We often tend to forget that behind most movies, there is a whole team that doesn’t get the recognition they deserve. Stunt doubles risk everything to make our favorite actors and characters stand out on the screen, and the Harry Potter Saga wasn’t the exception. For over 10 years, Daniel Radcliffe worked hand in hand with his stunt double David Holmes.
Now, almost 13 years later, Daniel Radcliffe has reunited with David Holmes on screen to bring us an even more heartwarming story, a tale with themes such as “living with adversity, growing up, forging identities in an uncertain world, and the bonds that bind us together and lift us up.”
Daniel Radcliffe produced a documentary that focused on the life and challenges of David Holmes, his former Harry Potter stunt double, who was tragically paralyzed in an accident on the set of Harry Potter. David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived, will be released by Sky and HBO and was directed by Dan Hartley.
What Happened to David Holmes?
David Holmes was cast as Daniel Radcliffe’s stunt double when he was only 11 years old for the first Harry Potter film, Sorcerer’s Stone. They worked together in all the franchise movies except the last one. This is because Holmes had a terrible accident during the shooting of the seventh installment, Deathly Hallows Part 1.
Holmes was making a dangerous scene that involved an explosion that sent him plummeting to the ground. He broke his neck and got a spinal injury that left him paralyzed from the chest down.
What’s the Documentary About?
Daniel Radcliffe and David Holmes made a bond since they were kids, and the accident only brought them even closer. Throughout David’s recovery, Dan stood by his side, and they have remained close friends. Moreover, they have worked since Harry Potter, in 2020, both actors launched the podcast Cunning Stunts where they aimed to bring some light into the complex, risky, and often-forgotten work of stunt doubles in the film industry.
For the documentary, Daniel Radcliffe doesn’t only feature as executive producer, but he’s highly featured in the film as an interview subject close to David Holmes. But what is David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived about?
Besides showing Holmes’ amazing work as a stunt double, the documentary deals with “universal themes of living with adversity, growing up, and the bonds that bind people together.” As HBO’s summary reads, this is “a coming-of-age story of stuntman David Holmes, a prodigious teenage gymnast from Essex, England, who is selected to play Daniel Radcliffe’s stunt double in the first ‘Harry Potter’ film.”
The plot continues: “As Daniel and his closest stunt colleagues rally to support David and his family in their moment of need, it is David’s extraordinary spirit of resilience that becomes their greatest source of strength and inspiration.”
When Will David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived Premiere?
Daniel Radcliffe’s next film venture will be released this November 15 on HBO’s streaming platform.
