A horrific accident on the set of a Harry Potter movie left David Holmes paralysed for life.
Being offered a role to be part of the famous Wizarding World is almost an impossible offer to turn down, but for stunt doubles, the job is very different.
Where an actor may be nervous about getting a line wrong or not hitting their mark, stunt doubles rely on a team to get the execution and equipment perfectly right, or face the long-term consequences.
Sadly, the latter is what happened to Holmes, who was Daniel Radcliffe’s stunt double.
Holmes was a teenage gymnast when he was part of the film franchise, and was responsible for pulling off all the dangerous moves that Radcliffe couldn’t do, meaning that he got to have some fun flying on broomsticks and flying into walls.
Prior to being the star’s stunt double, he’d also acted as Hermione (Emma Watson) for some of her stunts, too.
But while filming for the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, a stunt went wrong for the young Brit from Essex.
The stunt involved Holmes being thrown into a wall, as Ratcliffe recalled, when speaking in Sky and HBO documentary, David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived: “It was a jerk back into, in theory through a wall, in the fight with Nagini.”
Another stuntman on set explained that they did the stunt the day before with no issues, adding: “We’ve done the jerk the day before…
“Three, two, one. Like a blur, I’ve never seen a human being move that fast, even to this day,” he said.
He also described him as looking like a ‘puppet with strings cut’, as he was ‘sagging’ while hanging from the a wire.
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Holmes has not only helped to produce the documentary about his life, but also penned a book of the same name, which good friend Radcliffe has also helped to promote, also writing a foreword for it.
The pair met earlier this month, with Holmes sharing photos on Instagram, adding: “I was fortunate enough to have a wonderful day yesterday catching up with Dan, not only was it a great day catching up with one of my best friends but it is such a joy it is to see him smashing it as a father.”
Holmes added that the two spoke and film and TV, as well as music, while getting a visit from another one of their friends, Marc Mailley.
Radcliffe also signed a few copies of his book, which will be auctioned for chairty in the next few years.
Speaking to The Mirror in 2014, Holmes recalled how he felt after the accident took place, revealing: “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.
“I looked into his eyes and that’s when I realised what happened was major.”
Slipping in and out of consciousness while being taken to hospital, he devastatingly found out upon waking up that he was paralysed from the waist down and left with limited movement in his arms and hands.
He said: “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.”
You can buy The Boy Who Lived on Amazon.
