The Fall Guy Already Broke a Big Record
At the world premiere of The Fall Guy at SXSW 2024 on March 12, standing alongside director David Leitch, a former stuntman turned director and a Vulture Stunt Award winner, Gosling proudly raised his fist and announced, “I’m Ryan Gosling, and I did almost none of my own stunts in the movie.” Gosling’s co-stars Emily Blunt, Winston Duke, Hannah Waddingham, and Stephanie Hsu — the last of whom sat next to the Daniels, naturally — were also in attendance, along with Gosling’s stuntmen Logan Holladay and Ben Jenkin.
One of the largest stunts in the movie — a chase-scene bonanza on the set of Jodi’s (Blunt) film Metalstorm that includes cars, pyrotechnics, huge falls, helicopters, and a French dog — earned Holladay a Guinness World Record. “A record-breaking cannon roll!” Gosling shouted to Holladay in the audience. To break the record, Holladay performed “8½ rolls,” which means he crashed the car and then got it to rotate eight and a half times (The previous record was held by Casino Royale stuntman Adam Kirley for seven rolls.) “And there’s a moment in the film where he buckles me in for a stunt he’s about to do,” Gosling added. “After it happens, I come out of the car and he pats me on the back for a stunt he just did. How fucked up is that?”
Gosling gave props for Jenkin, too, saying, “Anytime [Colt] got hit by a car, or was set on fire, or did anything cool, or parkour, that was Ben [Jenkin].” The Fall Guy’s stunt dog (“un bon chien”) also got some kudos. The two doubles, played by Australian female kelpies, only took commands in French, something Gosling was used to thanks for his wife’s late Belgian Malnois, who did indeed “speak French.” “He’s passed now, so this is my homage to him,” Gosling said. “I miss that dude.”
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