Flinging yourself off a 50-foot scaffolding might not sound appealing. But defying death is a regular day at Hollywood Stunts in Brooklyn, where students learn to grip the hood of a speeding cab, tumble down stairs and plummet from a building.
“We get to do everything your parents told you not to do,” owner Bob Cotter said.
Monday afternoon, two instructors practiced “high falls” — propelling themselves off the scaffolding and landing with a loud bang on a billowing blue air mattress.
“I got tired of modeling,” said instructor Brandon Worsham, 20. Stunts called to him after stints as a Hollister face.
Suicides, knee drops, face-offs — anyone’s welcome to attempt these plunges, from a 10-year-old at last Saturday’s class to a “Law & Order” actress preparing for a 70-foot drop out of a window.
Whether falling into a dumpster, table or concrete sidewalk, “Always land on your back” is the mantra at this year-old studio at the water’s edge in Greenpoint.
Anyone can learn “Fighting For Film” or trampoline tricks. The more serious, however, can take a three-week comprehensive course.
Don’t try this at home
One feat best left to the pros? Lighting a person on fire.
Sweat can “kind of cook you like a lobster,” said Todd Ryan Jones, an actor and stuntman who took the intensive course. Just last week, he helped “light up” a horror film actor.
“You really can’t mess around,” he said.
