Top 10 Hollywood Actors Who Perform Their Own Stunts

Who does not get an adrenaline rush while watching an action thriller? We cannot stop biting our nails during an excellent chase, jump, or blast. But you would be more surprised when you learn the stunts you just saw on screen were real. Yes, some stunts are not computer generated or done by other stuntmen. Some actors are just as adrenaline junkie as any other to perform their own stunts. Some actors show commendable physical prowess even over the age of 50 or when CGIs were not available.

From Tom Cruise to Angelina Jolie, below is the list of the top ten actors who have performed their own stunts in the movies. However, the badge of honor comes with a price of broken bones, burns, and sometimes even the threat of death. Despite these dangers, these actors do not scare away. Many even claim that it gives them the thrill to do so. Let us see the actors who perform their own stunts.

10. Donnie Yen

Donnie Yen is a Hong Kong actor, director, and producer. However, he started his career as a stuntman. Donnie is adept in numerous martial arts like Taekwondo and jiu-jitsu. At the dawn of his acting career, he appeared in numerous fight scenes of ‘Once Upon A Time In China II’, ‘Tiger Cage’, ‘Legend of The Wolf’, and more. His fight scenes are edited through a computer or performed by someone else. His stunts are authentic and sometimes too fast that the eye cannot keep up.

Donnie is one of the leading Hong Kong stuntmen and has even choreographed many fight scenes. He has been the recipient of various awards for Action Choreography. For instance, Hong Kong Film Awards, Golden Horse Awards, and Taurus World Stunt Awards. He later even starred in American movies like ‘Ip Man’, ‘XXX: Return of Xandar Cage’, ‘Mulan’ (2020), and more. He is even set to appear in the upcoming installment of ‘John Wick 4’.

9. Angelina Jolie

Do not mistake her for a sensitive princess because of her beautiful looks. Angelina Jolie is a badass and the only woman on this list. Her adrenal addiction was first noted in the 2001 film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. Since the people in Hollywood would agree that she would make an excellent female James Bond not only of her iconic air but also for having the guts to do her own stunts.

Many of her unbelievable stunts are in the movie film ‘Wanted’ (2008) and ‘Salt’ (2010). In ‘Wanted’ we see her jumping over trains and hanging from the broken windscreen of a car and shooting. Her most famous stunt is from ‘Salt’ where she jumps off the bridge onto the roof of a truck.

8. Daniel Craig

When Daniel Craig signed up for the role of the new British spy James Bond, he took on the responsibility for doing many of his stunts. When we see 007 jumping off a roof, riding mother cycle on the tops of houses, or driving ridiculously fast during a chase it is Daniel. Despite the fear of heights, Daniel has walked over a crane toward a collapsing train in the James Bond franchise.

However, Daniel has suffered lacerations, broken bones, and even a sliced fingertip while performing his stunts. The stunts are not as easy and elegant as the spy portrays them after numerous takes. Therefore discretion is advised for not performing them at home.

7. Matt Damon

Matt Damon’s Bourne franchise holds the most popular stunts of the Academy Award winner. In the ‘Bourne’ series, Matt was seen jumping off windows, crashing into cars, and having exhilarating fight scenes. Portraying the character Jason Bourne, Matt showed agile physical prowess. However, the underwater stunt in 2004 ‘The Bourne Supremacy’ proved to be too much for the actor.

The underwater stunt in the movie was executed by Matt without an oxygen mask. Obviously, Matt had a stunt guide and a diving instructor to help him maneuver his way underwater. Nonetheless, when Matt shooter the scene, he could not sleep that night. According to Express, he confesses, “That night I woke up probably four times gasping for breath, thinking I was drowning. It was terrible.”

6. Harrison Ford

Harrison Ford is a legendary actor in Hollywood with films like the Indiana Jones franchise and the Blade Runner franchise to his name. Moreover, Ford doe not lose credit for the stunts that are performed in his action-thriller movies. In 1994’s ‘Clear and Present Danger’ he dangled from a helicopter, and in ‘The Fugitive’ (1993) he jumped from the way of a speeding train. Even in the 20th century when CGIs were not prominent, Ford didn’t accept a stuntman to perform his role.

