Topics: Film and TV, Documentaries, Harry Potter, Daniel Radcliffe, HBO
Daniel Radcliffe is working behind the camera on a new documentary about his Harry Potter stunt double who was left paralyzed following an accident on set.
Radcliffe shot to fame at the age of 12 in the Harry Potter movie franchise, and has since go on to star in several other huge Hollywood films like The Woman in Black, The Lost City and Jungle.
While he's usually in front of the camera, this time round Radcliffe will be an executive producer on an upcoming documentary called David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived.
Advert
As per its title, the programme will be focused on David Holmes, a former stunt double for Radcliffe who suffered a life-changing accident in 2009.
Holmes was filming Deathly Hallows: Part 1 at the time when a stunt went horribly wrong.
The scene is question was when Harry Potter was propelled into the air due to an explosion. The planned stunt saw Holmes slam into a wall though, leaving the former gymnast paralyzed from the chest down.
Apparently the stunt used too much force, meaning Holmes was left with severe injuries.
The new documentary will see footage personal of Holmes over the years, including behind-the-scene clips of his stunt work and scenes from his currently life, Deadline reports.
While he's acting as exec producer, Radcliffe will also get some screen-time as interviews with him and Holmes' friends and family will also be part of the feature.
A full synopsis of the upcoming HBO documentary reads: "The film is a coming-of-age story of stuntman David Holmes, a prodigious teenage gymnast from Essex, England, who is selected to play Daniel Radcliffe’s stunt double in the first Harry Potter film, when Daniel is just eleven.
"Over the next ten years, the two form an inextricable bond, but on the penultimate film a tragic accident on set leaves David paralysed with a debilitating spinal injury, turning his world upside down.
"As Daniel and his closest stunt colleagues rally to support David and his family in their moment of need, it is David’s extraordinary spirit of resilience that becomes their greatest source of strength and inspiration."
Over a decade on from the ordeal, Holmes has remained close friends with the Harry Potter cast - Radcliffe included.
"I’ve got a relationship that goes back many, many years with Dave," Radcliffe told The Mirror in 2021.
"And I would hate for people to just see me and Dan and go, 'Oh, there’s Daniel Radcliffe with a person in a wheelchair' - because I would never, even for a moment, want them to assume that Dave was anything except for an incredibly important person in my life."
David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived drops on HBO November 15. It will also be available on demand on Sky Documentaries and streaming service NOW from 18 November.
