March 27, 2025 • 17 mins
In this exciting episode of The Hollywood in Toto Podcast, legendary stunt coordinator Eddie Fernandez takes us behind the scenes of his long and illustrious career in Hollywood. With decades of experience in the action-packed film industry, Eddie has shaped some of the most thrilling moments on screen, including movies like "The Batman," "The Beekeeper"and "The Dark Knight Rises."
In this interview, he opens up about his latest collaboration with action superstar Jason Statham on the highly anticipated film "A Working Man." Co-written by Sylvester Stallone and based on the Levon Cade novels by Chuck Dixon, this film promises to deliver pulse-pounding stunts and heart-racing action. Eddie shares exclusive behind-the-scenes stories, revealing the meticulous planning and dedication that go into crafting jaw-dropping stunts.
He also discusses why Jason Statham continues to dominate the action genre well into his 50s and the unwavering pursuit of perfection that defines his line of work. "A Working Man" hits theaters on March 27, but you can hear the mastermind behind the film's incredible stunts right now. Tune in for a deep dive into the art of stunt coordination, the evolution of action filmmaking, and the unmatched commitment that keeps Eddie Fernandez at the top of his game.
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Read: "Virtue Bombs: How Hollywood Got Woke and Lost Its Soul" https://www.amazon.com/Virtue-Bombs-Hollywood-Woke-Lost/dp/1637580991
In this interview, he opens up about his latest collaboration with action superstar Jason Statham on the highly anticipated film "A Working Man." Co-written by Sylvester Stallone and based on the Levon Cade novels by Chuck Dixon, this film promises to deliver pulse-pounding stunts and heart-racing action. Eddie shares exclusive behind-the-scenes stories, revealing the meticulous planning and dedication that go into crafting jaw-dropping stunts.
He also discusses why Jason Statham continues to dominate the action genre well into his 50s and the unwavering pursuit of perfection that defines his line of work. "A Working Man" hits theaters on March 27, but you can hear the mastermind behind the film's incredible stunts right now. Tune in for a deep dive into the art of stunt coordination, the evolution of action filmmaking, and the unmatched commitment that keeps Eddie Fernandez at the top of his game.
--------------------------
Subscribe to HiT's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@HollywoodinToto
Read Hollywood in Toto - https://www.hollywoodintoto.com
Lend a hand: Leave a tip! https://hollywood-in-toto.ck.page/products/hollywood-in-toto-tip-jar
Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/HollywoodInToto
Read: "Virtue Bombs: How Hollywood Got Woke and Lost Its Soul" https://www.amazon.com/Virtue-Bombs-Hollywood-Woke-Lost/dp/1637580991
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
You may not know my next guest name, but I
guarantee you've seen a couple of his movies, or maybe
a lot of them. I think The Beekeeper, The Batman, Argo,
The Dark, Knight Rises, twenty two, Jump Street, Jurassic World,
Oh my gosh, the list goes on and on. All
that's courtesy of Eddie Fernandez. He has been either a
stunt performer or the stunt coordinator on those films, just
(00:24):
absolutely making all the action and adventure you see on
screen even better. And that's what we want at the
end of the day, right, realism, action, adventure, and of
course excitement. That's what Eddie Fernandez has been doing for decades.
He actually ended up on a film set in the
mid eighties. He was a mixed martial artist at the time,
did some motocross racing as well, and essentially he never left.
(00:45):
He's been working NonStop on TV and films since then.
So many projects, so many different stunts and adventures, and
he makes it all look easy. That's the fun part.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Now.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
His latest project reunites him with action superstar Jason Statham.
They're working together on a Working Man. It's a new film.
It's based on the Chuck Dixon line of levon Cade novels.
And if Chuck Dixon's name sounds familiar, well, A, he's
a great comic book writer, and B we just had
him on the show a week or two ago for
a full conversation about this particular film. So we wanted
(01:16):
to revisit A working Man from a different perspective, this
time from the stunt person's.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
Point of view.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
It's exactly what Eddie Fernandez delivers.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Excuse me, it's not your business.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Oh good boss, so do check it out. Of course,
it's Jason state that we knew exactly what he can
bring to the screen, but it's what Eddie Fernandez does
behind the scenes that makes it all possible. So enjoy
this conversation, check out all the behind the scenes details,
(01:48):
and then wonder why Jason says them looks as heroic
on screen as he does. Well a good reason why
is Eddie Fernandez.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Hey, Christian, thanks for having me.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
Oh my pleasure.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
I love the spotlight on the work that you do.
