Aaron Vexler plays Russell Crowe’s stunt double in the current film “American Gangster“.
How did he get work as a stunt performer for movies and television?
From International Gymnast:
… My “transition” into stunt work was basically this: retired from gymnastics; worked on the Celebrity Galaxy Cruise ship as an acrobat/circus performer; finished my degree at Temple University; moved to New York and joined the circus performance troupe, Antigravity; went on tour with a live stunt show called Spider-Man Live! A Family Stunt Spectacular; started my own circus company with (former Temple gymnast) Mike Moran, called Axiom Entertainment Inc.; performed in Batman Vs. Catwoman at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey; and finally on to television and film as a stuntman.
IG: What did your roles in “American Gangster,” “I Am Legend” and “Indiana Jones” actually entail?
AV: In “American Gangster,” I was Russell Crowe’s stunt double. I worked out a lot of the stunts, and then showed him what the shot and stunt required. Russell is a very good “action actor” so almost all of what you see in the movie is actually him. I was mainly there to ensure his safety, help him with any problems, and make sure he had the right pads. However, I did most of his driving for him. I did all of the driving for the scenes in the movie where he is driving and you can’t see his face.
In “I Am Legend,” I worked on a big riot scene where all of the people in Manhattan are being evacuated from the island. There is a panic, where everyone rushes to the boats and helicopters, while knocking down fences and each other. This is called ND or nondescript stunts. We used a lot of stunt people for the riot because it was very dangerous. It was very cold and slippery, there were people and fences falling down and helicopters taking off, and we did a lot of it on a barge in the East River in New York. Falling into the river in January would not be good.
In “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” I did some of the stunt driving in a car-and-motorcycle chase that was shot at Yale. I was also a pedestrian in the same car chase. I did a lot of diving out of the way of cars and motorcycles. It was really a great experience, because of the caliber of stunt performers on this movie. They really brought in some of the best stuntmen and stuntwomen in the business. This movie is going to be awesome!
IG: What was it like working with Russell Crowe, on a personal level?
AV: Russell Crowe is a super great guy. He is always looking out for the crew and is very gracious to everyone on set that he is working with. One night he bought the whole crew — at least 100 people — Australian steak dinners. However, he has been doing action movies so long that it is also a bit intimidating, because he is such a good stuntman himself. …
(via tsuks on Gym Chat)
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