The stuntman David Holmes suffered a terrible accident during rehearsals for ‘The Deathly Hallows’. But that hasn’t stopped him.
David Holmes was the double of action of Daniel Radcliffe in all the films of the saga Harry Potter. A gymnast since he was six years old, the British man was introduced to the world of specialist actors by the hand of his coach, who also worked as a coordinator of action scenes for the cinema. Thus he started a career as early in his beginning as in his end: at only 22 years old, David suffered a serious accident while rehearsing one of the most dangerous sequences of the latest film in the franchise, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, remaining forever confined to a wheelchair. And although Daniel Radcliffe has made it clear that he does not want to be Harry Potter again, the franchise lives on somehow through the friendship that the actor and the stuntman maintain to this day.
After debuting at the age of 14 in lost in spaceDavid Holmes found his place in the franchise of Harry Potter, where he participated as a stunt double for the main character, played by Daniel Radcliffe, in the eight films that make up the story of the young magician. However, during the filming of the last one, the second installment of the diptych of the deathly hallowsHolmes suffered a severe spinal injury, leaving him paralyzed from the chest down. The accident took place on January 28, 2009, when the specialist was barely over twenty, at the Warner Bros. studios in Leavesden, England. Holmes was rehearsing a scene from the wizards’ final battle against Voldemort, in which Harry is thrown into the air. However, the cable that Holmes had to pull to simulate the explosion propelled the specialist with too much speed against a wall. In the crash, Holmes broke his neck. Once at the Royal National Orthopedic Hospital, doctors told her that the lower half of his body had been paralyzed for life.
Since then, Daniel Radcliffe and other cast members of the films based on JK Rowling’s books have collaborated with Holmes, the hospital that treated him after the accident and other similar institutions to raise funds for injury victims like his. In addition to Radcliffe, Holmes maintains a good relationship with other students who graduated from the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, such as Matthew David Lewis —who played Neville Longbottom in the franchise films— or Tom Felton, famous for giving life to Draco Malfoy, the blond-haired young man who acted as Harry’s nemesis through the corridors of the school until almost the end of the saga. A few weeks ago, David Holmes recalled on his Instagram account precisely how he also had the opportunity to appear in one of the first films of Harry Potterbeyond his work as the protagonist’s double action, and he did it neither more nor less than as a member of Slytherin, the controversial Hogwarts house in which Malfoy had the singing voice.
In 2013, Holmes founded Ripple Productions. Through her, he makes the podcast Cunning Stunts, where he interviews other specialists and stuntmen to value the work they do and, above all, the risks they run when it comes to putting into practice some of the most spectacular moments in the history of cinema. From time to time, his colleague Daniel Radcliffe drops in for the talks.
Source: Fotogramas
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