It's just about the unsung heroes of Hollywood. You guys
make everything happen. I want to start I want to
get into working Man in a minute, but just real
quickly you were marshal artists. As a younger person, you
got work briefly as a stunt double. Was that sort
of your your gateway into this business. To talk a
little bit about that.
Speaker 4 (02:19):
You know, it was just you know again, you know,
being being in my youth, I was a trouble style.
So my dad says, you're getting in karate, you're going
to learn some respect and you're gonna if you get
into trouble, you're going to learn how to you know,
defend yourself.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Well, you know what that taught me a lot.
Speaker 4 (02:33):
That taught me, uh respect, That taught me, uh coordinating, balance,
you know, work ethics, because you know, my instructor was
really you know hardcore. You know you make you didn't
you didn't give them respect and bow when you got
and met you would get you know, you know, on
the butt. So I guess I needed that in my life.
But uh, doing that got me into the business. You know,
(02:57):
no pun intent. But I fell into the business knowing
that a friend of mine was involved in stunts and
finally I went in that area and all of a
sudden I got called to do something and to feel
that that movement of in front of cameras and everything
else was just a.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
High and you know, there I go years later, here
this is where I'm at.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Yeah, what were the biggest kind of misconceptions about the business.
There's one thing to be a movie goer and see
something on the big screen, but now you're involved in
the process, You're seeing the fight scenes take shape, you're
making them happen. What was sort of the biggest realization
about how different it was than when me what you expected?
Speaker 4 (03:34):
Well, you know what, like I said, I was a
martial arts guy and I was a pro pro kickboxer
in my young years. That it was full contact. To
see all that on screen and the Bruce Lee fights
and everything else, I always to say, wow, those are
good hits. And now to see how it is actually
made by movie magic. But there's a safe way to
do this, and how to sell a punch and a
(03:56):
kick with and there's tricks of the trade, and that's
you know, Hollywood. You know, that's movie magic itself, Hollywood.
But that's but that's a whole different thing. That's like,
now you have to perform your skills, but do it
in a way that you don't hurt anybody.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
We all go home, you know safe.
Speaker 4 (04:16):
And to me that was a whole different like no contact,
no contact, but yeah, a little contact but not as much,
you know. So you know, to me, that was a
great whole new life of mine, you know, to see
how to shoot that, and so now I really got
into how to make fights look good?
Speaker 2 (04:32):
You know, gotcha.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
You've been in the game for a while now, has
there anything changed dramatically about the stunt work that you do?
The coordination, either the what happens in front of the
camera or sort of the technology that comes into play.
Is it or is it the nuts and bolts still
the same?
Speaker 2 (04:47):
You know what, No, every year it's gonna change.
Speaker 4 (04:49):
I mean, you know when I started out, there was
you know, we never heard of a motorcycle flipping in
the air three times and the landing. I mean that's
extreme stunts, you know what I mean. To me, those
are a new tricks, you know, of the trade and
and the way these youth are performing some of these
new sports, it's a you know, it's unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
You know.
Speaker 4 (05:10):
So you know, there are our category is becoming more
and more like, you know, got to go to the
edge and really learn a lot, you know, from where
I started. But to do that you hire the right people,
you know, and so you know, if there's somebody that's
gonna be on a motorcycle and you know, sliding this
that he's he knows it. That's his that's his specialty.
(05:32):
So you hire them, You tell them what you want.
You say, this is what David Airs has it on script.
You know, this is what I'm thinking about. Now, we're
going to do it safe. I'm going to show you
how we do it safe. I know you could do this,
but we're gonna do it safe so you can do multiple.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Takes, you know.
Speaker 4 (05:45):
So a skill of knowing the tricks of the trade
and knowing a person who you hire to perform that
action and to you know, uh have the uh the
objects or the items around you to perform all that action.
It all comes to play. It's just one whole big
you know, dance move, you know, and you.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
Know, every action movie is different. There's a different style,
a different theme, a different mood. When you're working on
a working man, does David Ayr say, hey, I wanted
to have this kind of feel. Is there sort of
a conversation before the shoot begins?
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Absolutely?
Speaker 4 (06:22):
Yes, absolutely, we read the script, and you know, sometimes
I read the script and I'm taking another level and
he then like, no, this is the level I'm looking at.
And then and then I sit there and I listen
and I talk to him, and I look at the
set and then I'm like, ah, got you. You know,
so he'll real every department back in and saying, no,
it wasn't this way. I wrote it this way. This
(06:43):
is my thoughts. And David has a great imagination, you know,
so to be in his world is just so cool.
