Vanity Fair Presents an Exclusive First Look at 'The Fall Guy' Starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt

Written by Anthony Breznican

There are no illusions when it comes to stunt performers in films. This fascinating reality was what filmmaker David Leitch aimed to showcase in his action-comedy film, The Fall Guy. Stunt specialists bear the brunt of the action - from soaring falls off skyscrapers to dangerous car chases and real punches. Although safety measures are implemented, these works often come with a rush of adrenaline, sometimes involving literal falls.

Leitch, notable for his direction in films like Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2, and Bullet Train, also has a daredevil past. Known as Matt Damon's stuntman in The Bourne Ultimatum and as Brad Pitt's double in Fight Club and Mr. and Mrs. Smith, he has had his fair share of thrilling experiences. His admiration for Lee Majors, a stuntman in the 1980s TV show The Fall Guy, drove him to bring the narrative to the big screen, starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt. The film centers around a stuntman who almost lost his life during a film performance and his former lover who is now a director needing his aid.

With the movie due for release on March 1, Leitch planned for it to be a comically absurd, romantic, and breathtaking tribute to the stunt performers who risk their safety for the sake of entertainment. The film was sprinkled with authentic, nerve-wracking action scenes. He made use of CGI where necessary, but ensured most stunts were as authentic as possible in celebration of the hardworking crew that works behind the scenes in the film industry.

Ryan Gosling, one of the film's lead actors, is seen in risky situations, performing stunts in The Fall Guy.

Producer Kelly McCormick, also Leitch's wife and work partner, remarked that The Fall Guy was like a dream come true for many stunt performers. The film offered them the opportunity to perform stunts that they had always dreamt of accomplishing on camera, and in turn, fulfilled their lifelong ambition.

Troy Brown, one of Gosling's stunt doubles, even attempted a daring 150 feet fall, following in his father's footsteps who 20 years ago fell off a building on fire. McCormick revealed they initially tried to lower the height, but Brown insisted on the 150ft plunge, a feat not accomplished in over a decade. This achievement resulted in a euphoric reaction from everyone on the set.

Leitch admits that these stunts could still be terrifying, despite the expertise and confidence he had in the performers' abilities to perform them safely. He said the anticipation and fear for the worst was always present until he received a thumbs-up signaling all was well.

Gosling had a number of stunt doubles in the film since stunt performers often have areas of specialty. Logan Holladay was the driving specialist while Justin Eaton, known to have doubled for Captain America, Doctor Strange and Deadpool, handled the martial arts scenes. Gosling's main double was Ben Jenkins, a parkour expert, who performed the bulk of the non-specialized stunts in the film.

Gosling's stunt double, no stranger to the industry, performed stunts like holding onto a metal trash bin while being dragged down a road. This stuntman has been in the industry for a while, collecting thrilling experiences along the way.

The Fall Guy, penned by Drew Pearce (known for Iron Man 3, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw), details a story where Ryan Gosling's stuntman character, Colt, is hired to work on his ex-lover's film. Colt's job is to unearth the whereabouts of the missing leading actor, playboy Tom Ryder, portrayed by Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Hannah Waddingham, transitioning from her beloved Ted Lasso persona to a Hollywood producer, believes Colt, having been Tom's stunt double, can find him and save the film from disaster. While Colt could use the money, he also desires to rescue the problematic project for his ex, Jody, who isn't thrilled about his presence on her set after their split.

Gosling's fans from his parts in Barbie, Drive, and The Notebook are in for a treat as this film combines elements of all those roles. Collaborative director, Leitch, praises Gosling's dedication to the project and act; he says "The stunt crews that [Gosling] has worked with and that I’ve come up with, we’re not jaded...We love making movies. He just wanted to bring a stuntman like that to life, and he wanted to find a real motivation for this character in the love story.”

Emily Blunt, a first-time director in the movie, is given the job of filming a space-themed film featuring duelling factions of space wanderers and aliens; a task she manages excellently until her ex Colt shows up. Producer McCormick adds, “She was getting this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that she had dreamed of...and she thought she had settled things with her ex...and then the next thing you know...he's shown up.”

Both Taylor-Johnson and Waddingham portray the self-centered aspects of the film industry; these are characters most people will instantly recognize. However, nobody working on the film wanted to admit to inspiring these characters. Castmates had also been wary about portraying the spoilt and bratty star Tom. Despite this, Taylor-Johnson was eager to take on the role, though he confessed he had no real-life experiences to draw from for the character.

Featuring alongside Colt is the movie's plucky stunt coordinator, Winston Duke, and the harassed assistant of the star, Stephanie Hsu, portrayed by Duke and Hsu respectively. “Winston represents the heart and soul of that world,” Leitch says. “It’s the camaraderie with him and Colt that’s so essential to understand our brother- and sisterhood in the stunt world."

Despite being in the middle of awards season for her Oscar-nominated movie Everything Everywhere All at Once, Hsu clinched her small but crucial role in the film before her nomination and managed to juggle both commitments.

This movie is a reimagining of the 1980's TV show The Fall Guy, conceived by Glen Larson, famous for pieces like Battlestar Galactica and Magnum, P.I. The show ran on CBS from 1981 till 1986. It had Lee Majors playing the role of Colt Seavers and Heather Thomas as Jody Banks, following them as they use their stunt skills to track down escaped criminals. The Fall Guy theme song, sung by Majors himself, was a classic.

Leitch expressed how The Fall Guy show motivated his generation of stunt performers and made them aspire to be the character, Colt. When the show was proposed for a movie adaptation, he and his partner McCormick, running 87North Productions, immediately agreed to it.

87North Productions focuses on action films and is responsible for successful movies like Nobody, Violent Night, and Bullet Train, featuring a variety of renowned actors like Bob Odenkirk, David Harbour, Brad Pitt, and several more.

If anyone was going to make The Fall Guy, it was them. “It had been in development for many years and it had different incarnations and different people attached,” Leitch says. “Then it came to us through [Game of Thrones producer] Guymon Casady, who had secured the rights and asked, ‘Hey, would you be interested…?’ We were like, ‘Interested? Are you insane? Of course we would be interested.’”

Director David Leitch (left) advises Ryan Gosling for a scene in which he clings to a runaway vehicle in The Fall Guy.

Just as the various stunt performers brought their wish list of tricks to pull, the filmmakers and their colleagues also contributed their own anecdotes and experiences to the story, aimed at satirizing life on a movie production. “It is crazy when you’re sitting on set having a conversation about whatever and there’s an alien sitting next to you and he’s eating craft service. Then we roll and everybody gets in front of the camera and pretends to be in space,” Leitch says. “I wanted to make sure that we conveyed that, so there is wackiness and there’s wild things, but they’re really not so far out of the bounds of what really happens.”

The word he uses to describe the tone of The Fall Guy is “bonkers.” “It may be slightly heightened for fun, but I wanted to make sure that the relationships are grounded,” Leitch says. “This community of artists that you meet in the circus life of making a movie is so strong, and so real, and so heartfelt that I wanted to make sure that that [was done in] earnest.”

“This allowed him to do it in basically three different movies,” McCormick adds. “He designed this kind of set-life [story], which is grounded and a little quirky, and shot much more realistically than some of the rest of the movie. Then you’ve got this noir thriller happening, a little dark and a little moody. And then you’ve got sort of this epic love story. It’s good guys versus bad guys and love conquers all.”