Tag: david holmes

directed by Dan Hartley

I’m afraid that we often forget how many people and how much effort it takes to make a film. We go to the cinema or sit in front of a screen, press play, spend approximately two hours, decide whether we like it or not, perhaps have a little discussion after and that’s it. Perhaps we forget that it takes months or even years to produce those two hours for us. The reason why I’m starting my post this way is because the documentary I’m recommending today is about a kind of person that gets forgotten in the film industry. We recognise and appreciate main actors, sometimes the director, but the rest of the crew is rather praised by real cinephiles or people from that particular industry. David Holmes, who’s the star of today’s documentary, is a stunt double. Unfortunately, he doesn’t work as one, yet he’s remembered mostly because of his amazing job done in “Harry Potter” series of films where he played… Harry Potter. The boy who lived. From the very first part, little David was acting in all the physically difficult scenes, which Daniel Radcliffe couldn’t do or wasn’t recommended to do. In the end, Daniel was the main character and if anything had happened to him, the filmmakers would have been doomed. But losing a stunt double isn’t stopping the crew from shooting the film, as sad as it sounds. They just find another flexible and physically strong person, do a little make-up magic and voilà – they can be performing somersaults as Harry Potter. Stunt doubles work incredibly hard and risk a lot, yet in the film industry they are easily replaceable, unlike the main stars. Back to David – the reason why he stopped doing the job was because he had a horrible accident on set, about which you may learn more watching the documentary. Now, David is paralysed and after all these years, he’s telling us the story of his life, his acting career and also his incredible friendship with Daniel Radcliffe. They are both grown-up men, yet they met as children and they were sharing the experience of playing in one of the most popular series of films that has even been produced. David, as Daniel says, was like a big brother to him and the boys were spending a lot of time together, except just practicing for the scenes. Even though the last part of “Harry Potter” was released about 12 years ago, David And Daniel have stayed friends and they still support each other. I guess I won’t surprise you if I admit that I didn’t know about David before, but I’m a huge fan after watching the documentary. What he was doing on set is one thing, but I’m absolutely amazed by his personality and charisma. And I see that I’m not the only one. Daniel was lucky to have met such “big brother” in 2001 and it’s great to see this tandem together after all those years. Hope you find a moment to see the documentary about another boy who lived.

My rating: 7/10
S.