So you learn so much from him, and so you know,
it's basically what his vision is, and we try to
flow it that way, so he could.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
We move on to the next scene.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
You know, now you've worked with Jason Statham for on
many projects already.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
What makes him I mean, he's an on screen he's
a flawless action star. You know, doesn't seem to age.
We just need to does it?
Speaker 1 (07:13):
Like he's like he's twenty years old. But from your perspective,
being a stunt coordinator and knowing this business, how is
he different? What does he bring to the table that
maybe other actors maybe can for whatever reason?
Speaker 2 (07:23):
Yeah, I said this before.
Speaker 4 (07:24):
What he brings to the table is his energy. He's
he's very athletic person. He's been a he was a
pro diver back in the day. And for him to
know air where he's at since is easier. When he's
doing a fight. He knows where the next person is
going to be. He knows the next punch is going
to be.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
He knows it if he turns around, that person's going
to be there.
Speaker 4 (07:45):
And so he's very you know airsavi And not only that,
he's very athletic.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
He could just pick up things. And it's so funny
because I watched him.
Speaker 4 (07:54):
Out of all the actors I've done, I've done many,
you know, action star actors, he's the one who always
brings the energy up. And he knows. He trains. He's
like like Keanu Reid. He trains and trains and trains.
And Keanu did a great job on the Wicks movie.
Jason does the same thing. He trains, he trains, He
(08:16):
puts his input in there and he's there, he's watching,
you know, what we're doing, and then he comes in
and he perfects it and he does it. He doesn't
so ninety percent of what you see on the screen,
it's chasing because he can knows the steps and he
could do it safely.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
One of the things I like it for the movie
is that he's not a superhero per se. He's not
a you know, he gets hurt, he gets hit. He's
just a regular man with these incredible skills. Talk about
sort of making it more realistic in that fashion. I'm
sure there are little things that you can do to
make it seem less super heroic and more like just
a guy who knows how to.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Take care of business.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (08:50):
Well, I mean the way David wrote it was, you know,
he's down on his luck. He had no family, you know,
in the storyline, he lost his family and uh, you know,
taken by a Latino family. You know that Mike Bina
is a great actor who you know is his boss
who took care of him and said, hey, you know,
(09:11):
I'm part of you know it, He's part of the family.
So now to see that somebody from your family's taken away,
it's like that's where he you know, he's a hard
working man, you know, and he just says, hey, you
just pushed the wrong button.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
Now I need to out where she's at.
Speaker 4 (09:26):
And it's for him to start thinking I need to
get to her.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
You know, it's not all just fight fight hand hands hands.
Speaker 4 (09:33):
It's like there's a story to it, and it's like
he's burrowing through all these fights to get to see
where she's at, where Jenny's at, and save her and
bring her back home for his boss. You know, there's
a moment there of family.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
You know, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
When you look at the script, you're kind of mentally thinking,
you know, how this will happen, you're planning. Was there
a particular scene in this film that you thought, Okay,
this is going to be the biggest challenge just to
the one that's gonna going to call enough work for.
Speaker 4 (10:00):
Me here, or you know, yeah, there was, there was
a couple you know, there was a couple of I
think one of the challenges we were in the van
the fan the van fight because you're.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
Looking at a small area and you got like four
people fighting.
Speaker 4 (10:10):
And while it's been you know, taking a tumble and uh,
that was a little thing. It was a it was
a challenging thing to do because you want to throw
Jason in there to you know, see him perform, and
Jason is the guy he's like he says, yeah, I'm
going in there.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
Well, yeah you aren't.
Speaker 4 (10:26):
Okay, So you know we have this mechanical moveing part
and he's in there jumping from one one side of
the van to the other side of the van and
throwing himself throwing people down. So you know, to see
him do that, and that's the best thing for a
director to see the actual uh uh yuh superhero do
it without putting a stunt double in there. You know,
(10:48):
it's great.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
You know.
Speaker 4 (10:49):
So Jason was one of those guys that I know
that he could. He's all, he could do any stunt possible.
But sometimes we have to say, you know, this is
too dangerous. We don't want you to get hurt, because
you know what happened when you get hurt.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
Production stops. Yeah. Wow, So there's some, but I say
ninety percent of what you see is all Jason.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
Well, now, someone like Jason, who's done Forever and a
Tom Cruise is famous for doing so many of his
own stunts. Do you find that actors are more willing
today to go in that direction maybe than twenty thirty
years ago.
