On April 29, Jayson Dumenigo will get the recognition he and his fellow stunt performers have been wanting for decades from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences — but he had to set fire to a bunch of people to get it.
Dumenigo will receive an Academy plaque for developing a hydrogel that allows daredevils like himself to burn hotter on camera for longer periods of time. His product, through his Action Factory shingle, isn’t exactly new — he created the clear gel that can be smeared on skin or clothes 15 years ago — but his spectacular fire work on the upcoming John Wick spinoff Ballerina prompted Dumenigo to finally submit himself for the Academy’s Scientific and Engineering Awards.
Make no mistake, Dumenigo is beyond proud of the performance of his gel that is widely used in film and TV. The Santa Clarita Valley dad sounds like Donald Sutherland’s character in Backdraft when he giddily declares that he did “over 200 burns, 100 of which were full body” on the Ana de Armas starrer that opens in June.
But it’s the fact a stunt performer like himself is getting the rare attaboy from the Academy that brings him the most joy. Up until now, only two stunt performers have ever received recognition from the Oscars in its 96-year history — the late Yakuma Canutt (Spartacus, Zorro Rides Again) and the late Hal Needham (Cannonball Run, Smokey and the Bandit). Both men received honorary Oscars in 1967 and 2013, respectively).
Now that Dumenigo is earning that plaque — coupled with the news this week that the Oscars are creating a new category for Achievement in Stunt Design that will debut in 2027 — it’s become an April to remember for the burning man.
‘We as a stunt community have been told in the past that stunts is not an art or a science,” says Dumenigo, whose stunt credits include Daredevil: Born Again, Wolfs and Halo. “It is wonderful to see that our craft will be recognized by the Academy for such a prestigious honor. Stunt work in film and television is such a diverse and challenging craft with serious real world sacrifices and consequences if miscalculated. I know of no other craft in our industry that demands so much from the participants. To finally gain this observance is a proud moment in our community.”
Jayson Dumenigo
Courtesy photo
Long before he became an entrepreneur, Dumenigo was just another journeyman stunt performer making an attractive living in Hollywood. The Val Verde, CA, native knew at age 8 that it was a career he wanted to pursue, particularly after his dad’s friend Paul Stader — a legacy stuntman whose credits include The Dark Knight Rises and The Mask of Zorro — set him on fire at 17.
At that time, stunt performers used similar gels that could be ignited, but the substance had to be ice cold before use and would ultimately break down in heat. So 15 years ago, Dumenigo — on a work break after injuring his head during a horse stunt on The Death and Life of Bobby Z — started experimenting with chemicals and ultimately came up with the hydrogel that offers greater thermal protection while keeping performers free from frostbite.
Naturally, Dumenigo is keeping his recipe, which smells like tea tree oil, a secret. But he’s so confident of its abilities that he once smeared the gel on his eyelids — and set them on fire — for one helluva selfie.
Action Factory Hydrogels are sold in one gallon buckets and are now widely used in film and TV (remember all those victims of the dragons from Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon? They can thank Dumenigo and his gel for keeping them safe). Naturally, the gel was also used in Ballerina, which employed Dumenigo as a fire specialist and stunt coordinator while filming in Budapest.
Dumenigo also likes to get in on the action: he’s the poor sap crawling on the ground in the Ballerina trailer after De Armas sets him on fire. It got so hot on set that the camera operator was booted for safety while the camera itself had to be covered in protective gear.
It was on that movie’s set where an Australian stunt coordinator by the name of Kyle Gardiner (Thor: Love & Thunder) took one look at Dumenigo’s fire work and suggested he submit himself for an Academy prize. “He was like, when I came in, I wasn’t sure about you, but the stuff that we did here I’ve never seen before,” recalls Dumenigo of Gardiner, who’s an Academy member.
“You can’t go anywhere in the world if you’re a professional stunt performer and not know our brand,” continues Dumenigo. “So we’re well known and we manufacture many different things, but I knew that what we had to offer here with the gels, I figured that I would at least have a great, statistically speaking, a great chance at getting a certificate. But when it came back as a plaque, it’s a really big deal. So I’m very, very proud of that.”
The Scientific and Technical Awards ceremony is set for April 29 at the Academy Museum. Fourteen scientific and technical achievements, represented by 37 individual award recipients, will be honored — including three individuals (Neeme Vaino, Dustin Brooks and Colin Decker) who also developed burn gels.
Content shared from deadline.com.