“Wigging” is a film industry term that describes the practice of male stunt performers standing in for women on gags. “Painting down” is its cousin, in which White stunt performers stand in for actors of color. Veteran stunt performer Deven MacNair has made it her mission to speak out against these practices and demand change.
Remember the famous scene in Sholay where Hema Malini shouts “Chal Dhanno!” as she is chased by Gabbar Singh’s men? While the audience rooted for the actor, the real hero of that iconic action sequence was stuntwoman Reshma Pathan who rode the speeding cart. She has spent 3 decades as body double to Bollywood’s leading ladies.
In 1985, I made a transition from martial arts and kickboxing to a full time career as a stuntwoman. In 1982, I had moved from Pensacola, Florida to Los Angeles, California for several reasons. One, my sanctioning body, the WKA (World Karate Association) based out of Westminster, CA was working hard to promote me as a fighter.
When you’re drooling over Megan Fox in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) reserve some drool for Stacey Carino, who, as Fox’s stunt double, did a lot of the legwork. In her six-year career Stacey has worked on movies as varied as Bruce Almighty, The Jane Austen Book Club, and Tim Burton’s upcoming Alice in Wonderland.
Annabel Wood has performed stunts in some of Hollywood's biggest hits including Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016), Wonder Woman, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, and The Mummy, and TV work is no less impressive with her 3 year stint on Game of Thrones.