Speaker 4 (11:19):
Yeah, I think those are just special people because not
so many. I mean, there's good actors out there that
you know, they're not athletic, you know, and their their dialogue,
their movements and everything else says the story. And but
for them to do a physical uh, sometimes they just
don't have it, you know. So that's where we're bringing,
(11:41):
you know, to make them look good. But with Jason
and like you know, semesteris alone and Keanu reeves, those
guys they trained hard, they train hard. Those are the
ones they prove into us that they could take the
beating as given. You know, so then at studios say,
you know what, let them do it.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
You know.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
You know, CGI has become such an important part of
the toolkit for filmmakers. How much does it affect the
work that you do or is that something that just
happens afterwards and you don't have to worry about that
kind of thing, you know?
Speaker 4 (12:11):
CGI to me, I, you know, it's something that it's happening.
It's been happening, and every year there's something else AI
and all that's starting to come in.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
You know.
Speaker 4 (12:22):
I talked to David about it. David says, you know,
it's it's not the same, you know, he goes because
when you physically do the action with the cast members,
it brings a different aura and everybody's energy is there,
you know. But yeah, anybody could throw cgi fire or whatever.
It just doesn't look to me. It doesn't look the same.
I could catch it. A lot of people know, they're
(12:44):
getting used to seeing it.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
I don't know.
Speaker 4 (12:46):
I still say, go to the big screen, see the
movie itself on the big screen. Go to theaters. Don't
watch an extreame, you know channels. Go to the theaters
and see feel that, feel the noise, feel the feelings
of the actors, and feel you know, just the sound.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
You know you're there, You're part of that. You're part
of that movie.
Speaker 1 (13:06):
You know you've worked with only big names and people
like Jason who know action backwards and forwards. But I'm
sure you get a lot of people who come on
the set and they're green, they're new, they haven't done
an action movie before. What do you tell them at
the jump? What is there sort of your core message
about the process if they haven't been introduced.
Speaker 4 (13:23):
To it yet, I would I would tell them what
George Lope has told me.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
So you want to be an actor, huh? So you
know it? Who knows?
Speaker 4 (13:34):
You're going to just jump in and hopefully your work
ethics are there and you know you're willing to train
hard to get that action performance out there on the screen.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
Gotcha, and you worked with him on the Blue Beatle.
Is that correct?
Speaker 2 (13:50):
Yes? I don't Yes. Yes.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
This may be like saying what's your favorite child? But
is there a particular film in your past? Because you've
done so many great films, we think, oh my got
this is something that really I'm really proud of that particular.
The stunts in this film are really just something that
I could look back and I'm an old man and say, wow,
I did that. That was amazing.
Speaker 4 (14:09):
Yeah, there's there's there's a lot of them, but the
one I think that really stuck out because it's changed
where I almost changed careers.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
And it was I went to I did the movie
with Ron Howard.
Speaker 5 (14:20):
Called Backdraft, and I was involved in that fire and
then I started seeing how this I mean to me
it was the most dangerous scenes ever, you know, and
then seeing it on the big screen and it was
like when I got done, like maybe.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
I want to be a fireman. You know, I forget
the stunts. I want to I want to be a fireman.
Speaker 4 (14:38):
I want to be that that Glorio saving somebody's lives,
you know.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
But that's a lot of that's me to this day.
I do a lot in Chicago fire.
Speaker 4 (14:47):
And I put those gears on and I'm going up
and down the stairs saving people. It's hard, it's cardio work,
and it's it's one of the hardest jobs out there.
But I think with the movie Backdraff was something that
it was like, you know, sticks.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
In my head.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
Well, last question, if someone was maybe graduating from college
or loved movies and really enjoys the stunt work, and
maybe you've seen some of your films, what advice would
you give them that entering.
Speaker 3 (15:10):
The business, because I'm sure it's not easy.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
You know, it's a young it's a young subject. You
got to be young, healthy, athletic.
Speaker 4 (15:19):
And willing to step up.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
And you know, there's no fear in some of these
things you have to do.
Speaker 4 (15:27):
As long as you practice and you're in the confidence,
I think you'll be able to make that next move
where it's on the edge, you know, and go home
safe and everybody else goes home safe, you know.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
So that's what it is.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
I mean, yeah, well you've been able to do that
for so long, Eddie.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
For joining the show and thanks for your work on
A working Man. Of course, the movie comes out March
twenty eighth in theaters everywhere, Jason Statham. Enough said, and
this is the guy who makes it all happen, So Eddie.
Speaker 2 (15:51):
Thinks again, go see it.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
Hope you enjoy this bonus episode of the Hollywood and
Total Podcast. Of course, do check out A working Man
in theaters March twenty seventh, nationwide, Jason Statham action adventure.
Speaker 3 (16:04):
What else do you need to hear?
