BJ Davis has achieved the extraordinary. Not only has he performed spectacular stunts and broken world records, but he has also produced and directed many memorable Hollywood films.
Davis told me that he made his debut in Tinseltown as a walk-on extra in the popular western television series Bat Masterson, when he was just nine years old. “There was a contest to be in the show, and I got the spot,” Davis said. “That began my quest. My objective became to write, create and produce.”
He was attracted to Hollywood as a child during visits to California from eastern Texas. “I remember specifically as you go into Hollywood, you walk along the Walk of Fame. I was about four years old, and I remember seeing the stars and told my parents, ‘I’m going to be in the movies.’”
Growing up, Davis excelled in sports, rodeo and motocross racing. “I had a great, God-given gift for competing in the rodeo in saddle bronc and bareback riding, and steer-wrestling bull riding. I began to win different competitions and ultimately won Best All-Round Cowboy,” he added.
When he reached 16, he left from home and enlisted in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. He served for two years before coming to Hollywood to pursue his dream. “At this point in my life, I was breaking horses for a living and anything else I could do to become a stuntman, because I knew that it was very tough and competitive.”
In his twenties, Davis recalls the days when he tried to sneak into Universal Studios so he could hustle as a stuntman, or, as he jokingly put it, “stuntman wannabe.” The guard at the gate had been watching him. “He let me walk through the gate … because I was climbing over the fence to get into the studio. I really didn’t know anyone when I came to Hollywood. It’s good to know people that can help you open doors.” Davis credits that “special” guard for allowing him to come into the studio.
It turns out that the guard, named Scotty, was the same man who also allowed Steven Spielberg in. “You know the story. Spielberg bluffed this guy and told him that he had an office at Universal. Scotty was a dear, sweet man that worked there for so many years. He passed away about five years ago,” Davis noted.
Davis recalls when he first approached the senior stunt coordinators. “The guys from the John Wayne era, from the ‘40s and ‘50s—they didn’t want a kid from east Texas asking, ‘Can I be a stuntman?’”
According to Davis, to become a stuntman you must belong to the Screen Actor’s Guild. “You can’t work if you don’t belong to the Screen Actor’s Guild, and you can’t get membership without work, so it’s a catch-22. Very tough to get in!” he said. Davis decided to take a different approach and became a stunt coordinator instead. “I was the first stunt coordinator to advertise in the Hollywood Reporter and Variety for services in stunt coordination—coordinating equipment and personnel,” he noted.
Advertising helped Davis get work. “I was fortunate to double for five Academy- award winners: Jack Nicholson, Tommy Lee Jones, Tom Hanks, Michael Caine and Art Carney, who was very famous from the Honeymooner series.” As a stunt coordinator, Davis worked in more than 250 films and television series.
From there, Davis decided to step up his game and break two world records in stunts: an aerial neck suspension beneath a helicopter at 70 mph, from 1,000 ft., for a flight period of 20 minutes, and the highest fall from a helicopter into the ocean, from 180 ft. “I flew from Universal Studios to the Santa Monica Pier … it was an aerial trapeze. I took the initiative to create this, produce this, to catapult me ahead of the competition.”
Being suspended by a neck harness is extremely dangerous, but at that time it was all in a day’s work for Davis. “When I first began to lower myself down, the cable began to spiral and it could have snapped. I didn’t have a hand-deployed parachute or a body-pack. So, we were purely muscle,” he said proudly. “When we got to the pier, I took off the long tail tuxedo—I put that on for some flair … and then jumped out into the ocean.”
The event caused a media circus and was covered by all of the major networks. “It was a great time in history. Obviously, I was blessed and lucky to do that. We were very fortunate. We did get millions of dollars of publicity, and it did help springboard me to the next level,” Davis added.
This is the 30-year anniversary for those two records. An attempt to break them was made several years ago by another stuntman, who tragically was killed.
Davis worked as a stuntman in more than 180 films and television shows. He even organized a fraternal group of stunt players, Stunts Spectacular, which eventually became a stunt equipment and supply organization. His group created a reality-based, commercially successful video, How to Become a Hollywood Stuntman, hosted by Charlie Sheen. Davis wrote, produced and directed the video.
Davis also had the honor of being inducted into the Stuntmen’s Hall of Fame. It’s a prestigious award, which only 300 others have received since 1900.
