Let’s be realistic, not everyone is Tom Cruise or Jet Li and are able to do their own stunts.
Many actors have to rely on stunt doubles for scenes that can only be done by trained professionals.
Recently, Mediacorp actress Cheryl Chou, 28, had to shoot a car crash scene with Benjamin Tan for upcoming Mediacorp drama Devil Behind The Gates.
Though the dangerous scenes were eventually filmed with a stunt double, Cheryl, who was Miss Universe Singapore 2016, really wanted to do them herself.
“Since the beginning, I had asked them to let me film the car crash scene myself. But due to safety concerns, the crew decided to use a professional stunt double instead,” she said to Shinmin Daily.
Cheryl, who is trained in martial arts, also said that a martial arts instructor once told her that girls should get a driving licence for heavy-duty motorcycles as it equips them with a new skill and allows them to act out their own stunts while filming.
“I really wanted to learn after hearing that but I never had the time. After all, it took me five years to actually get my driver’s licence,” she confessed.
Yes, five years.
When 8days.sg reached out to Cheryl, she revealed that she developed a fear of being behind the wheel after witnessing her fair share of accidents when she and her family lived in China.
“I used to travel up and down Suzhou and Shanghai during the early years of living there. We would have to drive through a long and wide stretch of highway to get from one place to another, and sometimes my family and I would travel late at night to get home,” she recalled.
Cheryl was told about a family that crossed the highway on foot late at night — just like how her family would — and unfortunately met with accident involving a lorry.
“That and other similar stories as well as seeing humans and animals meeting with accidents on the road developed a sense of fear and heightened energy in me whenever I’m in a motorised vehicle,” she said.
Someone close to Cheryl also got into a car accident before.
“One of my helpers was involved with a hit-and-run after returning home after work. I remember visiting her in the hospital and seeing her bruises and stitches,” recalled Cheryl.
Though her helper’s injuries were mild, she couldn’t return to work with Cheryl’s family after the accident as she needed time to recover.
Cheryl’s journey to getting a driving license was further delayed after going for her first practical class because of a “very fierce” instructor who made her even more nervous.
She procrastinated on getting a license after that and only set her mind to it when she needed it for filming.
Then the Covid-19 lockdown happened.
The actress ended up taking her final theory test twice as the results of the first had expired. She also changed from manual driving to auto-driving and then switched driving schools, which was why it took her so long get her license.
“It has been four years since I got my license and I really enjoy driving now,” she said.