Top 10 Brits Who Do Their Own Stunts

Since sporting Spidey’s newest suit in “Captain America: Civil War”, this young English actor has staged a spectacular rise to international fame. And Holland likes to take a hands-on approach to his work, especially when playing Peter Parker’s alter-ego. In fact, for “Spider-Man: Homecoming” he did as many of his own stunts as the production team would allow. Tom’s a trained dancer and he’s a talented gymnast - so his natural balance and flexibility proved a massive plus-point for certain scenes.

Stunt work is probably not the first thing you’d think of with Oscar-winner Colin Firth. He impressed the Academy with his fine portrayal of King George VI, but it’s a different sort of Kingsman that earns him a place on this list. Despite being in his mid-50s at the time of filming, Firth reportedly performed around 80% of his own stunts in “Kingsman: The Secret Service” - where he played the umbrella-wielding Harry Hart. The actor underwent months of gruelling training for the part - proving that it isn’t only manners that maketh man.

A classically trained actor, this guy cut a surprisingly daring 007. Timothy Dalton was famously eager to get involved, supposedly beating all previous Bonds when it came to doing his own stunt work. Dalton had decided to bring a more visceral realism to the character, and in fact only accepted the role on the condition that the flamboyant excesses of past entries in the series would be left behind. So, sliding down a hill in a cello case and only just dodging actual explosions was just another day at the office for this super spy.

Another Bond-based entry, and one of the toughest Bond-girls in recent years. Before the slew of Best Supporting Actress nominations she received for her role in “Moonlight”, Naomie Harris had to train day and night for her role as Miss Moneypenny in “Skyfall” and “Spectre”. From practicing her shooting to brushing up on hand-to-hand combat, she strived to perform all of her own stunts, and achieved most of them - including some super quick, seriously dangerous driving for a memorable chase scene or two.

Eight-time Best Actor Oscar-nominee Peter O’Toole was regarded as one of Britain’s finest performers. Arguably best known for taking the title role in “Lawrence of Arabia”, that movie actually brought about one of O’Toole’s more significant on-set accidents. The actor did many of his own riding stunts for the film, and he picked up multiple injuries along the way - the most serious of which saw him almost trampled to death when a gun went off prematurely, prompting his camel to throw him to the ground.

Of course, Sir Christopher is best remembered as a brilliant character actor. But, before his big screen career he was an RAF pilot, a soldier and a spy during World War II. So, doing his own stunts was really no big deal after that! Lee was considered to be one of the finest swordsmen in cinema, and, much like his contemporary Basil Rathbone, he always did his own sword-fighting without the aid of a double. Which is really saying something, because Lee also holds the record for most sword fights on screen!

Back in the days of silent films, stuntmen weren't even a widely accepted idea, let alone an important and respected profession. Without a trained double to stand in for an actor during the most difficult scenes, even the likes of Charlie Chaplin performed their own stunts. There weren’t quite as many car chases, and the martial arts and sword fights were at a minimum, but the slapstick gags were risky, and some of the stuff he goes through in “Modern Times” doesn't exactly look like a cake walk!

This actor’s famed for being fully committed to every role, whether it be shedding ridiculous amounts of weight for “The Machinist” or training for months to achieve the beefed up physicality for his action hero roles. And when it came to being Batman, Bale insisted that he did the very vast majority of his stunts. He didn’t actually jump off of that building, but almost all of the fighting is all him. Thanks mostly to his mastering of the martial art Keysi, Bale’s Batman is not to be messed with!

Back with Bond, and with arguably the toughest version of 007 yet. More than any other Bond actor, Craig craves authenticity in his high-octane scenes, so he’ll regularly negate the need for a stunt double. And with the physique, enthusiasm and training to deliver in spades, this actor’s action scenes are never disappointing. The crane jump during the parkour chase in “Casino Royale” is still one of the most impressive stunts in the Bond series, and it’s all Craig’s own work.

British actors just don’t come any tougher than this man. As brilliant as he is at playing small-time cockney gangsters, Statham ups his game for his lead action roles. Fight scenes, car chases, weapons work and explosions - he’ll do the lot. In fact, the only issue Statham reportedly has with doing stunt work is that it becomes increasingly difficult to better his last stunt with an even bigger one - because there isn’t much he hasn’t already done. Apparently he does it for the adrenaline rush… The guy’s got nerves of steel!