Speaker 1 (16:06):
But I love giving a shout out to Eddie and
a lot of his colleagues as well. You know, these
student performers, they put their lives in the line. They
risk it all. They make the action scenes and sequences
we see look better, sharper, more outrageous, more adventurous, and
they don't get enough love. They don't get enough attention.
But that's why we're here to shine a light on
the people who are making the movies better and brighter
(16:26):
than ever before. It's exactly what Eddie Fernandez does. So
if you get a chance, of course, do check out
Hollywoodintoto dot com. It is the right take on entertainment
and while it's a politically charged website from time to time.
I will not deny that, but this conversation was completely apolitical.
Isn't that refreshing? We need that from time to time
as well. So the next time you see an action
(16:48):
adventure movie, just think about the people who make it
all possible, not just as Jason Stathams and the Tom
Cruisers of the world, but the Eddie Fernandez is. They
make it look so easy, but of course has anything
but lots of hard work, lots of plan lots of dedication.
That's what stars like Eddie Fernandez do behind the scenes.
God bless them, Love you, Eddie. Glad we had a
chance to talk, and I hope to talk to more
(17:08):
stunt performers in the weeks and months to come, because
they've got some great stories to tell. So go out
there and have the best day possible.
Speaker 3 (17:15):
Doctor's orders.
You may not know my next guest name, but I
guarantee you've seen a couple of his movies, or maybe
a lot of them. I think The Beekeeper, The Batman, Argo,
The Dark, Knight Rises, twenty two, Jump Street, Jurassic World,
Oh my gosh, the list goes on and on. All
that's courtesy of Eddie Fernandez. He has been either a
stunt performer or the stunt coordinator on those films, just
(00:24):
absolutely making all the action and adventure you see on
screen even better. And that's what we want at the
end of the day, right, realism, action, adventure, and of
course excitement. That's what Eddie Fernandez has been doing for decades.
He actually ended up on a film set in the
mid eighties. He was a mixed martial artist at the time,
did some motocross racing as well, and essentially he never left.
(00:45):
He's been working NonStop on TV and films since then.
So many projects, so many different stunts and adventures, and
he makes it all look easy. That's the fun part.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Now.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
His latest project reunites him with action superstar Jason Statham.
They're working together on a Working Man. It's a new film.
It's based on the Chuck Dixon line of levon Cade novels.
And if Chuck Dixon's name sounds familiar, well, A, he's
a great comic book writer, and B we just had
him on the show a week or two ago for
a full conversation about this particular film. So we wanted
(01:16):
to revisit A working Man from a different perspective, this
time from the stunt person's.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
Point of view.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
It's exactly what Eddie Fernandez delivers.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Excuse me, it's not your business.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Oh good boss, so do check it out. Of course,
it's Jason state that we knew exactly what he can
bring to the screen, but it's what Eddie Fernandez does
behind the scenes that makes it all possible. So enjoy
this conversation, check out all the behind the scenes details,
(01:48):
and then wonder why Jason says them looks as heroic
on screen as he does. Well a good reason why
is Eddie Fernandez.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Hey, Christian, thanks for having me.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
Oh my pleasure.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
I love the spotlight on the work that you do.
It's just about the unsung heroes of Hollywood. You guys
make everything happen. I want to start I want to
get into working Man in a minute, but just real
quickly you were marshal artists. As a younger person, you
got work briefly as a stunt double. Was that sort
of your your gateway into this business. To talk a
little bit about that.
Speaker 4 (02:19):
You know, it was just you know again, you know,
being being in my youth, I was a trouble style.
So my dad says, you're getting in karate, you're going
to learn some respect and you're gonna if you get
into trouble, you're going to learn how to you know,
defend yourself.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Well, you know what that taught me a lot.
Speaker 4 (02:33):
That taught me, uh respect, That taught me, uh coordinating, balance,
you know, work ethics, because you know, my instructor was
really you know hardcore. You know you make you didn't
you didn't give them respect and bow when you got
and met you would get you know, you know, on
the butt. So I guess I needed that in my life.
But uh, doing that got me into the business. You know,
(02:57):
no pun intent. But I fell into the business knowing
that a friend of mine was involved in stunts and
finally I went in that area and all of a
sudden I got called to do something and to feel
that that movement of in front of cameras and everything
else was just a.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
High and you know, there I go years later, here
this is where I'm at.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Yeah, what were the biggest kind of misconceptions about the business.
There's one thing to be a movie goer and see
something on the big screen, but now you're involved in
the process, You're seeing the fight scenes take shape, you're
making them happen. What was sort of the biggest realization
about how different it was than when me what you expected?
