Tell about yourself and story, Lamar!
I was born August 14, 1989 on the hottest day of summer, 2 lbs 8oz premature and sickly, fighting hard but ready to rock this world!
Easily the smoothest birth my mother had being I was the last of six... I came into this world fighting; fighting to survive. I was born with several medical problems due to being premature but the most relevant being asthma.
I wasn’t supposed to make it is what I’ve been told. My body was just too small and I was really going to have to fight to live. The energy was low when I arrived being that just a year prior my mother lost a baby boy at birth due to similar medical issues, “Lil' Larry”.
Each day that passes I give thanks to god and remember how precious life is and also so very fragile.
I’ve spent the majority of my life playing it safe and being careful as a child and young man. I still played basketball and football pop warner just like any kid but I always struggled with asthma when doing any type of physical activities.
Playing football in high school contributed a lot to my drive and desire for camaraderie amongst my peers while wrestling gave me that “do it yourself” mentality.
While I loved both I wasn’t clear what I should do after high school moving forward to college. I was fortunate enough to do some modeling during and after highschool for a few fashion designers and amateur photographers however I was set on joining the military but had considered playing college sports.
Little did I know big things were on the horizon. Being born in a military town; it was always a dream to work for the govt. DOD and luckily I was selected out of a group of over 1,000 candidates to be part the navy’s SEEP program (which is a cooperative and pays for school) the job title was Ordnance Processing tech. Which is fancy for Research and development for explosive and propellants.
Basically Rocket science which was amazing for me being a long time fan of "Ironman" my whole life even before the movies it seemed unreal and I remember being in disbelief and amazed that this could be a real opportunity for me. It was such a fascinating opportunity and that was the beginning of my wild and crazy adventure.
Learning all the ins and outs about weapons manufacturing and production was a dream come true for me and it was a big bonus that the navy paid for my college and provided military benefits to civil service members which gave my a very comfortable lifestyle and I remember thinking about the amount of years for me to retire and what not but I always knew I had a lot more opportunities coming my way.
Fast forward a few years and my life flipped over a few times and I ended up in Las Vegas Nellis AFB where my son was born only to move to Chicago a few years later just to be with my son as well as be a major part of his life.
While working in Vegas I had the opportunity to be in a car dealership commercial which was comical to say the least and I am sure it will resurface some day. And I got my first taste of “Set life” working for The hit TV show “American Restoration” being a tour guide on the showroom floor made me feel like one of the stars for sure.
Although I was for from it at the time. I ended up leaving that job to move out to Chicago to be with my son and most people winced at the thought of me moving to Chicago I had a positive outlook and was prepared to take any job available quoting “I’ll clean the toilets if need be!"
Little did I know that was totally unnecessary. I started boxing straight after highschool and remember when I was 9 years old I told my whole family I wanted to be a pro boxer without and substance or reason but I held firm in my beliefs.
So after football and wrestling I was fortunate enough to find a small boxing class with a handful of guys to train just to pass the time and stay in shape. I never had any intentions of competing at that time.
So needless to say when I moved to Chicago I need to brush up on my skills as well as be healthy and fit. I trained for years just for fun while helping amateur and pro fighters prep for fights I never minded getting my ass battered and bloodied for the greater good but still I knew there was more in it for me.
After a year or so my team insists that I compete and of course me being humble didn’t think I was good enough to compete but they reassured me that I was “ready to rock some heads!” I went on to dominate my first fight with some devastating Knees to the body and that was the official start to my fight career.
It felt amazing being able to express myself violently and I truly respect the sport and everyone who competes. After training with some big name fighters I was convinced this must be my calling but the universe had other plans clearly. Walking though Walmart randomly shopping for toys with my son I get a PM from Facebook Messenger.
“Lamar! I’m Enrique I used to train with Herc Jack when we both first started in MMA. I work in film now wondering what’s your height and weight for a possible job?"
I honestly wasn’t sure what this was even about and was thinking “scam likey” but to my surprise everything was legit and within the next 48 hours I was on set meeting with the stunt coordinator Marty Murray.
I gotta say out of all this as overwhelming as it was I was super impressed to see that almost everyone on set knew of me in some way which seemed absolutely impossible.
My first stunt was alongside Demi Moore who saves me from being drowned in a bathtub. Low and behold I was officially the stunt double for The “Terrance Howard” who was a co-star in my favorite movie “Ironman.”
I didn’t think it would last very long assuming they were prepared to “kill him off” and that was my sole purpose but I was very very misinformed.
I went on to double him for several seasons to include to finale which is such a big deal for any stunt player.
I have grown to love every aspect of the film industry and have been fortunate enough to work on other hit shows like “CPD” and “Power!"
So now I stand tall and proud prepared to save the world or destroy it.
(Depending on the job)
I made it to a billion seconds old!
“Let’s go!”
What inspired you to become a stunt person?
The desire to play while working and do dangerous things safely.
Driving, flying, SCUBA diving, fighting, fire, shooting guns, and blowing up bombs, etc.
What is your greatest skill as a stunt performer, is there a story behind it?
Kickboxing as well as the desire to validate, imitate, and improve the scene or stunt.
Keeping high energy and executing safe and realistic stunt performances.
Being able to copy an actor's demeanor is something I thoroughly enjoy above all else.
I used to make fun out of pretending to be my opponent before fights or watching fight film to help a fighter train for a different style of fighting.
It definitely comes full circle: stunts and fighting.
Tell your all-time personal favorite stunt story!
Going to a fitting for a Speedo and signing a nudity waiver for my first stunt (no pressure).
Fighting with Demi Moore and swinging an axe at her had to have been one of my favorite experiences.
What is the best part about being a stunt performer?
Being able to play various characters and being violent and aggressive, it’s definitely one of the greatest perks of the job!
What advice would you give other stunt people?
Have fun and above all else be safe!
Anything else you would like to tell the community about?
“Most people only die once!"
~Nonchalantly
Stay ready so you don’t have to get ready and try everything!
Social Media:
https://www.facebook.com/lamar.jeter.1
