20+ Actors Who Do Their Own Stunts

It’s pretty amazing when actors do their own stunts, especially when those stunts are crazy enough to challenge even the best professional stunt teams. From the early days of silent movie-making, some popular celebrities have also been willing to take risks and perform these extreme stunts on their own, without any stunt doubles. So, here’s a list of some celebrities who have done their own stunts!!

Tom Cruise

The very first actor who is widely known for performing his stunts on his own is Tom Cruise and his full name is Thomas Cruise Mapother IV. The American actor and producer is regarded as a Hollywood icon for his exemplary career in the entertainment industry. Tom has skipped using stunt doubles for some truly exceptional stunts, especially in the Mission Impossible and Top Gun series. His famous stunts did by him include hanging onto a plane as it took off in Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation and climbing the Burj Khalifa for Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.

Jackie Chan

Jackie Chan who is also known as Chan Kong-sang SBS MBE PMW is a famous actor, martial artist, and stuntman from Hong Kong. He is also a popular producer, writer, and director. The widely popular artist usually performed his stunts with his stunt team which was formed by him in 1977. However, some stunts were performed on his own such as climbing around a moving bus with an umbrella in Police Story and sliding down the Willemswerf building in Rotterdam for the movie Who Am I?

Buster Keaton

The widely acclaimed American actor and comedian, who was popular for doing his own stunts in the silent films in the 1920s is Buster Keaton. Initially, he started as a vaudeville performer and his father would toss him around the stage for their act, but Buster’s landing on the ground meant that he never got hurt. He became famous for his films The General and The Cameraman, but his stunt in Steamboat Bill Jr. is the most memorable one. In this, a two-story house frame falls around him during a storm and he stands still as it comes down and nearly misses him.

Timothy Dalton

Another Hollywood actor famously known for doing his stunts on his own is Timothy Dalton who is also known as Timothy Leonard Dalton Leggett. The British actor achieved notoriety for becoming the 4th actor to play the role of James Bond in The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill. He was the only actor who did some of his stunts on his own in these movies such as clinging to the side of a moving jeep. Also, the British actor learned to do scuba diving and ride a sleigh for these movies.

Charlize Theron

The South African and American actress who is also a famous producer, has received numerous awards for her work in the entertainment industry. She is also known for performing her stunts in action movies on her own. The actress has done a lot of stunts, including stunt fights in movies such as Atomic Blonde and The Old Guard. She was also praised by Monique Ganderton, her Atomic Blonde stunt double, for her dedication to performing action scenes on her own.

Zoë Bell

Zoë E. Bell is a famous actress and stuntwoman who is widely known for performing as a stunt double for various actresses in movies, such as doubling for Lucy Lawless in Xena: Warrior Princess. She has been working as a choreographer and stunt performer since the 90s. However, she was featured in the 2007 film Death Proof as Quentin Tarantino and performed her stunts on her own. The actress also became the stunt coordinator in the film Once Upon A Time In Hollywood and also had a speaking role.

Sigourney Weaver

Sigourney Weaver is an American actress who became a household name in the science-fiction genre and received numerous awards, such as the British Academy Film Award and Tony Award. The actress is famous for performing her own stunts in films such as Alien, Aliens, Avatar, and many more. She also learned to train in free-diving so that she could hold her breath while filming the movie Avatar, which had most scenes underwater.

Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie is a popular American actress and filmmaker who has been named the highest-paid actress several times. The actress is known for doing her stunts by herself in movies. For example, in the 2008 film Wanted, she performed a stunt in which she was strapped to a car moving at 30mph. She has also performed action scenes in Tomb Raider and Those Who Wish Me Dead.

Michelle Rodriguez

The American actress who began her professional career in acting in the year 2000 by appearing in the film Girlfight is Michelle Rodriguez. For Fast and the Furious and Resident Evil franchises, the actress is popular for doing her stunts herself. However, she has also stated that some film officials have denied her stunt work because of the insurance restrictions. She has recently narrated a documentary, Stunt Women: The Untold Hollywood Story, because she is a great supporter of stunt workers.

