Tell about yourself and your background! *
I'm an actor, stunt performer, and musician. I started playing the cello at 4 years old and have been playing ever since. I've played in several different orchestras and a string quartet for most of my life, so music is ingrained in my DNA. I'm also a classically-trained singer and enjoy performing in musicals and choirs, along with the occasional solo. I got into acting at age 8, doing small parts here and there for church programs. My parents had a fine arts program for home school students in the south suburbs of Chicago, and when I was 14 they added drama, which I had been eagerly pushing for. That was where my love for acting really began to blossom as I was a part of two productions a year all the way to graduating high school. After that I started doing community theater and decided acting is what I really wanted to do with my life. I started looking into getting headshots and building a resume, submitting to talent agencies, and auditioning for student films in Chicago. In 2016 I went to acting school in Chicago and studied the Meisner Method, which was a hugely important step in my acting career. Since then I have appeared in over 20 films or indie series and am excited to be seeing a lot more work coming my way this year.
What inspired you to become a stunt performer?
Like most young boys, I enjoyed watching westerns and war movies, seeing all the cool fights and chase sequences really excited me. Seeing guys doing high falls and getting thrown through windows looked so cool. I would say I was around 12 when the idea of doing stunts began to sink in. I remember going on family vacation out west when I was 13, and we hit several stunt shows while we were out there. We took in a stunt show at the Ponderosa Ranch in Nevada, which was the first ever live stunt show I saw. It was really neat to see the gunfights and falls. The next one was at Universal Studios in California where we saw Waterworld, and I was wowed by the stuntman who did a high fall off an extremely high platform while on fire. After that we went to Arizona where I saw the gunfight at the O.K. Corral reenacted, and then saw another stunt show at a place called Rawhide. There was a chance to meet the stunt performers quickly after the show, but I was super shy in public so I didn't want to talk to them, even though I was secretly dying to. I was so disappointed afterwards and regretted not talking to them. The next day we went to Old Tucson Studios and took a tour, and our tour guide happened to be a retired stunt performer who's worked on films such as Tombstone with Kurt Russell. When I learned that, I made a determination to talk to him, and so I did. Every moment he wasn't giving us his talk, we were discussing stunts, and after the tour was over, he was kind enough to show me how to throw a punch for live shows, using a knap. I was so excited about it that I began practicing it with my brothers when we got back home, and I think that trip is what really got me thinking about doing stunts' year or so later, I put on a Wild West Show in my friend's yard, with one of my brothers and another friend playing the other parts. We built a town out of cardboard boxes and did a whole 10-minute show for my family and some neighbors. The act culminated with me doing a high fall off a ladder onto a trampoline. That was a very interesting experience, to say the least. After those experiences (including seeing another stunt show just a few hours from where I live), I decided I wanted to include stunt work in my performing arts career, so in 2016 or 2017, I started going to Asylum Stunts in Chicago, and began my formal training in fights and falls. I then booked my very first stunt gig in 2017, in a Telugu-language film called LIE. From that gig I got my first agent in Chicago, which really helped my career move forward. So, I credit stunts with getting my first acting agent, so I'm really grateful to the stunt industry for that.
What is your greatest skill as a stunt performer, is there a stunt behind it?
This is a hard question to answer because I think there's really two. The first one would be falls, because as a kid I grew up on silent movies and shows that had all sorts of pratfalls in them, which led me to start practicing falls on my own, learning shoulder rolls, stage-style back falls, and the like. Before I even went to stunt school I was using falls in shows, including doing a 360-standing spin followed up with falling to my back on concrete with no padding. In fact, there are three occasions where I did a big fall with no padding, including a front flip, landing on my back, on a wood floor. Surprisingly I wasn't hurt, but I think all my practice with tucking my chin to my chest as a younger guy was a contributing factor, along with instinct taking over. I think it was in those situations where I subconsciously knew that when it comes to stunts, you just have to go for it and not have any reservations. When you do that, you're less likely to get hurt.The other thing I would say is my greatest skill as a stunt performer would be driving. I was always a good instinctual driver, and I think waiting until I was 19 to start learning to drive was a big factor in that, because I was much more mature than I was if I had started at 15. I won't get into the whole situation, but I didn't get my license until I was 21, but when I did start driving I noticed I had some uncanny 6th sense with it. As I drove, I noticed I was able to predict other people's moves before they did them. For example, I can tell you if a specific car is going to change lanes and which lane they're going to switch to, and I can do it well in advance of them actually doing it. I think that's something I have innately, and I attribute it to being very aware of what I call "Car Body Language." Having that ability definitely helps as a stunt driver, and while I'm very new to it, I enjoy it more than any other aspect of stunts so far. I went to Bobby Ore Motorsports in Sebring, Florida last year and the training I received was invaluable. It was extremely difficult to get the maneuvers down, but once I did, it was the coolest feeling I've ever experienced. Watching Bobby pull of moves like his "Circle of Trust" was very inspiring to me, and as a stunt performer I really hope to make stunt driving my focus in the stunt industry.
