Why were two people — a body double and a stunt double — used for a character who barely appears in “The Mandalorian?”
Season 2, episode 8 of The Mandalorian features a brief — but significant — cameo from a character well known in the Star Wars universe.
While CGI technology was used to change the face of this character to fit into the timeline of The Mandalorian somehow two people were credited for the physical body of this character in the episode:
- Double for Jedi: Max Lloyd-Jones
- Stunt Double for Jedi: Matt Rugetti
Why was this done?
The character appeared for less than a few minutes total on screen, the stunts didn’t seem to strange or risky at all. The action this character engaged in seemed to be purely interactions with CGI adversaries and environments and not much else.
Is there some Hollywood bureaucratic reason this character’s brief appearance was handled this way? Something like stunt doubles are not SAG members and thus cannot “act” as well?
From my perspective, the stunt double could have easily been the body double as well so this seems a bit odd to me considering this character’s face was digitally altered.
Best Answer
Pay-scales.
Simple economics.
The stunt double would cost three times as much as the body double.
If only a day or two of stunts was required and the rest of the time simple walking/standing was all that was needed, then getting in a cheaper replacement would be the most economical solution.
You can’t ask a non-stunt-registered actor or SA to do stunts - “health and safety” and all that. Stunts are insured differently from “players” and their pay-scales are totally different.
Conversely, you can ask stunts to “act,” but you’re still going to be paying them stunt rates.
FWIW, my “qualification” for this answer is I work in the industry. Some of this information can be easily Googled, but others rely on “in world” word of mouth.
Proof of stunt rates isn’t easy to obtain as you have to be a member - you can look at bits of this but not all of it on the British Stunt Register site. Basic day rate is about £300 but variable depending on Stunt Grade. I don’t know the full range as I’m not stunts, but this is from conversations over the years on set. The British Stunt Register is the authority in this territory.
SA (supporting artist) rates are much more easily searchable (most SA agencies have this info publicly available on their site) - such as this site (amongst others). Movies usually work under the FAA/PACT agreement. Basic day about £100 plus 20 quid for doubling.
This is all UK information. The US and other territories no doubt have their own agreements, but I would doubt there is a territory where this basic difference in rates would not apply.
Pictures about "Why were two people — a body double and a stunt double — used for a character who barely appears in “The Mandalorian?”"
Why do actors used body doubles?
In some productions, a scene calls for two characters in the same shot who are portrayed by a single actor. A body double can portray one of the characters, while the credited actor plays the other, thus enabling both characters to appear simultaneously on camera.Who is the stunt double for the Mandalorian?
Meet the man behind The Mandalorian mask in The Book of Boba Fett. Brendan Wayne, the grandson of John Wayne, played Pedro Pascal's stunt double in Seasons 1 and 2 of The Mandalorian, with The Book of Boba Fett marking his official comeback to the franchise.What are stunt doubles used for?
A stunt double is often a stunt performer, specifically a skilled replacement, used for dangerous sequences or other sophisticated stunts (especially fight scenes).What do body doubles do in movies?
A body double is a person who works in the movie or television production industry. Body doubles are models that act in scenes that actors or actresses do not want to do. For example, body doubles sometimes act in love scenes or scenes of nudity, where a person's body is shown.Two people killed in horror crash at Stockleigh | 7NEWS
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