A feat in one Denzel Washington action movie almost went horribly wrong, stuntman reveals. Throughout his career, Washington appeared in many celebrated roles, winning Oscars for his performances in Glory and Training day. He continues to expand his filmography alongside well-known Hollywood talent. Unlimited in terms of variety or genre, some other credits include Malcolm X, Much Ado About Nothing, Remember the Titans, American gangsterand Fences (which he also directed). However, it was Washington’s action thriller roles that did particularly well at the box officeas evidenced by The equalizer franchise.
Among his most famous films is the 2004 man on firewhere he played John W. Creasy, a former CIA agent who targets the criminals responsible for the kidnapping of Lupita Ramos (Dakota Fanning). This film marked Washington’s second collaboration with the late Tony Scott, having previously starred in Crimson Tide. The duo would reunite for three more fascinating productionsincluding Déjà Vu and The Taking of Pelham 123which saw Washington portray ATF agent Doug Carlin and New York subway worker Walter Garber, respectively, and featured many intense action scenes.
A scene from Washington’s unstoppable almost went wrong
A stunt pilot reveals what happened during filming
Stunt Pilot Fred North Reveals Washington’s 2010 Action Film Unstoppableagain directed by Scott, it almost resulted in disaster. Based on the 2001 Crazy Eights incident, Unstoppable follows engineer Frank Barnes and conductor Will Colson in their effort to immobilize an unmanned and out-of-control freight train. Along with Washington, the cast includes Chris Pine, Rosario Dawson, Ethan Suplee and Kevin Dunn. Since its release, the film has grossed US$1,678 million at the box office and was praised for its memorable action sequences involving collisions and explosions.
During Runner CrewIn the “Stunt Pilot Reacts to Bad & Great Helicopter Stunts” video, North explained how to film an explosive scene for Unstoppable almost went wrong. He revealed that despite timing the feat, no action occurred when it should have. This caused him to be close to the heat while the sequence was played. Read North’s comments below:
When there’s an explosion, I’m the one who times it. Because it’s hard for them to know how close I can get. It’s a half-second decision and what happened is I’m telling the guys, you know, ten, five, blah, blah, the count, and when I go into action, nothing has happened. The thing doesn’t go off and it’s like, a thousand, two thousand, now I know I’m going to have a barbecue. But you have to understand, I’m really waiting for the last second and so this moment. So I was much closer than I should have been.
Our Take on Unstoppable Action
Although dangerous, the stunts are impressive
A desperate experience, Unstoppable features some impressive action and stunts, including the scene discussed in the video. The explosion happened when a locomotive derailed, causing it to fall completely, and North’s comments about this sequence reveal just how dangerous something like this can be to capture on film; Scott even referred to him as “French toast.“ If things had gone wrong, the story of Unstoppable would have been drastically different, highlighting how important it is to ensure stunt doubles are protected on set.
Source: Runner Crew