From Stunt Doubling as “Weird Barbie” to “Marvel” and “James Bond”, Chelsea Mather is Tearing Up the Stunt World.

You meet some very interesting people while boxing and none was more fun to talk to than when I met stunt expert Chelsea Mather while sparring in the ring.

Chelsea was so kind to sit down with me to discuss her career as a Stunt performer for blockbuster movies and TV.

Over the Shoulder is very lucky.

Here we go …

How did you become interested in stunt performing?

I decided early on that I wanted to be a stunt woman. Stunts just seemed cool (much cooler than school did), partly because I was a gymnast growing up. When I was seven years old, My parents took me to Disney World in Florida and saw the Indiana Jones stunt show. I said to myself, ‘that’s what I want to do when I grow up’.

My parents told me to go and talk to the performers at the end of the show, and I asked them,

“Excuse me, how did you get into stunts?”

They said to become a stunt performer, you must train in martial arts, gymnastics, trampolining, high diving, scuba diving and rock climbing. I had to learn these six different skills, but I couldn’t do it until I was 18.

I stuck to gymnastics and competed, nationally and internationally growing up.

Your first stunt work was in the film Kick Ass 2, how was that experience?

I was 16 when I did Kick Ass 2, which was my first film experience. I had to audition for the role – There was a representative that came to our gym and asked for girls who were five foot tall, aged over 16 to audition for a movie.

I ended up doubling Chloe Moretz for part of the movie, which was such an incredible experience. On my first day of filming I met Brad Pitt as he was producing the movie – which was a really surreal moment for a 16 year old! The scene I was part of ended up getting nominated for a Taurus award (which is a stunt awards ceremony in Los Angeles, as stunts isn’t a category for the Oscars ceremony so its the closest thing we get to it at the moment).

There was a break of a few years after Kick Ass 2. What happened?

I finished school in 2013 and decided to train to be on the British Stunt Register. You have to train in six different skills to a certain level to become a member. Once you’ve done those six, which is almost like a ‘university for stunts’ you then become part of the stunt register.

I became a member in 2015, which was two years after I finished school and then started working full time from there. In my first year I was lucky enough to work on some incredible films – Wonder Woman, The Nutcracker and the four Realms, and Annihilation, doubling Natalie Portman.

From your first film Kick Ass, your resume got bigger and bigger?

Thank You. It’s fun, especially the bigger movies, like Star Wars, Bond and Jurassic World. The sets they have are incredible. I also love the travelling that comes with some of the jobs – With No time to Die on Bond, we got to go to Norway for a month living in the snow, which was awesome. You never know what opportunity will be around the corner, you just have to enjoy each one as it comes.

It’s not always exciting and good times though – the hours are incredibly long, you are away from friends and family normally with not much notice and there is always a chance you can get badly injured. Whilst everything is as safe as it can be, there is always a risk.

I am incredibly grateful for the career I have had so far, I hope my 7 year old self watching the show at Disney would be proud of where I am now. 

Is there any difference stunt performing for a TV show than a film?

Not really. I’d say TV is more fast paced because they generally don’t have the bigger film budget, so that’s exciting sometimes because you go in, get your stunt done. It’s more you’ve only have one or two takes to get the shot so you’ve got to hit your mark every time, without many rehearsals.

In film you generally get more time to rehearse. You could be waiting for a couple of days and then be really busy. If I’m involved in the whole film, we’ll generally be in preparation for around five weeks rehearsing then you’ll see the sets start to get built, the ideas get brought to life then you’ll see the whole storyline come together. The people in each department who you get to work and collaborate with are such inspiring people, the ideas and concepts they come up with are mind blowing. From the set builders to the costume department and everyone in between, it’s such a privilege to be surrounded with such creative minds.

Was there a time where you had to think creatively to achieve a desired stunt effect?