Keanu Reeves

Keanu Reeves, whose full name is Keanu Charles Reeves, is a popular Canadian actor whose professional career spans over 40 years in Hollywood. The actor could not be left out of this list because he is one of the greats who are famously known for doing their own stunt work. He has performed some extremely difficult stunts in films such as The Matrix and The John Wick series.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Schwarzenegger is an American actor and filmmaker who was also the former Governor of California. He was also a professional bodybuilder who appeared in some famous action movies. The actor is also known for performing some dangerous stunts in movies on his own. On Reddit, he explained that while doing a stunt in True Lies, he came very close to death.

Margot Robbie

Margot Robbie is a 33-year-old Australian actress and producer known for her work in independent and blockbuster films. The actress did most of the stunts in films by herself and committed to doing more of them when she was cast in several DC movies as Harley Quinn. Margot was widely praised for a fight scene in the movie Birds of Prey, for which she learned boxing and gymnastics.

Jason Statham

Jason Statham is a famous martial artist and English actor who cannot be left out of the list of actors who do stunts on their own. The famous actor has appeared in several Guy Ritchie movies such as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and Crank and has revealed in an interview that he did most of his stunts himself without any stunt doubles. In Crank, he performed the stunt of hanging out of a real helicopter himself and was widely praised.

Burt Reynolds

The American actor who became the icon of American popular culture in the 1970s is Burt Reynolds, whose full name was Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. During his lifetime, the actor performed most of his stunts on his own in films including The Cannonball Run and Smokey and the Bandit. Also, while doing a stunt in the film Deliverance, in which he has to ride a canoe above the waterfall, the actor hits his head and breaks his tailbone and is immediately rushed to the hospital.

Jeremy Renner

The American actor Jeremy Renner began his professional career by appearing in films such as Dahmer and Neo Ned. He has since appeared in several movies, including Wind River, The Town, and The Avengers, and has preferred to do his stunts himself. However, while filming a stunt in the movie Tag, he broke both his arms.

Harrison Ford

Harrison Ford is a widely famous American actor who is regarded as an American cultural icon because of his work in the entertainment industry. The actor has also been praised for performing his stunts on his own, but while filming Raiders of the Lost Ark, Steven Spielberg didn’t let him perform stunts that were relatively fatal. However, he performed one stunt in the movie on his own: running from the fiberglass ball when Indiana Jones escapes from a giant boulder in the opening of the movie.

Christian Bale

Christian Bale is an English actor who is known for his physical transformations in various film roles and is also widely acclaimed for his versatility. The actor has done multiple trainings to do fight scenes in his movies on his own. Although, it is important to acknowledge that not all stunts were performed by Bale, especially the more dangerous ones in the film The Dark Knight. The actor stated in an interview that he did martial arts training for the movie and was standing over the Sears Tower in Chicago for one scene in the movie.

Chloë Grace Moretz

The 27-year-old American actress is widely known for featuring in the superhero film, Kick Ass. The actress has also stated that for her character’s fighting scenes, she trained with Jackie Chan’s stunt team so that she could participate in those scenes herself. Most recently she has learned judo for her role in the film, The Peripheral and it was proved by flinging Jimmy Fallon on the show, The Tonight Show.

Sylvester Stallone

Sylvester Stallone is an award-winning American actor and filmmaker known for performing fight scenes and stunts on his own. He did most of his fights while playing Rocky Balboa on his own. The actor has recently reflected that he should have used stunt doubles for his fight scenes because it leaves injuries that take a long time to heal. He also advised young actors to use stunt doubles and not do stunts themselves.

Harold Lloyd

Another actor and comedian who is known for doing some thrilling stunts is Harold Lloyd who appeared in several silent comedy films. In his movie Safety Last!, the actor performs the difficult stunt of hanging from a clock on his own and does not use a stunt double. The film officials first made sure that everything was safe for Harold and then allowed him to do it all by himself.

Jamie Lee Curtis

Jamie Lee Curtis is a popular American actress and producer known for her roles in horror and slasher films. She is best known for her performance in True Lies, in which she performed some stunts by herself. In one scene, the actress dangled outside a real helicopter, and this was done all by herself, as certain shots required her to step in.