Speaker 4 (03:34):
Well, you know what, like I said, I was a
martial arts guy and I was a pro pro kickboxer
in my young years. That it was full contact. To
see all that on screen and the Bruce Lee fights
and everything else, I always to say, wow, those are
good hits. And now to see how it is actually
made by movie magic. But there's a safe way to
do this, and how to sell a punch and a
(03:56):
kick with and there's tricks of the trade, and that's
you know, Hollywood. You know, that's movie magic itself, Hollywood.
But that's but that's a whole different thing. That's like,
now you have to perform your skills, but do it
in a way that you don't hurt anybody.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
We all go home, you know safe.
Speaker 4 (04:16):
And to me that was a whole different like no contact,
no contact, but yeah, a little contact but not as much,
you know. So you know, to me, that was a
great whole new life of mine, you know, to see
how to shoot that, and so now I really got
into how to make fights look good?
Speaker 2 (04:32):
You know, gotcha.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
You've been in the game for a while now, has
there anything changed dramatically about the stunt work that you do?
The coordination, either the what happens in front of the
camera or sort of the technology that comes into play.
Is it or is it the nuts and bolts still
the same?
Speaker 2 (04:47):
You know what, No, every year it's gonna change.
Speaker 4 (04:49):
I mean, you know when I started out, there was
you know, we never heard of a motorcycle flipping in
the air three times and the landing. I mean that's
extreme stunts, you know what I mean. To me, those
are a new tricks, you know, of the trade and
and the way these youth are performing some of these
new sports, it's a you know, it's unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
You know.
Speaker 4 (05:10):
So you know, there are our category is becoming more
and more like, you know, got to go to the
edge and really learn a lot, you know, from where
I started. But to do that you hire the right people,
you know, and so you know, if there's somebody that's
gonna be on a motorcycle and you know, sliding this
that he's he knows it. That's his that's his specialty.
(05:32):
So you hire them, You tell them what you want.
You say, this is what David Airs has it on script.
You know, this is what I'm thinking about. Now, we're
going to do it safe. I'm going to show you
how we do it safe. I know you could do this,
but we're gonna do it safe so you can do multiple.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Takes, you know.
Speaker 4 (05:45):
So a skill of knowing the tricks of the trade
and knowing a person who you hire to perform that
action and to you know, uh have the uh the
objects or the items around you to perform all that action.
It all comes to play. It's just one whole big
you know, dance move, you know, and you.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
Know, every action movie is different. There's a different style,
a different theme, a different mood. When you're working on
a working man, does David Ayr say, hey, I wanted
to have this kind of feel. Is there sort of
a conversation before the shoot begins?
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Absolutely?
Speaker 4 (06:22):
Yes, absolutely, we read the script, and you know, sometimes
I read the script and I'm taking another level and
he then like, no, this is the level I'm looking at.
And then and then I sit there and I listen
and I talk to him, and I look at the
set and then I'm like, ah, got you. You know,
so he'll real every department back in and saying, no,
it wasn't this way. I wrote it this way. This
(06:43):
is my thoughts. And David has a great imagination, you know,
so to be in his world is just so cool.
So you learn so much from him, and so you know,
it's basically what his vision is, and we try to
flow it that way, so he could.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
We move on to the next scene.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
You know, now you've worked with Jason Statham for on
many projects already.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
What makes him I mean, he's an on screen he's
a flawless action star. You know, doesn't seem to age.
We just need to does it?
Speaker 1 (07:13):
Like he's like he's twenty years old. But from your perspective,
being a stunt coordinator and knowing this business, how is
he different? What does he bring to the table that
maybe other actors maybe can for whatever reason?
Speaker 2 (07:23):
Yeah, I said this before.
Speaker 4 (07:24):
What he brings to the table is his energy. He's
he's very athletic person. He's been a he was a
pro diver back in the day. And for him to
know air where he's at since is easier. When he's
doing a fight. He knows where the next person is
going to be. He knows the next punch is going
to be.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
He knows it if he turns around, that person's going
to be there.
Speaker 4 (07:45):
And so he's very you know airsavi And not only that,
he's very athletic.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
He could just pick up things. And it's so funny
because I watched him.
Speaker 4 (07:54):
Out of all the actors I've done, I've done many,
you know, action star actors, he's the one who always
brings the energy up. And he knows. He trains. He's
like like Keanu Reid. He trains and trains and trains.
And Keanu did a great job on the Wicks movie.