In 1981’s ‘Raiders of The Ark’, Ford indeed was below the ridiculously fast car. What further amazes the audience is when Ford was filming for ‘Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull’ (2008), he requested to shoot the majority of his stunts on his own. The was sixty-six years old at the time.

5. Tony Jaa

Tony Jaa is a Thai martial artist, actor, action choreographer, stuntman, and director. He gained fame in his 2003 fight scene in ‘Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior’. His moves were swift and agile which won him international acclaim. Later in the movie, his pants were even on fire. Eventually Tony started working in Hollywood. He appeared in numerous big franchises like ‘XXX: Return of Xander Cage’, ‘Furious 7’, and ‘Never Back Down: No Surrender’.

‘Tom-Yum-Goong’ is a major action thriller in which Tony was the lead. The movie was even released in the United States as ‘The Protector’. Soon Tony attracted the Chinese superstar and Tony’s hero, Jackie Chan. He was requested to work with Jackie in ‘Rush Hour 3’. However, he was not able to due to a conflicting schedule with another movie.

4. Buster Keaton

Buster Keaton was a twenties American actor who was popularly known as “The Great Stone Face”. He was known so for maintaining his stoic expression while performing dangerous stunts in his silent movies. The twenties were certainly not the time of technological advancements. Hence, Keaton had to do his own stunts. Moreover, he kept an unaffected face during filming for stunts.

Keaton even broke his neck once while filming one such stunt with a water tower. This was the apex of a huge bill of broken bones and bruises. Keaton had set weighing tons to miss him in ‘Steamboat Bill Jr.’ (1928). Keaton kept his nerve through all the scenes of jumping from a house or car chase. He could be considered one of the first actors to perform his own stunts along with Charlie Chaplin.

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3. Tom Cruise

Doing his own stunts is one of the many things in Tom Cruise’s “I Can Do This” list. Tom can be titled a quintessential adrenal junkie as the actor confesses to enjoying his stunt scenes rather than being scared of them. Over his thirty-year acting career, Tom has run along the walls of Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, healed his breath for six minutes underwater, and above all healed onto an airplane while it took off.

‘Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol’ is the film that contains the actor’s most daredevil stunts. In it, he did his Burj Khalifa stunt. In 1996’s Mission Impossible’, he fought above a moving train and ran from sixteen tonnes of water. The actor despite being 60 years old, still insists on performing his own stunts.

2. Jason Statham

Jason Statham is the face of automobile thrillers and action movies besides Vin Diseal. ‘Expendable’, ‘Death Race’ and ‘Transporter’ are some of his popular action thrillers. And the actor performed most of his stunts in the films. Some of these stunts have even proven life-threatening to the actor. He has suffered broken bones and ligaments while performing his stunts.

Joson has landed his parachute over the roof of a truck, maneuvered speeding cars, and fought his way out despite being outnumbered. In 2015, he revealed to Vulture how he had a close call with one stunt in ‘Expendables 3’. He was driving a truck at a ridiculous speed and the brakes failed which lead him to drive the car into the Black Sea. Besides performing his own stunts Jason is fond of rock climbing.

1. Jackie Chan

It is not surprising to see this Hong Kong actor on top of this list. Jackie has probably done all the above stunts and added to them. Jackie holds the Guinness World Record for the actor alive performing his own stunts. Out of his most daring stunts, his fighting scenes are the most popular. However, these daring stunts have led to terrifying injuries, burns, broken bones, and multiple surgeries.

Jakie’s stunts almost sound unreal. Jackie has snowboarded from a mountain into a helicopter, hung from billboards, and numerous times from buildings. One of his most dangerous stunts was when he slid down from a pole surrounded by electrical lights. That stunt even led to serious burns.

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