldn’t have asked for a better film school experience.”
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Keanu Reeves in ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’
Lionsgate/Everett Collection
“It’s a very, very broad scope of interaction amongst the filmmakers,” he explained. “So, by being a stunt double, where I got to be in front of camera and learn from cast members, I got to see filmmaking from all different aspects.”
Stahelski added, “It was probably one of the best ways to to go to film school, to be exposed on literally every aspect of filmmaking from in front and behind camera. So when you direct, you feel very well versed in the many different departments and processes and methodologies of making a film.”
Having since built a $1 billion franchise along with John Wick scribe Derek Kolstad, Stahelski said the team behind Ballerina is in “our last little stages” of editing the spinoff starring Ana de Armas. “So, almost done, very close,” he said of the Len Wiseman-helmed movie, which premieres in theaters June 6.
Content shared from deadline.com.