What is the best part about being a stunt performer?
For me, it's getting to work with so many talented individuals and create great moments and wonderful memories. The stunt community is such a unique one, and each artist brings their own special gifts and talents to make a beautiful moment on screen.
Tell your all-time favorite stunt story!
It's hard to pick one, but if I had to choose, I'd go with my very first paid gig. It was for the Telugu-language film LIE, which was shot primarily in India, with some sequences shot in Canada, Chicago and Las Vegas. I was brought in for the Chicago stunt team at the last minute (I was hired on after 11 pm the night before they started filming) and didn't know what to expect. When I arrived on set (50-something floors up in a suite at Trump Tower), I ended up sitting around for several hours while waiting to be involved. During a break in filming, the stunt coordinator was trying to come up with something new for the actor to do (they choreographed as they went), he came over to me and asked me how much I weighed. Before I could even answer, he grabbed me in a bear hug and lifted me up, after which he set me down and said, "You're light enough." Then he explained what he was thinking. He would have the lead actor pick me up and hold me like he was carrying firewood, ram me into the wall, then turn and throw me across the room. They had the actor hold me to make sure he was comfortable with holding my weight and doing the move, then when it was set, they gave me an elbow and hip pad for my right side, as well as a back pad. Then they called action and the actor threw me ... but he threw me the wrong way. He was supposed to turn to his left and throw me so I could see my landing point and use my arm and leg to toe tap and control my landing. Instead, he turned to his right and threw me so I couldn't see where the ground was and I landed hard on my hip and shoulder. Needless to say, it hurt! They checked to make sure I was already, which I said I was, and then we went for a second take. This time he turned the right direction and threw me the way he was supposed to, and the stunt went off without a hitch. Unfortunately, they cut my stunt from the film in the end, probably due to the fact that they didn't film anything of me getting into his arms, so they had no way to logically cut to it. On the plus side, I did ask the BTS guy to record it on my phone, so I do have footage of it, and you can see me lying unconscious on the ground right behind him in the dialog scene that follows. It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed being thrown across the room by a Bollywood star!Another stunt story I'll just briefly mention is the time I got to work as the unofficial stunt coordinator on a TV movie with Michelle Borth of Hawaii 5-0. That was an interesting experience, to say the least, given the circumstances. It was a lot of fun working with her and assisting her with the stunt fight she had to do. She's been my favorite actress to work with so far. Such a professional but just as kind and caring to everyone.
What advice would you give other stunt performers?
Be kind and stay humble. Kindness is underrated in this industry and too many people get big egos. We tend to see it more with actors and directors, but it can happen to stunt performers too. No one wants to work with a mean, egotistical person, in any type of job. Having humility and being kind to everyone is one of the keys to success in any area of your life. Humility and kindness will open more doors of opportunity than your stunt reel.
Anything else you'd like to tell the community about?
As I'm still relatively new to the stunt industry compared to most, I'd appreciate all the support and advice I can get from you all. My hope is to focus my stunt work in the area of stunt and precision driving, so if any opportunities arise for that and you think I may be qualified for, I'd appreciate the opportunity. Thanks so much!
Please share your social media handles and how we can follow you!
Insta: @actorjonathanwessel FB Profile: @actorjonathanofficial FB Pro Page: https://www.facebook.com/ActorJonathanWessel
Please include any links to stunt reels or videos you'd like to share!
