Stunt performers are arguably the most overlooked and under-valued aspect of the filmmaking process, risking their health and safety in the name of our entertainment, knowing full well that the movie stars will end up taking all of the credit for the bumps, bruises and breaks suffered in the line of duty.
Industry professionals have been campaigning for stunt teams to have their own Academy Awards category for years, but nobody seems to be interested in listening. Knowing how Hollywood works, though, if it did happen the first recipient would probably be Tom Cruise.
The closest thing these unsung heroes have got to their own Oscars are the Taurus World Stunt Awards, with Chris Hemsworth’s Extraction picking up a couple of major prizes.
Anybody to have seen Netflix’s most-watched original film ever will be well aware that the Extraction stunt crew fully deserve the accolades, and the leading man has now celebrated their victory on social media while sharing a behind the scenes video showcasing just what the team put themselves through, which you can see below.
Shooting is gearing up to begin on the hotly-anticipated Extraction sequel very shortly, and director Sam Hargrave will be keen to up the ante even further now that his collaborators have Taurus World Stunt Awards for Best Fight, Hardest Hit, and Best Stunt Coordination in the trophy cabinet.