Jason does the same thing. He trains, he trains, He
(08:16):
puts his input in there and he's there, he's watching,
you know, what we're doing, and then he comes in
and he perfects it and he does it. He doesn't
so ninety percent of what you see on the screen,
it's chasing because he can knows the steps and he
could do it safely.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
One of the things I like it for the movie
is that he's not a superhero per se. He's not
a you know, he gets hurt, he gets hit. He's
just a regular man with these incredible skills. Talk about
sort of making it more realistic in that fashion. I'm
sure there are little things that you can do to
make it seem less super heroic and more like just
a guy who knows how to.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Take care of business.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (08:50):
Well, I mean the way David wrote it was, you know,
he's down on his luck. He had no family, you know,
in the storyline, he lost his family and uh, you know,
taken by a Latino family. You know that Mike Bina
is a great actor who you know is his boss
who took care of him and said, hey, you know,
(09:11):
I'm part of you know it, He's part of the family.
So now to see that somebody from your family's taken away,
it's like that's where he you know, he's a hard
working man, you know, and he just says, hey, you
just pushed the wrong button.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
Now I need to out where she's at.
Speaker 4 (09:26):
And it's for him to start thinking I need to
get to her.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
You know, it's not all just fight fight hand hands hands.
Speaker 4 (09:33):
It's like there's a story to it, and it's like
he's burrowing through all these fights to get to see
where she's at, where Jenny's at, and save her and
bring her back home for his boss. You know, there's
a moment there of family.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
You know, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
When you look at the script, you're kind of mentally thinking,
you know, how this will happen, you're planning. Was there
a particular scene in this film that you thought, Okay,
this is going to be the biggest challenge just to
the one that's gonna going to call enough work for.
Speaker 4 (10:00):
Me here, or you know, yeah, there was, there was
a couple you know, there was a couple of I
think one of the challenges we were in the van
the fan the van fight because you're.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
Looking at a small area and you got like four
people fighting.
Speaker 4 (10:10):
And while it's been you know, taking a tumble and uh,
that was a little thing. It was a it was
a challenging thing to do because you want to throw
Jason in there to you know, see him perform, and
Jason is the guy he's like he says, yeah, I'm
going in there.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
Well, yeah you aren't.
Speaker 4 (10:26):
Okay, So you know we have this mechanical moveing part
and he's in there jumping from one one side of
the van to the other side of the van and
throwing himself throwing people down. So you know, to see
him do that, and that's the best thing for a
director to see the actual uh uh yuh superhero do
it without putting a stunt double in there. You know,
(10:48):
it's great.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
You know.
Speaker 4 (10:49):
So Jason was one of those guys that I know
that he could. He's all, he could do any stunt possible.
But sometimes we have to say, you know, this is
too dangerous. We don't want you to get hurt, because
you know what happened when you get hurt.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
Production stops. Yeah. Wow, So there's some, but I say
ninety percent of what you see is all Jason.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
Well, now, someone like Jason, who's done Forever and a
Tom Cruise is famous for doing so many of his
own stunts. Do you find that actors are more willing
today to go in that direction maybe than twenty thirty
years ago.
Speaker 4 (11:19):
Yeah, I think those are just special people because not
so many. I mean, there's good actors out there that
you know, they're not athletic, you know, and their their dialogue,
their movements and everything else says the story. And but
for them to do a physical uh, sometimes they just
don't have it, you know. So that's where we're bringing,
(11:41):
you know, to make them look good. But with Jason
and like you know, semesteris alone and Keanu reeves, those
guys they trained hard, they train hard. Those are the
ones they prove into us that they could take the
beating as given. You know, so then at studios say,
you know what, let them do it.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
You know.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
You know, CGI has become such an important part of
the toolkit for filmmakers. How much does it affect the
work that you do or is that something that just
happens afterwards and you don't have to worry about that
kind of thing, you know?
Speaker 4 (12:11):
CGI to me, I, you know, it's something that it's happening.
It's been happening, and every year there's something else AI
and all that's starting to come in.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
You know.
Speaker 4 (12:22):
I talked to David about it. David says, you know,
it's it's not the same, you know, he goes because
when you physically do the action with the cast members,
it brings a different aura and everybody's energy is there,
you know. But yeah, anybody could throw cgi fire or whatever.
It just doesn't look to me. It doesn't look the same.
I could catch it. A lot of people know, they're
(12:44):
getting used to seeing it.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
I don't know.
Speaker 4 (12:46):
I still say, go to the big screen, see the
movie itself on the big screen. Go to theaters. Don't
watch an extreame, you know channels. Go to the theaters
and see feel that, feel the noise, feel the feelings
of the actors, and feel you know, just the sound.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
You know you're there, You're part of that. You're part
of that movie.
