Tell about yourself and your background! *
I have worked in the film and television since I was 19 years old. As a commercial actress that was very athletic, I was often booked on gigs that involved some sort of sport or physical activity such as performing with dolphins, scuba diving, horseback riding, swimming, snowboarding, fitness and other activities. With a strong desire to get more action roles, I was always hopeful this work would lead me to the stunt industry. It was in 2007 that I was finally given that chance by filmmaker, Trey Lindsay who booked me to play an action hero in his indie film. This allowed me to do all of my own stunts and fights scenes as well as gave me enough footage to start my very first stunt reel. Still, I knew there was so much more to learn and build for my resume which had me heading out to LA. In 2010, while there, I was fortunate enough to land a role as a Creative Consultant/Storyline Developer on the video game that allowed me to learn about motion capture. While there I also met stuntman, Myke Michaels who gave me further insight into the stunt industry and provided me with my very first stunt training day. In 2014, I then landed my first underwater stunt job where I played a drowning victim. With that footage, some fight scenes, my acting experience and new knowledge in motion capture, I decided it was time to start putting feelers out in New York. This is when I was fortunate enough to meet the legendary, Jery Hewitt who recognized my abilities on the set of Shades of Blue as Jennifer Lopez's photo double. He then got me into training and continued to give me guidance and advice. Since then I have been fortunate enough to land stunt performer gigs on big budget films such as John Wick 3 as an Assassin, Black Panther 2, Outer banks, The Endgame and many other TV shows and films.
What inspired you to become a stunt performer?
Female Action heroes such as Sigourney Weaver, Linda Hamilton, Fictional Characters such as Amazonian Warrior Nubia who was Wonder Woman's black sister and many other strong women such as my mom, who was the one that introduced me to a lot of outdoor adventure, were my inspiration.
What is your greatest skill as a stunt performer, is there a stunt behind it?
My greatest skill as a stunt performer has been water work and driving but I definitely have all of my expected skills down and continue to train in wire work, fighting, falls and wrecks, tactical and more. I’m also continuously training in stunt driving, feeling very confident about the skills I’ve learned thus far, performing 180's, 90's, near misses and more on set and am very excited about the upcoming training I have lined up.
What is the best part about being a stunt performer?
I love the feeling of team work and knowing that I'm a part of the puzzle to make the entire scene succeed.
Tell your all-time favorite stunt story!
3) (Optional)Tell your all-time personal favorite stunt story! While on set of a commercial in the Bahamas, I was to perform with two male dolphins: 'Jake', 'The Fatman' and one female: 'Princess' in a Lagoon connected to the sea. Unaware that Princess was mating with these two male dolphins, I got the surprise of my life when the two males decided that I was the next they wanted to mate with, at the same time! I won't get into what that is like but it's quite an experience. Thank goodness they were stopped in their tracks by the Dolphin Trainer before further awkwardness occurred. Unfortunately, Princess was far from happy about this and let me now with trashing and loud sounds, followed by pulling me underwater by my Achilles tendon. There she held me a few feet below the surface for a few moments. When she released me, I swam for my life to the dock, only to be thrown back into the middle of the Lagoon by her head in between my legs. This now had the entire production team in a panic and me knowing I had to save myself. So I went underwater to see where she was and at that very moment, she decided to flip over on her back and float to the top up against my body. That's when I took full advantage of trying to make friends by rubbing her belly. It worked! She was just showing me who was boss and when she accomplished that, we were good. The two male Dolphins were released of their duty and I finished the spot with her. A year later, when I went back for a visit, Princess gave birth to a precious baby Dolphin. That was the first and last time I worked with Dolphins in captivity. I hope one day they are all freed.
What advice would you give other stunt performers?
Advice to other stunt performer hopefuls: Use every opportunity on set to learn everything you can about the film making process, to learn from any lessons the coordinator is sharing. Coordinators can be very generous and when they take the time to share, listen very carefully and learn from them. What they teach us can help us become very successful in our careers. Be helpful and supportive. Be that person that people enjoy being around. Be strong but stay kind. Last but not least, a lot of times it's not who you know...It's who knows you when you're not in the room.'
Please share your social media handles and how we can follow you!
https://www.instagram.com/evelynstunts/
Please include any links to stunt reels or videos you'd like to share!
Stunt Reelhttps://vimeo.com/280004998
