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The Many Lives Of a Hollywood Stunt Performer: A Conversation With Oliver Keller
Oliver Keller grew up in a small town in Switzerland dreaming of becoming a stuntman in Hollywood. His appetite for excitement led him to Super G Downhill skiing and an eventual apprenticeship with a German stunt professional, but he had his sights set on bigger things.
Today, Oliver is a rising star in Hollywood's stunt community, and has worked on mega-blockbusters from Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl to Master & Commander, and not one but two of Sacha Baron Cohen films (Brno and The Dictator) and the largest Bollywood film ever made (Dhoom 3).
We talked to Oliver about falling out of buildings, third degree burns, designing a canon to help blow cars into the sky (while he's inside them), and how he got down to 7% body fat while working as Henry Cavill's stunt double on Immortals.
So tell us about this film you were just working on, Dhoom 3?
OLIVER KELLER: Dhoom 3 is the biggest budget Bollywood movie ever made. We were filming in Chicago. We flipped five cars, dropped a guy 300-feet from the top of city hall, and shot a chase scene on the Chicago river with jet skis and boats while motorcycles raced on the river walk. We had more than 100 stunt performers involved.
Arjun
Anupamaa
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