Definitely – I enjoy the jobs most where I get some creative input with the character I’m doubling/playing. A movie I did recently called Abigail, I was doubling the lead who was a ballerina vampire. So not only was she a poised dancer, she was also a trained killer. There was a whole team of people helping contribute to what her style looked like on screen – we had to come up with a way that she looked like a badass fighter but still had the flair and delicacy of a ballerina. It was interesting, thinking of moves that would still be flash, but also pretty and balletic. The end result was a mixture of backflips, punches, kicks and pirouettes… all in a tutu which ended up getting covered in LOTS of fake blood.

Which of the directors that you have worked with, stand out?

I just worked on a movie with Steve McQueen, which is just about to be released called ‘Blitz’ and it’s about World War II.

We got to work with him very closely, he trusted us as a stunt team to help contribute creatively to the sequences we were involved in.

It was very realistic to what happened during the London Blitz during 1940-1941. It’s was remarkable but slightly harrowing to recreate some true to life scenes – the one in particular was down in a tube set which was being used a as bomb shelter. I can’t say too much about what happened as the film isn’t out yet, but something happened during one of the bomb raids, unfortunately not ending well for the hundreds of people who had fled there for safety. Seeing it recreated on set sent shivers down my spine.

On a completely different genre of film, Greta Gerwig on Barbie was amazing to work with. She had an incredible vision for the movie and such a different way of thinking, which I think is what made it such a success.

Who are your stunting heroes?

I don’t think I have any one particular hero, but I like to learn something from most stunt performers I work with – everyone can teach you something that you don’t already know.

I really appreciate all the work David Holmes has done for stunts – When I watched his documentary, he is such an inspiration and enjoyed his career as a stunt performer – watching him have fun reminded me to do the same, even when I’m stuck in a freezing muddy field on a night shoot at 2am!

You have some credits as an actor. Is that something you would want to explore more in the future?

I’ve had a few small roles where I’ve had a few lines, normally right before the character gets shot, stabbed or another form of a gory death. It’s easier for productions to hire stunt performers to act in the role if it’s a small one. I would love to get involved in more roles like this, but i’m also very happy in the stunt world too.

You worked on Borderlands, which is based on a best-selling video game. Would you want to do a similar genre again?

Doing a video game movie is so much fun as a stunt performer because there’s generally lots of fantasy fighting in it, which I love. I had so much fun  coming up with ideas whilst doubling Tiny Tina as she’s like a sassy teenage assassin who wants to fight everyone she comes across, loves blowing things and people up with her grenades and does gymnastic/acro tricks with her big brother Kreig.

Working with Ariana Greenblatt we came up with crazy ideas of how she was spinning bombs and flipping over objects whilst 12m high up on a set. When you get to play about and make your own stuff and the director likes it, it really rewarding knowing you were a small part in helping create the magic.

Do you think stunts should be a category at the Oscars?

Every other department in a movie has their own category in the Oscar’s awards ceremony, from costume, sound, actors, cinematographers and directors to name just a few. It’s a shame that stunt performers and coordinators don’t get acknowledged in the same way, not only for the the creative work they put in to storylines but also the fact performers have put their lives at risk to help make a scene come to life.

Don’t get me wrong, stunt performers don’t join this profession to win awards – it would just be nice to get the same recognition that everyone else does.

The more recognition from big institutions like The Academy would also help support people who have had life changing injuries caused by this industry. It would bring awareness, support and respect for those people and the sacrifices they have made for their job.

Any future plans that you would like to speak about?

There’s a TV show I was a part of earlier this year, ‘Say Nothing,’ about the IRA in Ireland. It was a really interesting show to be a part of with lots of fairly recent controversial history, filmed in Ireland and England – coming out on Disney + November 14th, as well as the Blitz movie coming out on Apple TV November 1st.

This was one of my favourite interviews, and not only did Over the Shoulder gain a great insight into the world of stunts but the interviewer found a new friend.

Thank you, Chelsea, hope to see you again to hear more crazy stories about your amazing work.  

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