2022 has been the year of action films with some of the most daring action sequences and fight scenes like The Northman and Uncharted. Knowing that the actors in these films complete most of these scenes without stunt doubles, it’s interesting to find out the training they put themselves through for these roles.
Actors have always gone above and beyond for title roles in a film, with a few actors taking up lessons and training to master some incredible skills that their characters may possess. Ranker has comprised a list of fan-voted skills they feel come in handy off-screen, while also taking a look at the rigorous training actors subject themselves to for the love of their craft.
Note: Ranker lists are live and continue to accrue votes, so some rankings may have changed after this publishing.
Jesse Eisenberg Learned Close-Up Magic Skills For ‘Now You See Me’
In Now You See Me, Jesse Eisenberg plays J. Daniel Atlas who’s a talented street magician and illusionist. To convincingly play such a sly yet skillful character, Eisenberg decided to learn more than just the hand movements to give off the illusion of a good trick, as reported by Collider.
For his role, Jesse Eisenberg learned the fundamentals of magic in order to perform professionally on camera. He took his training seriously and used the principles he learned to incorporate them into some of the tricks and illusions he would have to “perform.”
Angel Elgort Trained As A Stunt Driver For ‘Baby Driver’
Ansel Elgort’s portrayal of the stoic yet talented Baby in Baby Driver is amazingly done and well-acted. Many fans would consider the character Baby as one of the best getaway drivers in film. However, one would not be able to pull off such skill without a little practice, so that’s exactly what Elgort did.
In order to prepare for his role in the film and provide a convincing performance, Ansel reportedly spent time training with actual stunt drivers and learning the ends and outs of a car in order to deliver a believable interpretation of his character (via YouTube). In an interview with Seth Meyers, the actor revealed took up ten stunt driving classes, even receiving Baby’s car from the film for his birthday (per YouTube).
Terry O’Quinn Learned And Became Fond Of Knife -Throwing For ‘Lost’
Still considered one of the most dynamic and spirited series depicting survival, Lost introduced so many titular characters over its six seasons and John Locke (played by Terry O’Quinn) was one of these characters.
With his character being a user of knives, O’Quinn took up learning knife throwing, quickly becoming skilled in the art and even giving tutorials on YouTube. Taking his new skills off-screen, Terry O’Quinn quickly turned knife throwing into a hobby of his because of his role in Lost.
Daniel Day-Lewis Lived Off The Land For 6 Months For ‘The Last Of The Mohicans’
Considered by Rotten Tomatoes as one of Daniel Day-Lewis’ best movies, The Last Of The Mohicans follows the last members of a dying Native American tribe as two of the men must rescue the daughters of a British colonel in the middle of the French and Indian War. Daniel Day-Lewis took on the role knowing the location and discomfort that was to follow the role and decided to prepare.
For the movie, Day-Lewis decided to live off the land for 6 months with no resources but the ones he was able to provide. This meant him learning to fish, hunt, and skin animals (via The Independent).
Margot Robbie Learned To Hold Her Breath For 5 Minutes For ‘Suicide Squad’
Margot Robbie takes devotion to a role to the next level and the actress showed this when portraying Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad. In the film, Harley must hold her breath underwater for one minute and this meant Margot Robbie had to learn to do so off-screen.
To prepare, Robbie would train and meditate underwater to achieve her desired results. However, the actress revealed in an interview with Jimmy Fallon (via YouTube), that instead of practicing holding her breath for one minute, she did 5 minutes at a time and would have gone longer if she were not advised against it. Don’t try this at home.
Halle Berry Became One Of The Best Weapons Handlers In Hollywood For ‘John Wick 3’
An actress that continues to show her depth and range with her craft, Halle Berry took things to the next level for John Wick 3. After taking on the role of Sofia, a highly trained assassin, Berry decided to learn the ropes of handling a weapon, as shown in behind-the-scenes footage on YouTube.
Training with 3 broken ribs, Berry didn’t let her injuries stop her from taking her upcoming role seriously. In an interview with Insider, her trainer states that she’s “the best weapons handler in Hollywood” and her accurate target practice proves this sentiment.
Margot Robbie Learned To Mimic Professional Olympic Ice Skating For ‘I, Tonya’
If anyone ever doubts Margot Robbie’s range of acting ability, all they would have to do is take a look at her portrayal of Tonya Harding in I, Tonya. Portraying the talented Olympic skater called for a lot of practice and that’s exactly what Robbie did in one of the best films about ice skating.
As reported by ESPN, before filming begin, Robbie spent 3 months skate training with the film’s choreographer. Fans will be surprised to learn that it was Robbie herself that did the first minute of Harding’s actual Olympic routine and nailed it.
Joseph Levitt-Gordon Learned To Tightrope Walk For ‘The Walk’
Joseph Levitt-Gordon took on the role of Philippe Petit, a tightrope walker who completed a walk between the Twin Towers in 1974 in the film The Walk. Not an easy skill to just have on hand, Levitt-Gordon took on training with Petit himself to grasp every facet of the role (via Business Insider).
Although the training was intense, Gordon succeeded in mastering the skill of tightrope walking for the role. Even though his skills aren’t on a professional level, he’s still able to walk a tightrope 2 inches off the ground and 12 feet with a little preparation.
Keanu Reeves Learned To Surf For ‘Point Break’
One of Keanu Reeves’ best action movies, Point Break follows an FBI agent as he goes undercover with a gang of bank-robbing surfers. According to Entertainment Weekly, because the film involved lots of time in the water and on a board, Reeves had to learn off-screen how to surf.
Spending two months with his cast mates learning to surf from expert Dennis Jarvis, Reeves took to the sport with ease. To keep up with the sport after filming was over, Reeves asked to have his very own custom board made by Jarvis for personal use.
Uma Thurman Learned Multiple Fighting Styles For ‘Kill Bill’
Uma Thurman will forever be known as the hardcore bride in the Kill Bill franchise. Her character in the films became a force to be reckoned with and had the fighting skills to back her up.
Although the fighting sequences in the film came off so effortlessly, Uma and her fellow female castmates had to train for 8-hour days for a consecutive 3 months (per IndieWire). With their progress monitored by Quentin Tarantino himself, there was no room for mistakes and Uma Thurman proves this in her role as the bride.
