Accident that left Harry Potter stunt double paralyzed led to ban across the film industry
For any stunt double, landing a role shadowing the titular character in an eight-move franchise is a sheer dream come true.
As was the case for real life action man David Holmes, when he received the call telling him he'd be doubling Harry Potter frontman Daniel Radcliffe throughout the globally-adored movie series.
Holmes had discreetly starred in the franchise from the very first movie Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, and had planned on sticking around until the final instalment, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.
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Unfortunately, however, a life-changing injury that Holmes sustained during the penultimate movie prevented him from returning for the grand finale, after he broke his neck and became paralysed.
Holmes had been doubling Radcliffe during a fight with the snake Nagini in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 when he landed awkwardly after being sent flying.
With producers uncertain that the scene packed the drama that it should, they added weight to the pulley system that would launch 'the boy who lived' through the air considerably faster.
But upon trying the scene, Holmes was knocked into a wall at such a brutality that he shattered some of the bones in his neck.
"I knew straight away,” Holmes told The Guardian this week, 14 years after sustaining the injury that changed his life forever.
"I knew I’d broken my neck. I was fully conscious."
Speaking of the way he was injured, best friend Marc Mailley - who took over as stunt double - explained: "It was an old way of doing flight on a wire with weights that is not done any more. It’s banned in the film industry as a result of his accident across all major studios."
Holmes continued: "The rehearsal the day before was violent and fast, but we went for something a bit faster and a bit more violent the second day.
"In stunt rehearsals we were constantly trying to push the boundaries of what stunt action could be, whether that is flying through the air or a 15-minute fight routine.”
Stunt coordinator Greg Powell immediately asked Holmes if he could feel his legs, but he couldn't.
"I remember seeing the news report on TV," said Dan Hartley, then a junior member of the crew working as the video playback operator.
"I got on the phone to one of the crew and he told me he’d heard it was Dave and something bad happened. For the next few days we were trading messages and we learned that Dave was paralysed."
"I’m not going to go into any more detail," Holmes said. "The repercussions from my accident mean nobody will be put in that situation again. And that’s enough for me. It’s much more sophisticated and controlled now."
"Listen, thankfully for me, because of this film, my legacy on camera is not now me just hitting that wall 14 years ago. Maybe people will take some positives from the way I handled it, hopefully with a bit of dignity – even though all the dignity is taken away."
Today, Holmes is paralysed from the chest down and lives with four full-time carers, but he says he's still extremely close with actor Radcliffe, who was left equally heartbroken by his injuries, having looked up to him as they grew up together.
"Initially, I was Dan’s PE coach," Holmes reminisced. "He’d come into the stunt office, we’d shut the door, and I’d let him be a kid.
"He’d be jumping off Portakabins on to trampolines. We’d do judo, boxing, sword fighting, anything he wanted to do that day. On the first two films he was like my little brother, and by the third film he’d grown into one of my best friends and still is to this day."
Holmes' - whose life story is to be told in the upcoming documentary The Boy Who Lived - added: "I will always say breaking my neck made a man of me. For sure, 100%."
Topics: Harry Potter, Film and TV, Health
Rhianna Benson