My New Hero

This past weekend Jon and I worked in Philadelphia on a movie called The Wrestler . This was one of the best movies I have ever worked on because we had the honor to work with the most unorthodox stuntman, Bryan Anderson. Bryan is an ex-gymnast, ex-soldier, winner of the Purple Heart and a triple amputee. He lost both his legs and part of his left arm in a roadside bomb. The only reason he still has his right hand is because he was taking a drag from his cigarette when the bomb went off.

Last January Bryan was on the cover of Esquire magazine and inside the cover story he said he would like to become a stuntman, “I could be on prosthetics, and they could blow my legs off.” Doug Crosby, the stunt coordinator for The Wrestler, read that article and began thinking of a way to make Bryan's dream a reality. He thought of a cleaver way to incorporate Bryan into the movie and hired him for his first job as a stuntman. (You will have to see the movie to see how they used him.) I had the privilege to work with Bryan on his first day of work as a stuntman.

Bryan is my same age, full of life, so funny and looks at life as if there is nothing stopping him from following his dreams. He is the spokesman for a wheelchair company, he travels around the country giving talks but he is still a 26 year old guy.

To me this sums up Bryan's way of looking at life: When he first noticed his legs and hand where gone he looked at his buddy and said "Do you think I’ll ever get laid again?" I love this guy. My new Hero, stuntman Bryan Anderson.