Stunt Performer Spotlight: Andi Norris

Tell about yourself, Andi!

I’m a working Stunt/Action Actor and Creature Performer.  I work both in motion capture and on camera.  Recently I’ve worked on Vader Immortal, Predator: Hunting Grounds, Magic: The Gathering Arena, Amazon’s Crucible, and a few other AAA titles that are still under NDA.

I’ve played soldiers, children, monsters (from family pets to 40 foot lava rancors), aliens, and animals.  I also recently worked as a stunt performer on Fuller House, The Kid’s Are Alright, How to Get Away with Murder, as well as acted in a few roles for various action and creature films.

Outside of my performance work, I run a conditioning program, Creature Fit, through Mind’s Eye Tribe: Action Actor’s Academy, designed for others looking to get into this line of work. We focus on building strength, mobility, agility, and flexibility.

Holding unusual body positions for 7 or 8 hours can be extremely challenging if you haven’t worked up to it, particularly if you’re doing pounces and attacks at the very end of the day!

What inspired you to become a stunt person?

Honestly, this is a story I’m always a little reluctant to tell because it’s so far from the norm.

I moved to New Orleans when Hollywood South was just getting started.  I was auditioning as an actor.  It was straight up good fortune that I was living a block away from the mansion used in American Horror Story: Coven.  I was already very athletic and, at the time, I came from training pretty extensively in aerial acrobatics.

I managed to strike up a conversation with the stunt coordinator.  I’d never considered stunts before; I was an actor, maybe thinking about creature performance.  I didn’t even know hustling was a thing, let alone that I was doing it.

He brought me on and was so amazingly gracious and patient with my greenness. That experience opened me up to a whole new world in the film industry and I started training and expanding my skill set after that!

What is your greatest skill as a stunt performer, is there a story behind it?

My greatest skill is as a creature performer, both in prosthetics and motion capture.

I was doing theater (mostly as animals and supernatural creatures) in Seattle.  I had the pure joy and honor to meet the incredibly lovely Doug Jones while he was there for a convention.  Creature performance in film had also never occurred to me as a career option before that conversation.

It is not too far to say that Dougie changed the trajectory of my career.  Now that I’m reading my answers here, I’m beginning to realize how incredibly fortunate I’ve been in terms of right place, right time, right skill set!

What is the best part about being a stunt performer?

I can always be better; there is always more to learn.  There’s not a day that goes by when I’m not learning something new and honing skills I thought I was good at.

I love watching what others are training or doing and reverse engineering how they got there, where they started, etc.  That’s right… I’m a stunt stalker…

What advice would you give other stunt people?

Start training in everything you can get your hands on.  Wrecks, falls, tactical, martial arts, weaponry… creatures!  But also get training in acting.

This is becoming more and more important, not only are there action acting roles you’ll be more eligible for, but it adds a lot to an action sequence if you can double in character and help tell the story of the fight.

Anything else you would like to tell the community about?

As I mentioned above, I’m also the Managing Director and Conditioning Coach for Mind’s Eye Tribe: Action Actor’s Academy.

At the school, we offer training in sword performance, tactical firearm work, action, and creature performance for both motion capture and film. Any skill you need to be a top-level action actor, we have classes for.

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2028435/

Instagram: @andi_norris

Twitter: @andi_norris

Stunt Players Directory: https://www.stuntplayers.com/player/andi-norris/