Vic Armstrong

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Victor Monroe Armstrong (born October 5, 1946 in Farnham Common , Buckinghamshire , England ) is a British stuntman who today mainly works as an assistant director , second unit director or stunt and action coordinator. He also works as a director .

Life

Vic Armstrong was born in Farnham Common in 1946 , just seven kilometers from Pinewood Studios in the UK , where he later worked frequently as a stunt specialist. His father was Robert Armstrong, an experienced rider and horse specialist who, as a farrier for the British Olympic team, participated in five Olympiads between 1948 and 1964. Vic Armstrong first encountered the film business when his father was a farrier in the 1950s for Richard Todd , one of the UK's most popular actors at the time.

Armstrong left school at the age of 14 to work as a jockey . He made contact with the film industry through equestrian sport and was hired by Stanley Donen as a rider double for arabesque in 1966 . He quickly established himself as a stuntman and from 1967 worked for several James Bond films, among other things . For example, he was one of the ninja fighters who abseil themselves into the volcanic crater in James Bond 007 - You Only Live Twice (1967). Armstrong doubled several Bond actors and was involved in seven Bond films as a stuntman or stunt coordinator by 2002.

As early as 1968 he had for the film In the sights of the Falcon of Joseph Losey started his work as a stunt coordinator. This task was followed by other activities behind the camera, such as for The Bridge of Arnhem by Richard Attenborough and the Superman films. He was also involved in well-known films such as American Werewolf , Rambo III , Starship Troopers , Charlie's Angels or Mission: Impossible III .

Armstrong worked for decades as a double for famous actors, including Malcolm McDowell , Michael York , George C. Scott , Timothy Dalton , Sean Connery , Gregory Peck , Jon Voight , Donald Sutherland , Roger Moore , Richard Harris , Christopher Reeve , Ryan O ' Neal or Harrison Ford . He doubled the latter in the three Indiana Jones films of the 1980s. Armstrong was very similar to Ford and played numerous action scenes in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom when the actor was absent from filming for weeks due to a back injury. In Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), Armstrong performed the risky dive jump from the galloping horse onto the speeding tank. After this film he retired from work as a stuntman and was almost exclusively active as a stunt coordinator.

Vic Armstrong is next to George Lucas the only one who was involved in all three "Indy films" and the television series based on them . In The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles , for which he the first episode of the second season staged, he completed his directorial debut. He also directed the film Barett - The Law of Vengeance (1993) with Dolph Lundgren and George Segal . He also directed the opening scene of Terminator 2 - Judgment Day . The literary film adaptation Left Behind followed in 2014 , in which Nicolas Cage played the leading role.

He is married to Wendy Leech , who works as a stunt woman and he wore at the shooting for Superman met (1978). The two have three children who also work in the film business. Vic Armstrong has so far been involved in around 120 films or TV productions as a stuntman or stunt coordinator (as of 2016) and is generally regarded as one of the most prominent specialists in this industry.

Filmography (selection)

Stunts or stunt coordination:

Director or director 2nd team:

Awards

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Armstrong, Vic
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Armstrong, Victor Monroe (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British stuntman
DATE OF BIRTH October 5, 1946
PLACE OF BIRTH Farnham Common , Buckinghamshire , England