KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 26 — English actor Daniel Radcliffe has produced a documentary about his Harry Potter stunt double, who was paralysed while filming the blockbuster.
David Holmes, sustained a spinal injury during Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, which left him paralysed from the neck down,
The 42-year-old former actor and stuntman took to Instagram yesterday to announce the “secret project”, which he said took four years to make.
The HBO documentary, The Boy Who Lived, will feature interviews from both Radcliffe and Holmes as well as behind-the-scenes stunt footage of the former, reported BBC.
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“Being a stuntman was my calling in life, and doubling Harry was the best job in the world,” Holmes wrote on Instagram.
Holmes was a teenage gymnast from Essex when he was selected to play Radcliffe’s double in the first Harry Potter film, when the actor was 11.
And the stunt rehearsal accident in January 2009, changed his life forever.
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Holmes previously revealed details of his tragic accident, which occurred during a flying scene at Warner Bros Studios in Leavesden, London.
In an interview with the Mirror in 2014, he said he was pulled backwards “at speed” by a high-strength wire in a “jerk back” stunt that replicates the effects of an explosion.
Holmes however was launched into a wall and immediately broke his neck.
Directed by British filmmaker Dan Hartley, The Boy Who Lived tells the coming-of-age story of Holmes, the close bond he forged with Radcliffe and how the spinal injury turned his world upside down.
“This film tells the story of not just my achievements in front of camera, but also the challenges I face every day, and my overall attitude to life after suffering a broken neck,” said Holmes.
“In the turbulent world we find ourselves living in right now, I would like to quote Harry: ‘We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.’”
Holmes thanked medical staff, as well as Harry Potter author JK Rowling and Radcliffe for their support.
Writing about Radcliffe, he said they were both “immensely proud of our time on the Harry Potter films, and the joy and comfort it brings to audiences around the world on a daily basis”.
It’s not the first time the pair have worked together as Radcliffe helped launch Holmes’ podcast Cunning Stunts, which features interviews with other stunt doubles, in 2020.
