Tell about yourself and your background! *
I started martial arts at a pretty young age until high school when my passions shifted to performing in the theater department and rock climbing. After years of theater performance, to the point where I was president of the theater club, I stopped performing and focused on rock climbing while studying Computer Science at The University of Central Florida. I got the chance to compete at Collegiate Climbing Nationals twice for UCF before entering my doctoral candidacy.Just before entering my doctoral candidacy though, a friend from high school convinced me to audition for a circus theater troupe based in Orlando Florida called Phantasmagoria. This is where my passions started to shift back from science to the performing. This troupe taught me a lot about what performing could really be incorporating dangerous acts like eating and breathing fire. My passion for the fire performance community has been rampant since where I stand as a strong advocate for a focus in fire safety. A girlfriend I now met from Phantasmagoria convinced me one day to go to an audition for this show in Orlando called Pirates Dinner Adventure. I had never heard of it but she tells me it's a stunt show and with my rock climbing background she figured it could be a good role for me. I figured it sounded like fun so I went and I never knew that this decision would change the course of my life. I get hired at Pirates Dinner Adventure and within a year I had been cross-trained into numerous roles and even hear about auditions for another show in town at Universal Orlando called the Triwizard Spirit Rally. Now mind you, by this time I was still doing my doctoral candidacy so I was doing 25+ hours of classwork, 25+ hours of research, 25+ hours a week at Pirates Dinner Adventure. Needless to say, when I auditioned and got the role as a Durmstrang in the Triwizard Spirit Rally I knew something needed to change. That summer I asked my doctoral advisor for a leave of absence because I felt like I needed some time away from the university. So at the age of 23 in 2019, I left my job and research at the University of Central Florida and was performing full time at Pirates Dinner Adventure and Universal Studios. It was during this time I met a stunt coordinator who gave me my first on-screen stunt job for a film. Through this coordinator I got to experience body burns, which was coincidentally the only thing by this point I hadn't done with fire. Then comes auditions for The Bourne Stuntacular.In November I get cast as Jason Bourne at The Bourne Stuntacular by Action Horizons. Since then I have now taken contracts in that show as both Jason Bourne and as our High Fall Assassin. I train multiple times a week to get better at stunt performing and all the extreme sports that have appeared in my life over the years (Skydiving, Skateboarding, Parkour, Tricking, Rock Climbing, etc.). Now the goal is to take as many of these skills as I can to film and tv where I can keep working to show people how exciting life can really be!
What inspired you to become a stunt performer?
I think the first time I really thought about this was when I was just starting to perform again towards the end of my undergraduate degree. I distinctly remember watching behind the scenes of Captain America: Civil War and saw how they rigged one of Rumlow's agents to slam through a column. I saw that and all I could think was how much I wanted to be that guy in that moment.
What is your greatest skill as a stunt performer, is there a stunt behind it?
I think my greatest skill comes from my background in the fire performance community. I started eating and breathing fire when I was 19 and got to train with some immensely skilled performers since then. I have also gotten to meet numerous fire coordinators in the stunt world to learn how to properly setup burns for film. Now I get to take these two worlds of knowledge I have and put them to use together. With all that said, I know I have seen very few other performers do high level fire breathing off of their own arm while executing a body burn. But I know that I've done it with a great safety team behind me.
What is the best part about being a stunt performer?
I was never good at baseball or basketball or football growing up. So, I had to find other things to try, and that's how I found the likes of Tae-Kwon-Do, rock climbing, and theater. Stunt performing has been a way to let me do the things that I love doing every day, and make a living out of it. I get to make magic happen right in front of peoples' eyes. Every time I perform I get to show them something exciting that they will hopefully remember forever!
Tell your all-time favorite stunt story!
One of the things I love the most about my time thus far as a stunt performer, are the people I've met. One of my favorite moments was getting to perform a show at The Bourne Stuntacular at 12:30am for a special event. Even though the entire cast had to be back at the venue for a 9:15 call time, we all went out together to iHop and hung out for a while just laughing and having a good time. We knew the next morning was going to be hard, but it was worth it just to spend more time with other people who share the same passion.
What advice would you give other stunt performers?
I like the saying "Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish". Always try to learn more and never assume you know enough. Showing up to the open gym and doing nothing is better than staying home and doing nothing. So go out and keep training.
Anything else you'd like to tell the community about?
Currently working hard to get my jump numbers up in my skydiving log book. BASE jumping has always been a dream so now I'm working to make it happen. Hopefully one day I will be able to add that line to my resume.
Please share your social media handles and how we can follow you!
My instagram is @brettbelcher and I'm pretty active on there. Currently working on a lot projects with the amazing group we have down here in Orlando.
Please include any links to stunt reels or videos you'd like to share!
Stunt Reel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMoSjEeOu7c