Speaker 1 (13:06):
You know you've worked with only big names and people
like Jason who know action backwards and forwards. But I'm
sure you get a lot of people who come on
the set and they're green, they're new, they haven't done
an action movie before. What do you tell them at
the jump? What is there sort of your core message
about the process if they haven't been introduced.
Speaker 4 (13:23):
To it yet, I would I would tell them what
George Lope has told me.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
So you want to be an actor, huh? So you
know it? Who knows?
Speaker 4 (13:34):
You're going to just jump in and hopefully your work
ethics are there and you know you're willing to train
hard to get that action performance out there on the screen.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
Gotcha, and you worked with him on the Blue Beatle.
Is that correct?
Speaker 2 (13:50):
Yes? I don't Yes. Yes.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
This may be like saying what's your favorite child? But
is there a particular film in your past? Because you've
done so many great films, we think, oh my got
this is something that really I'm really proud of that particular.
The stunts in this film are really just something that
I could look back and I'm an old man and say, wow,
I did that. That was amazing.
Speaker 4 (14:09):
Yeah, there's there's there's a lot of them, but the
one I think that really stuck out because it's changed
where I almost changed careers.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
And it was I went to I did the movie
with Ron Howard.
Speaker 5 (14:20):
Called Backdraft, and I was involved in that fire and
then I started seeing how this I mean to me
it was the most dangerous scenes ever, you know, and
then seeing it on the big screen and it was
like when I got done, like maybe.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
I want to be a fireman. You know, I forget
the stunts. I want to I want to be a fireman.
Speaker 4 (14:38):
I want to be that that Glorio saving somebody's lives,
you know.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
But that's a lot of that's me to this day.
I do a lot in Chicago fire.
Speaker 4 (14:47):
And I put those gears on and I'm going up
and down the stairs saving people. It's hard, it's cardio work,
and it's it's one of the hardest jobs out there.
But I think with the movie Backdraff was something that
it was like, you know, sticks.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
In my head.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
Well, last question, if someone was maybe graduating from college
or loved movies and really enjoys the stunt work, and
maybe you've seen some of your films, what advice would
you give them that entering.
Speaker 3 (15:10):
The business, because I'm sure it's not easy.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
You know, it's a young it's a young subject. You
got to be young, healthy, athletic.
Speaker 4 (15:19):
And willing to step up.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
And you know, there's no fear in some of these
things you have to do.
Speaker 4 (15:27):
As long as you practice and you're in the confidence,
I think you'll be able to make that next move
where it's on the edge, you know, and go home
safe and everybody else goes home safe, you know.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
So that's what it is.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
I mean, yeah, well you've been able to do that
for so long, Eddie.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
For joining the show and thanks for your work on
A working Man. Of course, the movie comes out March
twenty eighth in theaters everywhere, Jason Statham. Enough said, and
this is the guy who makes it all happen, So Eddie.
Speaker 2 (15:51):
Thinks again, go see it.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
Hope you enjoy this bonus episode of the Hollywood and
Total Podcast. Of course, do check out A working Man
in theaters March twenty seventh, nationwide, Jason Statham action adventure.
Speaker 3 (16:04):
What else do you need to hear?
Speaker 1 (16:06):
But I love giving a shout out to Eddie and
a lot of his colleagues as well. You know, these
student performers, they put their lives in the line. They
risk it all. They make the action scenes and sequences
we see look better, sharper, more outrageous, more adventurous, and
they don't get enough love. They don't get enough attention.
But that's why we're here to shine a light on
the people who are making the movies better and brighter
(16:26):
than ever before. It's exactly what Eddie Fernandez does. So
if you get a chance, of course, do check out
Hollywoodintoto dot com. It is the right take on entertainment
and while it's a politically charged website from time to time.
I will not deny that, but this conversation was completely apolitical.
Isn't that refreshing? We need that from time to time
as well. So the next time you see an action
(16:48):
adventure movie, just think about the people who make it
all possible, not just as Jason Stathams and the Tom
Cruisers of the world, but the Eddie Fernandez is. They
make it look so easy, but of course has anything
but lots of hard work, lots of plan lots of dedication.
That's what stars like Eddie Fernandez do behind the scenes.
God bless them, Love you, Eddie. Glad we had a
chance to talk, and I hope to talk to more
(17:08):
stunt performers in the weeks and months to come, because
they've got some great stories to tell. So go out
there and have the best day possible.
Speaker 3 (17:15):
Doctor's orders.
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