Photo by Heather Donlan
Oakville native Bridgett Riley works as a stunt double. Among Riley’s most recent gigs? Standing in for actress Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio in NBC’s Grimm. SLM caught up with her to chat about stunting.
- Body doubles simply pose for an actor for a shot that an actor isn’t comfortable doing. Stunt people take all the risk.
- I got into my current profession by accident. I moved to L.A. to pursue fighting. A talent scout was watching my training session one day and asked me to audition for a role on a new TV series. I told him I’m not an actress; I was only there to become a world champion kickboxer. But he persisted.
- You find out quickly if you are meant for this line of work. There’s a slim margin for error—our experience and reputation is our credibility.
- Coming from the ring, I have a lifetime of stepping on the scale and making weight; hence I have a knack for doing this very thing.
- I love morphing into my actor. The process of becoming various creatures is tedious but extremely rewarding.
- I will tan or spray-tan when I’m doubling as an actress with darker skin. I stay out of the sun when I work on vampire flicks.
- Most hair departments wig us, but I have colored my hair, brought my own hair extensions, cut my hair, and straightened my hair for jobs.
- On scary ratchets, car hits, and stair falls, you sometimes have to just trust yourself and go for it. I put my big girl pants on and pray.
- It’s a high—and as much as I lose sleep over some gigs, at the end of the day, when it’s over and goes well, I can’t wait for the next one.
- I pinch myself on every gigand thank God I am able todo what I do.
- I could not do a normal 9-to-5 job—it’s not in my DNA.
