David Holmes, who worked on the Harry Potter films as a stunt double, was left paralyzed after he slammed into a wall, falling to the floor, and breaking his neck during filming.
David is set to appear in a new TV documentary that explores his time as a stunt double and the accident that left him as a permanent wheelchair user. The show is called David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived. It is presented by Daniel Radcliffe, who also was executive producer, and played Harry Potter.
The job of a lifetime and a freak accident
On landing the job, the former stuntman was spotted by stunt coordinator Greg Powell as a teen.
He said: “I found myself in this wonderful studio strapped to the back of a truck, getting towed down the runway, dragging my feet along the floor in front of Chris Columbus, the director. So that’s how I got my job.”
While filming Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 in 2009, David, who was the stunt double for a number of celebrities starring in the Hollywood films, including Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley), and even Emma Watson (Hermione Granger).
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He was filming a ‘jerk back’ stunt meant to replicate the effects of an explosion when he fell to the ground and injured himself.
‘I looked into his eyes and I realized something major happened’
Speaking about the accident to The Mirror, he said: “I hit the wall and then landed on the crash mat underneath.
“My stunt co-ordinator grabbed my hand and said, ‘squeeze my fingers’. I could move my arm to grab his hand but I couldn’t squeeze his fingers.”
David Holmes continued: “I looked into his eyes and that’s when I realized what happened was major. I remember slipping in and out of consciousness because of the pain levels.
“I’d broken a bone before, so recognizing that weird feeling across my whole body from my fingertips right down to my toes, I knew I had really done some damage. My first thought was, ‘Don’t ring Mum and Dad’. I don’t want to worry them.”
He said that after being rushed to two hospitals, Watford General Hospital and Royal National Orthopedic Hospital respectively: “My first thoughts weren’t about not being able to walk again. It was all the other stuff, like not being able to dance again or have sex.”
David Holmes is still good friends with the cast
Despite not doing stunts for the final installment of the film series, David has continued to be good friends with the cast, especially Tom Felton and Daniel Radcliffe.
“I’ve built relationships with all of the cast. Some I speak to more than the others, but I absolutely speak to all of them,” he said.
On his relationship with Daniel, 34, he told LadBible he was “like family.”
“It wasn’t just as his stunt double, but I was his PE teacher, we’ve shared holidays together, and now I get to watch him grow as a man. One of my greatest pleasures is having him in my life.”
Talking about Tom, the 42-year-old : “He’s currently in Kazakhstan on a film,” he explains. “I’m a bit worried about him because he’s out there on his own with armed guards.
“So, I was just checking in with him, I send him a little playlist now and again, and just remind him to reach out and ring his friends when he feels lonely.”
The HBO documentary, David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived, will be available to watch from November 18.
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