"How do I get started in the Stunt business? " It's a question that you may have asked yourself and others countless times. In a business with more stunt people than jobs, it's a question that makes working stunt people cringe. It's an elusive question that has no simple or singular answer. You are a stunt performer, you have been all of your life, but how do you get everyone else - professional stunt people, the entertainment industry - to acknowledge the immense stuntness that you possess, and reward you for your skills?

You've skateboarded, roller bladed, bicycled, BMX'd and moto-crossed your ass off - the engines on the motorcycles kept getting bigger until you became a knee draggin' cop dodging street racing speed freak. You've snow skied, snow boarded, water skied, jet skied, surfed, and scuba'd. You've bungee'd, parachuted, and base jumped. In fact, you've jumped off of anything that you could climb, provided you had something at least as soft as dirt to land on. You've wrestled, boxed, and studied various forms of martial arts. Getting behind the wheel of a car changed your life forever. You've lost your license on numerous occasions for being caught speeding while sideways, airborne, and/or backwards in the wrong places at the wrong time. Perhaps you've done all of these things, you've at least done a few of them, maybe you only do one of them, but you're better at it than anyone else you know or have ever seen.

For the majority of my life I was on that list of thrill seekers with the rest of you. I grew up in small town Northern California, at eighteen I relocated to LA and asked, "How do I get started in the stunt business?" I contacted local stunt associations and waited for the information they offered to send with great anticipation. I received their "It's not impossible, but improbable. . ." form letter. I remained optimistic because, as you are, I was a stuntman. I got onto movie sets working as an extra looking to network - which is a common answer to the question, and not a bad one either - but got bored very quickly. Even extra jobs can be inconsistent and the pay wasn't enough for me to live on. 

I went to work outside of the stunt industry and fed my adrenaline addiction on my own time. Despite all of my antics I had never been seriously injured. Aside from a bit of road rash and who-knows-how many stitches, bumps and bruises I had never broken a bone - for all of my experience I had proven to be rather invincible. Was it due to luck that I had never been seriously injured? Was it because I had prepared my own stunts?  Was it because while behind the wheel I believed that I was in control of potentially uncontrollable situations - Probably a bit of each. Most of the really serious things that I had done, to me, seemed like any consequences would be fatal. All or nothing. I didn't think an in-between state existed. 

Like you, I have stories that make people like us laugh and wail with excitement. Stories that make "normal" people question your sanity. No doubt your stories are true, but keep in mind in the stunt business it's all just talk until you get a chance to prove yourself to those already in the business. Save your breath kids, actions speak louder than words. You starry-eyed little chomping-at-the-bit lunatics are not much more than a swarm of mosquitoes, both annoying and amusing to veteran stunt performers. Fact or fiction, no matter what you've done, the pro's have done it bigger, better, higher, and faster than you ever have. Not only do they have their stories, they've also got the resumes and film footage to prove it. 

Don't expect to be welcomed into the business with open arms. Professional stunt people have fought long and hard to get where they are. You need to be prepared to do the same, probably even more so. You've chosen an incredibly competitive profession to chase.

You may be wondering why I've referred to myself in the past tense? I happen to find myself in the in-between state that I didn't think existed and in many ways have been feeling somewhat past tense ever since. 

In 1995 - at the age of thirty - young, strong, and confident, I got serious about becoming a professional stuntman. I contacted the stunt associations again hoping for a different answer to the question, "How do I get started in the stunt business?" I received the same exact form letter, unchanged. Twelve years of life experience later I would not be detoured. I eased my way onto movie sets to meet coordinators, I mailed head shots, and pursued all of those that I met with phone calls. No one wanted to hear from me. 

I got stunt coordinator Warren Stevens name and number from an acquaintance who said they'd put in a good word for me. I called Warren once or twice a month for nearly six months with no luck - keep in mind, there's a very fine line between being persistent and being a big pain in the ass. 

Finally, Warren called and offered me a gig. I worked with him for a week on a small low budget film. I carried pads around, ran for this and that, and absorbed as much "on set" stunt knowledge as possible. By the end of the week I had done a fight scene and bounced off of a roof using a mini-tramp flipping onto padding below, both on camera. I had also gotten an opportunity to use an air ram, the guy who brought the air ram liked what he saw in me and actually asked for my number!  Warren claimed to be a veteran stuntman/coordinator with twenty years experience, he offered to show me the ropes and told me that he'd help me get a SAG card. 
I was in the door! 

I took my weeks worth of experience, added a short page of working skills to my head shots and continued my mailing. A month passed before Warren contacted me again.  When he did I was ready. The next day I met him and the crew on a frontage road next to the LA river under the 1st Street Bridge. By the end of the first day it was decided that I would make a good double for the star and was asked if I would be comfortable jumping off of the bridge and into the back of a moving 24' stake bed truck the next day. The drop was maybe 15' and at 24' the target would be large. Of course I was. 

