Stephen Amell is a Canadian actor who’s best known for playing the role of Oliver Queen in the superhero series ‘Arrow’. The show has a lot of daring, athletic, and acrobatic scenes, but does Amell do his own stunts?
Stephen Amell, in his role of Oliver Queen in ‘Arrow’, does a lot of his own stunts. In the show’s early series, he would perform at least 75% of the stunts, with the rest performed by stunt doubles.
Read on to learn more about the stunts Stephen Amell performs in ‘Arrow’ and the work of his stunt doubles.
Leading Man
Created by DC Comics, Green Arrow is a superhero and vigilante who fights crime with his bow and arrow, whilst living a secret identity as Oliver Queen. As the titular character, Queen has some pretty daring encounters, fighting crime and corruption at a street level.
The CW’s live action series ‘Arrow’ is known for its “expertly constructed fight sequence” and spectacular stunts, and Stephen Amell certainly wasn’t shy about getting stuck into the action.
The show’s executive producer, Greg Berlanti, told Access Hollywood, “as a producer, it is a little frightening when your star is doing a quarter of the stunts because there’s no second string” before adding, “but it’s one of the things that makes the show incredibly unique and a lot of fun”.
Though Greg had said Amell was doing a quarter of the stunts, Amell followed up on Twitter to tell the reporters that he does “at least 75%”, adding “don’t tell him (Greg)”.
Whilst he used to take on the majority of the show’s stunts, this tapered off as the show became more popular and production wanted to lessen the risk of injury to the show’s leading man.
Asides from the risk factor, Amell has acknowledged that the physicality of the work does take its toll. At Heroes and Villains Fan Fest 2018, Amell explained that in later seasons he cut back on the amount of stunts he did himself: ‘I have back problems so that has changed how I approach certain scenes’.
Watch some of the ‘Arrow’ cast and crew discuss how the show’s stunts are brought to life in the YouTube video below.
Stunt Doubles
Whilst Stephen Amell does a lot of his own stunts, his stunt doubles take the rest of the load. Simon Burnett, a Canadian stuntman, was one of Amell’s long-running doubles. Of his second stunt double, Will Erichson, Amell said:
“we’ve got such a wonderful stunt department, and for the first four years, I had Simon as my stunt double, and now I’ve had Will since Season 5. He’s so good at what he does, and so now I know when it’s actually more appropriate and, not just that, but expedient for the show and our shooting schedule when it’s time for me to sit out. I still don’t like it, but I do it.”
Though unhappy about relinquishing some of the action, it was important for Amell to step back to avoid injury.
Wrestling and Ninja Warrior
Amell’s training for the show meant he kept himself incredibly fit, and he’s proved his athleticism and dedication outside of acting.
He’s a massive wrestling fan, and made his first WWE wrestling appearance in 2015. His wrestling career necessarily took a backseat during filming for the show, after he sustained an unfortunate injury in a wrestling match with Christopher Daniels. He told an audience at MegCon:
“Right before Episode 7×07, I wrestled Christopher Daniels and I fractured my hip. There was nothing to be done. It couldn’t get any worse”.
The actor also delighted fans by taking part in American Ninja Warrior, proving once and for all that he’s a stunt man, as well as an actor.