I asked Davis about his favorite moments in Hollywood. “I’ve had the great honor of working with Clint Eastwood, Oliver Stone and John McTiernan, who did Predator and The Hunt for Red October,” he replied. “It’s such a collage of personalities, vanities and egos that really is inspiring. It’s humbling, and it’s educating to be around these people.” Davis also mentioned what a great experience it was to study at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and film Institute.
Another highlight for Davis was his involvement with the Star Trek franchise as a stunt coordinator and actor. He talked about a historic moment while shooting one of the films. “We had some of the original cast and the new cast together for the first time. That was a Star Trek moment, and it was a great honor for me to be part of that history.”
Davis recalled another great moment, “when we gave Ethan Wayne, one of John Wayne’s sons, his first job as a stuntman on the television series B.J. and the Bear. You have to pass it on.” He helped other new talent by opening doors for them as well. Davis fulfilled another longtime dream of saluting America’s heroes by creating, in association with the Medal of Honor Society, the television series Medal of Honor, hosted by Burt Reynolds.
Among his other accomplishments, Davis directed Brandon Lee in his first feature film, Laser Mission, which catapulted the son of martial arts great Bruce Lee into the spotlight. A martial arts expert himself, Davis appeared in action films with Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren and Chuck Norris. He recently partnered with noted producer John D. Schofield, who is most known for the Academy Award-winning hits Jerry Maguire and As Good as It Gets. Their partnership led to the creation of Beverly Hills Studio and yielded Davis’ first comedy, Forget About It, starring Burt Reynolds and Raquel Welch.
During his 30-year career, Davis has broken just about every bone in his body. “I’ve had chemical peels on my face … had a whole lot more hair,” he said with a laugh, “and got burned. My left hand is metal, my nose is rubber … I’ve had facial reconstruction, concussions.” But Davis has no regrets. “The essence of filmmaking is doing something with nothing and actually doing it well. My angels have also protected me all this time.”
Davis is working on a book titled Confessions of a Hollywood Stuntman. In this book, he hopes to inspire others by letting them know that “dreams can come true. I want to challenge people to go beyond,” he said.
The book also provides a behind-the-scenes look at the power deals and breaks in Hollywood. “I will give bits and pieces of Hollywood insight to certain things … personalities that will make you say, ‘Wow! I didn’t know that. Did they really do that?’” Davis commented.
Davis shared an excerpt from the upcoming book. “A prime example with Chuck Norris … I knew his wife, who he later divorced. We were in Israel and Chuck was a big star in the ‘80s. So, he’s dancing with this beautiful leading woman from Israel at a restaurant bar at a party. I was his bodyguard at the time. All of a sudden, these paparazzi start taking pictures, so I had to take the camera and the film. It almost caused an international incident,” Davis recalled.
I asked him what he thought about technology and how it has changed filmmaking and stunts. “It’s a much more narrow court of opportunity now. You can put Harrison ford in front of a runaway train, like it was done in Fugitive. The new technology … the cameras, like Collateral with Tom Cruise. They shot that with an HD camera called the Red One. You don’t have to do any lighting; you can just use the available ambient light. Opportunities are fewer for stunt players. A lot of them now try to double up as an actor … where you have one line and you come in and get beat up, get shot, or knocked out of a window. There is still opportunity there,” he said.
DAVIS’ NEW FILM, GOLIATH HAS BEEN A TOP SECRET PROJECT UNTIL NOW.
Davis is also working on a movie called Goliath, which is in pre-production. I got an exclusive sneak peek into what is sure to be a blockbuster. “Picture it in your mind. You open from the biblical standpoint, where you have young David as a shepherd boy being challenged by this giant. We then cut to Israel in the Gaza Strip in the future. There’s a firefight and an explosion. Unearthed are the remains of a giant in ancient armor. It’s taken away and recreated with DNA genetic coding, and nothing can stop him,” Davis said.
Davis’ life can be summed up by his own motto: We do the difficult immediately, the impossible by appointment—a motto that shows his commitment, pride and dedication to his work. Beyond the big screen, he actively contributes to charities and teaches film and television classes at universities. He also mentors film students. Recently, he has been helping to promote the state of Arizona with studio facilities and attractive tax incentives for producers from around the world.
Davis has a rich history of achievements. His personal walk of fame seems to be a continuing journey, a quest—with challenges along the way that he will undoubtedly take on with his personal brand of determination and with a vision to inspire those around him.