When the time came for me to do the jump I was asked to do a few test jumps so I could get a feel for what was wanted and to determine truck speed while the cameras were put in position. I had completed two successful jumps and was commended on my timing. The cameras were almost ready, a couple more jumps and we'd roll film. My stunt career seemed to be moving along at a nice pace, I'd soon be behind the steering wheel getting paid for  what I loved to do. On the third jump, when I landed, I felt the pads spreading apart beneath me. I hit the truck bed hard resulting in a paralyzing C-4/C-5 spinal cord injury. Medically speaking, I am a quadriplegic. 
 
 

I was rushed from the scene to a hospital where I underwent the first of three neck stabilizing surgeries that I would have within the first seven weeks of the injury, the second of which put me in a halo for three of the five months that I was hospitalized. Immediately after the accident my entire body was rag doll flaccid. I was blown away. I hit my mark dead on, yet suddenly I was faced with paralysis - how could something like this be an option?

I've fought hard to reach the level of recovery that I have, and now, just as everyone does, I do the best I can to make it through the day. Physically, I am 100% dependent. From the waist up my body's shot. I have no use of my fingers, my hands are fisted most of the time. Despite intense exercise my arms are too weak to raise above my head or propel a wheelchair.  My torso has seized from the back and I'm left with no abdominal muscles making me unable to turn at the waist or to sit up from lying down. . . The list of unable to do's is long and ugly.  That list combined with nonstop physical pain due to the neurological chaos ruling my body is a mind bender to put it mildly. 

I can however, once someone helps me to my feet and pries my fisted hands around the handles of a walker, walk. There is no speed and even less fluidity in my movements, but I walk - because I can. The benefits and slight independence I've achieved through my ability to walk are cherished. Despite my bodies perpetually bad attitude and lack of participation, my brain works about as well as it ever has and the upside down pencils that are velcroed to my fists each day enable me to pound out my thoughts and store them in a computer. 

This is not a victims pity page. I do not wish to be perceived as a victim. This page, with your help, is intended to instigate positive changes in the stunt industry. This page is intended to provide you with information. Information that may help you avoid a situation such as mine. At minimum, this is a reality check from me - a person who this type of thing could never happen to - to you, perhaps a similar type of person. 

Shortly after the accident I came in contact with a few stuntmen. In speaking with these stuntmen, I found that not only were the pads that I landed on not up to snuff, but also that Warren had disregarded some basic safety procedures regarding the preparation of my landing area. As a novice, I was unaware of these procedures and trusted that he, with his twenty years of experience, had me covered. Obviously a mistake. 

It wasn't long before I realized that the only possible good that could come from my hellish injury would be the prevention of future unnecessary stunt related injuries. I knew that I needed to use my injury to benefit the stunt industry in some way. I began making phone calls and writing letters to the heads of local stunt agencies informing them of my injury and the circumstances surrounding it, emphasizing my eagerness to improve the lives of current and future generations of stunt performers. For the most part no one wanted to hear from me.

After years of beating my head against the old-school wall I've made little progress. However, I've learned a lot about the stunt industry.  First of all there is no "stunt industry".  There is a large group of individual stunt performers/coordinators who compete for many of the same jobs: some of them are top notch, well rounded, seasoned professionals; some rate at the bottom of the barrel; and most of them fall somewhere in-between. There is no SAG/motion picture industry acknowledged stunt training facility. If fact, up until recently the leading stunt organizations discouraged formal training for new comers, saying that ". . . it is a waste of hard earned money." Currently, no system of measuring a performers skill or experience exists. Nor is there a specific point in a stunt performers career - once they've established one - when they must qualify to become a "coordinator".  As it stands, theoretically, anyone with the proper connections can get hired either as a stunt performer or as a stunt coordinator - regardless of their experience. It's easy to imagine how a hiring process based on ones general reputation and/or personal relationships would be severely flawed, leaving a greater margin for safety related errors. And when things do go wrong, aside from a bruised word-of-mouth reputation there is little, if any, real accountability or repercussion for those involved, aside from those experienced by the injured performer.  Other countries, such as England and Ireland have performer rating systems, a certain set of criteria must be met before a performer can earn the title of "coordinator".  I believe that similar systems should be adapted in the U.S.  

The stunt people who have spoken with me believe that most working stunt people know that change to the current system is long over due. I'm looking for help and support from both seasoned and novice stunt people who aren't afraid of "the system" to raise their voices with me in the name of prevention, education, and accountability. Long term change of any kind is always difficult.  The time to start is now. In the "Links" section of this page you'll find a link to STUNT SMART a non-profit organization dedicated to enriching the lives of stunt performers in the Motion Picture Industry.  Check it out. Get involved.

There are many sides to every story. Most likely, what you have just read has raised more questions than it has answered. For more info go back to the top of the page hit some targets and spend a few minutes looking around. You'll find my e-mail address on the "before e-mailing me" page, share some ideas, help make a difference in a life, in the status quo - at least leave a quick note saying that you stopped in.
 

Be safe.
Have fun! 
 

Sean Pattison