10 Hollywood Actors Who Do Their Own Stunts

Image via Complex Original

While you may think Cruise’s most dangerous deed was jumping on Oprah’s couch, shouting to the heavens about his love (first, don’t put your shoes on Oprah’s couch. Second, don’t challenge the heavens when it comes to amour), he’s well known to do a lot more than that.

Cruise might as well be the action hero. Movie after movie he continues to impress. Don’t believe us? You can watch the behind-the-scenes video of Cruise climbing the Burj Khalifa for Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol here, but be forewarned, it's going to give you a case of vertigo.

He’s learned how to fight with samurai swords in The Last Samurai, led a chase on a motorcycle for Knight and Day, and flew his own jets in Top Gun.

As if that wasn’t enough, he literally hung off of an airplane for Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation.

If you’re rolling your eyes that the Twilight star has made the list, we suggest you rethink. No, her sparkling vampire boyfriend won’t take care of it—she will. She did all of her own stunts for the romantic drama, and now she has a knack for ballsy feats.

For example, not only did Stewart overcome her fear of horses (we get it—they are big enough and smart enough to know they can kill you), but she also chose to do all her own stunts for Snow White and the Huntsman.

When talking about the director, Rupert Sanders, to Entertainment Weekly, she said, “He definitely threw me off cliffs and made me trudge through frigid, icy waters. It looks so cool, though. I can actually see the pain and discomfort on my face. It’s awesome.”

Hear that? Strap Stewart into some armor and she’s ready to go.

When you’re set to appear in one of the most highly anticipated novel adaptations in years, and one that is about children having to straight-up murder each other, one would think an actor would dial up their lawyer and make sure there’s a stunt double in the contract. However, Hutcherson performed all of his own stunts for The Hunger Games.

Of course, he had experience after working with director, and stunt veteran, Dan Bradley on Red Dawn. Bradley encouraged everyone on set to do their own stunts. "When you have a bunch of young actors out there jumping from rooftop to rooftop, they're fired up as all hell," Morgan said. "It wasn't a bad thing. It's what actors love to do."

We’re not sure there will ever be a better Batman than Christian Bale, and a lot of that is thanks to his expertise in the martial art Keysi. While he did have a stunt double, his job was often made obsolete by Bale stepping in to do the fight sequences himself. He said of Keysi, which he learned for Batman Begins, "It's a very instinctive kind of martial art. It's not about choreography; it's very much about using your adrenaline and becoming an animal in your fighting style."

While Bale wasn't afraid to stand on top of Chicago's tallest building for a shot, he let his doubles, Buster Reeves and Jean-Pierre Goy, do the jump or take the wheel in the Batmobile and Bat-Pod. He said, “I'm quite happy to admit I'm not up to that level.”

What makes Bell so impressive? Her career started off as a stunt double, and now she’s starring in movies herself. First, she was literally Xena: Warrior Princess when she doubled for Lucy Lawless. Then, she was Uma Thurman’s stunt double in Kill Bill. It only made sense for Quentin Tarantino to cast her in Death Proof. On top of seeing her acting chops, fans were treated to watching her hang off the hood of a 1970s Dodge Charger in one of the most iconic action scenes to date.

Bell's been appearing in movies since, even doing her own stunts as Bloody Holly in the roller derby movie Whip It, and in Tarantino's The Hateful Eight.

Of course, Jackie Chan makes our list. What ’90s kid doesn’t remember watching him perform his own stunts and immediately beg their parents to sign them up for karate classes? But Chan isn’t just an actor who performs his own stunts—he also looks out for his fellow talent. 

In the early ’80s, he formed the Jackie Chan Stunt Team, which has had numerous members join the ranks and make it to the movies. He's also served as a stunt director, while even appearing as a stunt double for other actors in his own films. 

In 1999, Chan released a documentary titled Jackie Chan: My Stunts, which showed the audience how to do a number of stunts and how to do it on a budget. We don’t have the numbers, but this may have sent a few kids and some backyard wrestling fans to the ER. 

Who wouldn't be impressed if Damon performed his own stunts in Good Will Hunting? Math is hard, right? Math problems aside, Damon is one of the most recognized action stars today for his work in the Bourne series. He’s performed a lot of his own driving and underwater action sequences. Damon even underwent three months of training in hand-to-hand combat, weapons, boxing, and Filipino Escrima to properly get into shape to play Jason Bourne. 

While thinking about Diaz’s work you probably remember a few romantic comedies and that underwear dance scene in Charlie’s Angels. What you probably don’t realize is that she, along with her costars, trained in martial arts for three months before filming…for eight hours a day, excluding weekends.

She also appeared with fellow stunter, Tom Cruise, in Knight and Day, where she performed her own stunt driving. Yep, the same woman who fell for Jude Law in The Holiday is the woman spinning out cars and riding a motorcycle alongside Cruise. 

Jason Statham is allowed to look down on actors who don’t do their own stunts. In fact, he considers it a shame that so many young actors get to don superhero tights without actually performing their own feats. Of course, Statham has been doing all of his own work since the start of his career.

Before he graced the big screen, he was a diver for the British National Team. Which probably helped when his stunt on The Expendables 3 went sour and he found himself driving a truck off of a dock, having to escape, and swim to shore. 

Why do these guys get to share the last spot? Because they’re the OGs of action actors.

Despite their age, the actors continue to do a number of their own stunts. While Schwarzenegger was 64, he was still taking care of bad guys in The Last Stand. Stallone, in his 60s as well, has had stunt drivers and men during his career, but often tries stunts out himself. Stallone has the health record to prove it, including a trip to intensive care after a punch from Dolph Lundgren while filming Rocky IV, and a broken neck on The Expendables, thanks to Steve Austin.