On the Harry Potter film set in 2009, disaster befell David Holmes, leaving him severely hurt and ultimately paralyzed during an ill-advised stunt. The stuntman talked about what went wrong that day and how his life has changed more than ten years after the catastrophe.
The 2011 film David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived explores the special bond between actor Daniel Radcliffe and his crippled stunt double, David Holmes, from the Harry Potter films, after an incident during production.
Harry was thrown through the air by an explosion during the entire event. David Holmes was meant to be pulled by a cable to replicate the vibration that sent the main character upward.
Regretfully, an incident led to the stunt double of Harry Potter being propelled too forcefully by the wire, causing him to collide with a wall. He was rushed to the hospital after the force of the crash fractured his neck. He was determined not to move his body below his waist ever again.
Ever since the incident that left him paralyzed for life, David Holmes has devoted his life to educating people about the job that stuntmen do. The former Harry Potter stunt double started his own media firm and hosts a podcast in which he conducts conversations with these experts in action.
Regretfully, an incident led to the stunt double of Harry Potter being propelled too forcefully by the wire, causing him to collide with a wall. He was rushed to the hospital after the force of the crash fractured his neck. He was determined not to move his body below his waist ever again.
Ever since the incident that left him paralyzed for life, David Holmes has devoted his life to educating people about the job that stuntmen do. The former Harry Potter stunt double started his own media firm and hosts a podcast in which he conducts conversations with these experts in action.
A tight bond between Holmes and Daniel Radcliffe and the rest of the ‘Harry Potter’ ensemble is also maintained. He frequently appears with old coworkers like Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom) or Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy in the movies).
Radcliffe as well as Tom Felton, who played Draco Malfoy, frequently paid Holmes visits. In order to collect money for Holmes’s medical expenses, the former hosted a dinner and charity auction. “An immensely important person in my life,” as he put it, was Holmes.
Having spent his youth as the face of an enormous entertainment franchise, Radcliffe, who continues to astound as an impressively grounded and real human being, is part of his strong support system. He has been by Holmes’ side ever since, viewing him as an elder brother figure from the start. Somehow, Radcliffe missed the bit where the child star turns into a crazy jerk.