Daniel Radcliffe Producing Documentary on Paralyzed 'Harry Potter' Stunt Double
Daniel Radcliffe and David Holmes in David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived
Daniel Radcliffe is honoring his former stunt double from the Harry Potter series with his own film.
Radcliffe is a producer on and featured in the documentary David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived. The project is focused on on Holmes' life and experiences before and after a harrowing on-set accident while filming Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 that left him paralyzed from the waist down.
Holmes served as Radcliffe's stunt double in every movie in the franchise before the accident, and the pair became close friends through the years. In 2020, Radcliffe and Holmes teamed up for the podcast Cunning Stunts, in which they examined the stunt industry on a larger scale.
"I think there's a myth around stuntmen that they are just superhuman in some way," Radcliffe previously told Deadline. "When the public see something really painful or horrible, they think it was a visual effect or that there's some clever, safe way of doing it. Often that's not the case. There's no way of faking, for example, falling down stairs. When you get hit by a car, you're still getting hit by a car, even if it's going slower than it would. They find the safest way of doing it, but it can still hurt."
Here's everything to know about Daniel Radcliffe's documentary David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived.
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In what scene did Harry Potter's stunt double get paralyzed?
Warner Bros.
Holmes was rehearsing for an explosion scene in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 when he broke his neck.
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How was Daniel Radcliffe's stunt double injured?
Holmes was reportedly rehearsing a flying scene on wires for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and jerked back to mimic the impact of an explosion. Something went terribly wrong, however, and the wire pulled Holmes back and slammed him into a wall before he landed on the crash mat below.
The impact of hitting the wall broke Holmes' neck, leaving him paralyzed from the chest down and with limited mobility in his arms, hands and fingers.
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Did Harry Potter's stunt double get hurt?
Yes. Holmes broke his neck rehearsing a stunt, leaving him with limited mobility and sensation below his chest.
Radcliffe and his castmates, including Tom Felton, regularly visited Holmes in the hospital during his recovery.
Radcliffe remains close friends with Holmes and previously held charity auctions to help Holmes with his medical bills. He told The Mirror in 2014, "I've got a relationship that goes back many, many years with Dave. And I would hate for people to just see me and Dave and go, 'Oh, there's Daniel Radcliffe with a person in a wheelchair'—because I would never, even for a moment, want them to assume that Dave was anything except for an incredibly important person in my life."
What is Daniel Radcliffe's documentary about?
According to an official synopsis from HBO:
The film 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, when Daniel is just 11. Over the next 10 years, the two form an inextricable bond, but on the penultimate film a tragic accident on set leaves David paralyzed with a debilitating spinal injury, turning his world upside down. 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.
The film features interviews with Holmes, his family and friends, crew members and, of course, Radcliffe.
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What is the release date for David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived?
You'll be able to watch it on HBO and Max beginning Nov. 15, 2023, at 9 p.m. ET.
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How can I watch Daniel Radcliffe's documentary David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived?
David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived will premiere on HBO on Nov. 15, 2023, at 9 p.m. ET. It will be available to stream on Max (formerly HBO Max).
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Is Daniel Radcliffe's stunt double documentary streaming?
You'll be able to stream David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived on Max (formerly HBO Max) stateside.
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