Peter Hassall's Stunt Site

Before emailing me: if you want to become a stuntperson, have a good read of the Workshops, FAQs,
Recommended Reading, Recommended Links and Recommended Viewing sections of this site first! Most everything you can ask is answered in those areas of this site. I also strongly recommend reading Inside Stunts magazine and watching the Double Dare documentary on DVD.

UPDATES: 10th July 2010 Added Workshop info and updated the list of prop weapons for rental. See Equipment list .

09 October (Saturday) 1:30-6:00pm. Unusual and found weapons (prop weapons-sledgehammers, hammers, screwdrivers, batons, chains, etc. plus using ties, umbrellas, books, etc. as weapons). Martial Arts Centre, Lyster Lane, U/H.

13 November (Saturday) 1:30-6:00pm Knife and gun fights (Disarms, gun-fu, etc.). Martial Arts Centre, Lyster Lane, U/H.

I also hope to run a rapier/rapier and dagger workshop but that will be in early 2011.

For all workshops, please aim to be there by 1:15pm to get the forms and receipts out of the way before starting on time.

Cost is $40 unwaged/student and $60 waged for each one-day workshop. Payment must be received before the course day as all are strictly limited to 12 places.

All courses are for beginners-no previous experience is required. You need to be reasonably fit and not have any medical condition that could be aggravated by vigorious exercise. Please keep nails trimmed, and either remove or tape over jewellery that could become caught. Wear comfortable exercise clothing and bring a wtaer bottle. NB: remove shoes and place them on the shelves at teh top of teh stairs BEFORE ENTERING the dojo.

Payment instructions, a registration form, maps and directions will be emailed in advance to all participants.

Please email stunts@paradise.net.nz or text/phone 021-167-1837 to book a place or if you have any questions. <>

Skills
Fights and fight choreography
All types of fight scenes e.g. unarmed street fighting and brawls. Experienced in the use of medieval swords, sword and shield, rapier, quarter staff, nunchakus, baseball bats, axes, etc. Fights for live shows include the following themes: western or cowboy, martial arts, wrestling, medieval sword fights, pirate sword fights, and Three Musketeers sword fights.

Falls
Falls down stairs, crashing through windows, leaping off buildings, climbing high structures, bicycle and skateboard crashes, etc.

Cars/Vehicles
All types of car stunts. Riding on roofs, clinging onto bonnets, jumping out of cars, being hit by cars, etc. Also car crashes, rolls, chases, etc. Fight scenes on, falls from, and transfers to/from boats, trains, etc.

Other
Skateboarding, juggling, actor tuition (basic gymnastics, falls, fights), First Aid.

Credits
(NB: Stunt performer or stunt double on all film/TV/video credits except LOTR, Chicken, Facelift, Atlantis High, and the Enid Blyton Adventure Series)

TV
Sensing Murder
Man's Work (stunt coordinator, fight choreographer, location scout)
Seven Periods With Mr Gormsby
Hercules (2004)
Facelift (fight choreographer)
Atlantis High (fight choreographer)
The Tribe (fight choreographer)
The Semisis
Crimewatch
Forgotten Silver
Enid Blyton Adventure Series ("Sea of Adventure") (fight choreographer)
Typhon's People (stunt coordinator)
Shark In The Park

TVCs
Mizone drink ("Applause")
Primo drink ("Skateboarding" x 2)
Land Transport Safety Authority ("Rural Bus Stop")
Panasonic Cordless Phone ("House on Cliff")
Woolworth's ("Fresh Fish")

Video
St. John's First Aid video series (stunt coordinator)
Music video "Tag Along" by Simon Raby (stunt coordinator)

Charity
Telethon
Cloud 9 Charity Open Day
Royal New Zealand Ballet Fund Raising Event Night

Equipment
Medieval swords, rapiers, battle axes, staffs, nunchakus, bull whip, etc. Trampoline, mini trampoline, gymnastic mats and pads, fire extinguishers, back protectors, body padding, juggling balls and clubs, fire staffs, fire poi, etc. I have a wide range of prop weapons (daggers, swords, axes, sledgehammers, etc.) available for hire. They are a mixture of real metal with blunt edges, painted wood or plastic, painted foam, or painted rubber prop weapons. Click here for more details.

Background
Peter developed an interest in stunt work when a teenager. He answered a classified newspaper ad for stuntmen and women in 1979. Peter was trained in the techniques of car stunts and fight scenes, then let loose on the live show circuit as a member of the Los Angeles Hell Drivers stunt team. None of the team were American. A couple of years later Peter learnt the basic techniques of fire stunts from a fellow stuntman. He also worked for the L. A. Hell Drivers stunt team (none of them were American, either!).

After moving from Auckland to Wellington in 1989, he broke into doing stunt work for the local television and film industry. His first job was for a Woolworth's commercial about fresh fish - Peter doubled an actor who wasn't too keen on the idea of being hit by hundreds of gallons of water from a big dump tank. Since then Peter has performed and coordinated numerous stunts. On the TV series Crimewatch he has portrayed a drug addict who accidentally set himself on fire, and a heroic man who leapt on a stolen car's bonnet and was taken for a wild ride.

In Peter Jackson's feature Braindead (a.k.a. Dead Alive), as well as being the film's stunt coordinator Peter personally performed numerous stunts such as falling down stairs and crashing through windows. When the zombie mother does a stunt alone it is Peter; when the mother and son are doing a stunt, Tony Wolf plays the mother and Peter plays the son. Peter met stage combatant Tony Wolf shortly before getting the stunt coordinator job on Braindead. They worked together with kick boxer Damon de Berry to create the kung fu priest vs. zombie bikers cemetery fight scene. Peter and Tony doubled for zombies, and Damon doubled for the priest. The actors also did a fair bit of their own fighting.

In addition to his film and TV industry work, Peter has performed over 250 sword and staff fights and more than 50 fire stunts for live shows. He regularly teaches stage combat classes and workshops, and trains actors to do fights and falls.

Most recently Peter has performed live shows for the Festival of the Arts and worked on a reality TV series called Real Work teaching presenter Ashley Haymes how to be a stuntman!

The information on this site is not intended to be an instruction manual. Any individual reading information at this site should only attempt to do stunts with the assistance of an experienced stunt person. Stunts can be very dangerous. Even professional stunt people working on movies and TV shows have been seriously injured or killed. A link to a site from here is not a recommendation or endorsement for the reliability or safety of the information, equipment or training there. Individuals must use their own judgement when seeking training or equipment.

Thanks to: Vince Martin-Smith and Peter Cook for photographing my exploits, Hamish Rose for technical advice and inspiration, Nigel Rowe for teaching a computer illiterate how to use Netscape Composer to create this site, Marc Angelo and Harley D'jekic for behind-the-scenes photos, and Basil Kananghinis for studio photography. Leon Shippam, Frank MacSkasy Jnr., and Stu Wilson for scanning photos. I am slowly adding all the book covers, etc. Stu has scanned to this site. Lastly, thanks to contributors who have given permission to use articles here: Rick Barker, Scott Rhodes, Manny Siverio, and Scott Witt.

All content on this site is Copyright 2000 - 2010 by Peter Hassall. Please ask permission before non commercial use. Commercial users should email me to negotiate an appropriate payment and credit before copying any material here. I encourage links to this site. Let me know you've linked to me and your site URL so that I can link back to you.