Harry Potter's stunt double who suffered a tragic accident
The cinema is full of great anonymous heroes. In the machinery of artifice, there are many gadgets that are deployed so that we can see amazing results on the big screen. One of them is stunt doubles, those actors or actresses who do the “dirty work” that the main actors cannot jump off the cliff or that would be very dangerous for them. It's those action scenes that we can't imagine how our favorite actors could pull off… it's just not them. But these stunt doubles are condemned to great anonymity within the industry, despite the danger to which they are exposed. Recently, they demanded their category at the Oscars.
An actor who can account for this is David Holmes, who acted as Daniel Radcliffe's stunt double in the Harry Potter films and did not have the best of luck. It was during the filming of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows that Holmes experienced one of the most extreme dangers. It was a scene in which Holmes had to be thrown against a wall and suffered an accident in which he broke his neck and, despite being treated immediately, became a paraplegic.
His companions, especially Radcliffe, were very present accompanying Holmes in the recovery. And despite the great misfortune that this accident meant in his life, he remained optimistic: "I had this feeling of tragedy, but also the determination to improve myself and to be a better person," Holmes told The Daily Mirror.
Today, David Holmes has overcome the difficulties and is a racer of modified cars, having obtained prizes and great satisfaction. This story, among many others, shows the enormous risk involved in this anonymous work and at the service of the illusions created by cinema.
