There’s no shortage of badass roles for women today in Hollywood, from Wonder Woman to Charlie’s Angels to Birds of Prey. But behind every great actress is an equally great stuntwoman making all the action and thrills come to life.
In Stuntwomen: The Untold Hollywood Story, actress Michelle Rodriguez takes audiences behind-the-scenes to meet some of the brave female stunt performers who have put their lives on the line to create the biggest blockbusters like Black Panther and Captain Marvel. This includes the stuntwomen Rodriguez has worked with throughout her 20-year career.
The documentary also introduces viewers to the stuntwomen of the silent film era and throughout the 20th century—before special effects were as advanced as they are today.
In the film’s trailer, Rodriguez is seen in the passenger’s seat of a car driven at a high speed by Debbie Evans, one of the stunt performers who usually sits behind the wheel in place of Rodriguez for the movies in The Fast and the Furious franchise.
“I thought you do action movies and you get to have all the fun,” Rodriguez says in the trailer. “And then I realized, ‘No, Debbie has all the fun!’”
Along with the fast-paced action that comes with stuntwomen getting set on fire and hit by vehicles, the film also dives into the struggles these female performers face in an industry that is male dominant. Not only do these amazing unsung cinematic heroes have to know how to take a punch on-screen, off-screen they are on the frontlines demanding fair and equal treatment as employees, too.
Don’t sleep on these women. Anyone who can take a kick to the head—both figuratively and literally—is definitely someone you want fighting with you, not against.
Stuntwomen: The Untold Hollywood Story debuts on VOD platforms September 22.