An English actor who is well known for his roles in action-thriller movies spoke on July 24 about an “awful” accident that left a professional stuntman with serious injuries during filming for a popular action movie.
“Fast and Furious” star Jason Statham expressed his regrets to family and friends of stuntman Joe Watts.
“It’s awful for the families when someone gets really hurt,” Statham said in a televised interview with Extra.
#HobbsAndShaw star Jason Statham talks movie stunts after stuntman injury on “Fast & Furious 9.” https://t.co/O2f3tUVLK8 pic.twitter.com/rDNNekeDbY
— ExtraTV (@extratv) July 24, 2019
The Creative Academy teacher hurt himself during a July 22 film shoot while playing Vin Diesel’s stunt double in Universal Pictures’ latest Fast & Furious 9 movie sequel.
Production for the movie has been postponed since the accident happened at the Warner Bros. Studios in Leavesden, 35 miles northwest of London. Watts is recovering from a “serious head injury” and is in an induced coma, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
‘Fast & Furious 9’ Stuntman in an “Induced Coma” Following Accident https://t.co/Lx1crkp5mP via @thr
— Todd Hedrick (@ActorToddHedric) July 23, 2019
Hertfordshire Police told The Associated Press that the victim suffered “serious injuries” and had to be airlifted to hospital.
Production of ` Fast & Furious 9’ in England is halted after a stuntman for the action movie is severely injuredhttps://t.co/kk1yDMeZ2O
— AP Entertainment (@APEntertainment) July 23, 2019
Statham described the movie stunt business as an “unpredictable science.”
“You do every measure that you can to eliminate these things from happening, it’s just a real shame that accidents happen,” he said.
He revealed his deepest admiration for stunt people who work behind the scenes and called them “unsung heroes.”
“They put themselves out there to make other people look good without [getting] anything back,” Statham said, according to Fox News. “The best relationships I have, and the most fun I have ever had on a set, is always with the stunt guys.”
Hosted By MFrazz: ‘Hobbs & Shaw’ star Jason Statham speaks out about stuntman injured filming ‘Fast & Furious 9’: ‘It is awful’ https://t.co/Mq1yfBn6HV
— MommyFrazzled (@MFRZProductions) July 24, 2019
Statham is no stranger to performing stunts himself, having had his fair share of action when he starred in The Transporter movie back in the year 2002.
“They couldn’t afford a stunt double, [so] I did almost every little piece that I could do,” he said, according to Fox News. “The studio for these big movies [on the other hand], they don’t want you to do anything, it is just one of the risks that they don’t want you to take.”
Jason says he is closest to the stuntmen on set. https://t.co/HanUXHI33G
— Metro Entertainment (@Metro_Ents) July 24, 2019
The DC Universe Unlimited fan page recently posted a tribute to Watts and echoed Statham’s view that stunt performers should receive more recognition for performing dangerous and sometimes life-threatening work.
“Every year, there are petitions and movements to get the academy to add a stunt performer category to the Oscars and every year, they are ignored,” Contributor Huntress said on Facebook.
“Imagine if the actors had to do their own work, imagine dangerous action sequences never existing because there are no stunt performers … movies would be pretty damn boring, wouldn’t they?”
Fast & Furious 9 also stars Michelle Rodriguez and is promised to be released sometime in the year 2020.
