According to prominent female stunt professionals, a “drastic transformation” is required to put an end to the “backward” practices of the British stunt industry, which often involves men wearing wigs to impersonate women.
“It’s truly disheartening from my perspective,” states stunt coordinator Tiger Lilli Rudge during her conversation with Sky News at Space Studios in Manchester.
Having worked as a stunt performer for 15 years, she is now dedicated to training other women to acquire the necessary skills for careers in film and television, fully recognizing from her personal experience that they will encounter multiple challenges.
“Women invest significant time and effort and are more than capable of performing the tasks… and yet we resort to dressing a man in a wig,” she remarks.
Several stuntwomen express that the industry continues to be a “boy’s club”
She continues: “The rationale they provide is that they had to employ a man because no woman was available for the role, but I can affirm that this is entirely false, as I know countless women who are skilled drivers, bikers, and possess other talents. There’s a wealth of capability out there.”
Years ago, during the height of male-dominated action films, the practice known as “wigging” was quite prevalent. In contemporary times, it is predominantly viewed as unacceptable.
This term, which is commonly used in the industry, refers to the act of placing a wig on a stuntman to enable him to portray a female character for certain hazardous action sequences.
In Amazon Prime’s high-budget spy series Citadel, as one would anticipate, all primary cast members have dedicated stunt doubles who reflect appropriate gender and ethnicity.
However, Sky News has acquired images of a stunt driver styled in a wig and heavy make-up to mimic a female.
Tiger Rudge, stunt coordinator
Filmed just a few months prior, it is believed that this decision followed an incident with the initial female driver, leading to a last-minute substitution – and a man happened to be the only individual available quickly who possessed the necessary skills.
Many female stunt performers and drivers are familiar with this rationale – the notion that there is a shortage of women in the industry – yet they report that even those qualified individuals are often overlooked for assignments as they argue the stunt arena persists as a “boys club”.
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“It’s incredibly outdated,” asserts Ms. Rudge. “In America, things are much more progressive… we are significantly lagging behind here and a radical overhaul is necessary.”
She continues: “The chances for women are greatly diminished so… they have to acquire all these skills, whether it’s with bikes, cars, or horses, yet when it comes to hiring, they are not receiving opportunities.
“For any role involving weapons or hazardous elements, it invariably goes to men….there exists a stereotype that women are somehow less competent than men.”
A recent investigation led by Dr. Laura Crossley, a film lecturer at Bournemouth University, revealed that even with the rise of female action roles, women still face obstacles in joining core stunt teams.
Dr. Laura Crossley
“The substantial evidence indicates that it is incredibly challenging for women to advance to the positions of stunt directors and coordinators,” Dr. Crossley articulates.
“These roles typically determine who is included in the stunt teams, and predominantly, they are held by men.”
She adds: “I don’t believe it is an intentional effort to exclude women; rather, it’s a persistent culture… because stunt work has historically existed in a somewhat obscure space… they often lack the level of transparency required.”
“It is often a boys’ club… if a stuntwoman is invited, she is not always integrated into the core team, but may be brought in solely for a specific scene. Subsequently, if new tasks arise, the stunt director likely turns to his regular crew and says, ‘alright, you’re up, you’ll handle this.’
As we enter 2024, she contends, it is hard to rationalize that a man in a wig is the sole viable option.
“This is an issue that we recognized occurring back in the 1960s and 1970s, to some degree, but I didn’t realize it persisted for so long… it should absolutely be a standard within the industry that men cannot double for women, nor should white stunt professionals double for individuals of color,” she asserts.
Considering the nature of film and television production environments, it is challenging to accurately assess how frequently men impersonate women.
With regard to the images acquired from the set of Citadel Season 2, Sky News understands that Amazon MGM strives to ensure that stunt doubles are gender and ethnicity specific. It is noted that instances of stuntmen dressing as women occur only under exceptional circumstances.
However, Ms. Rudge contends that such occurrences should not happen at all.
She emphasizes: “This issue originates from the highest levels – productions need to recognize female stunt coordinators, and then female coordinators will support women…. If there is not an increase in hiring women, none of this will change.”
