STUNTWOMAN
Living on the Edge Why Mallory Thompson always takes the road more traveled By Michael J. Pallerino
and all those other things that real actors only get to dream about. “Jumping off buildings and getting hit by cars can be a huge adrenaline rush—and sometimes quite painful. But we methodically plan and prepare the best we can to prevent injury.” Looking ahead, Thompson says she would love to continue stunt coordinating on more films and TV shows, and also eventually become a member of the Di- rectors Guild of America. This would enable her to direct the action sequences, which also is known as second unit directing. And with so much happening here, she is em- bracing the opportunities. “There are so many films and television shows shooting in Georgia that I am finding myself working more and more in this market. I hope I can continue working and stunt coordinating in Georgia as it is a great place to film and I really enjoy the film crews in Georgia.”
“ Jumping off buildings and getting hit by cars can be a huge adrenaline rush—and sometimes quite painful. But we methodically plan and prepare the best we can to prevent injury. ” T he cave’s sheer dimensions are almost incom- prehensible. More than 994 feet wide and 1,200-plus feet deep, the Cave of Swallows in the jungles of Mexico is the largest known cave shaft in the world—like a portal to the center of the Earth, some say. To make things even more mysteriously curious, tens of thousands of birds fly in and out of the entrance every day. And there Mallory Thompson stood—surveying what would be just another day at the office. Her job was to run as fast as she could toward the edge of the cave and let the safety line catch her just as she hit the perimeter. If that is not exhilarating enough, she complemented the cave-edge running exercise with a number of blind jumps off a pyramid, diving over a camera crew filming below. This day at the office was for a role (Warlock) that Thompson was playing in a series of live action commercials for the video game, Destiny. The shoots took place in and around Arizona, Mexico and Utah. If you haven’t caught on yet, Thompson is a stunt- woman, who occasionally takes on acting gigs. Her list of credits is far too long to mention here. To get an idea of where a gig may take her, try films like Tenet , Ram- page , The Greatest Showman , Sully , Ambulance , Django Unchained or TV series such as The Mandalorian , Gaslit , S.W.A.T. , Fear the Walking Dead and Mayans M.C. Oh, and she recently performed stunts for Top Gun: Maverick and the upcoming Avatar sequels, to name but a few. “Sometimes, when an action scene is written in a script, it may be a seemingly impossible feat,” Thompson says. “So we work hard to make it something that can be
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ONE-ON-ONE WITH MALLORY THOMPSON TV work or film work? Both. I find that with so much content being filmed and the boom of television, I enjoy work- ing on either. So many TV shows are filmed cin- ematically now as well. TV is great because it is a quicker turnaround and you get to see the end- product sooner. Movies sometimes have more time to prepare and shoot so you can really fine- tune the action. Biggest stars you've worked with? Julia Roberts, Zendaya and Jennifer Garner. Favorite on-set experience? Avatar 2 performing as a Na’vi. Best film you worked on? Avatar 2 . Best TV show? Gaslit . Dream role? Second unit directing a female-led action film. In one word, describe what you do. Perform. Advice you would give someone wanting to do stunt work? Train, train, train. Never stop learning, and persist.
Mallory Thompson
Photo by Erica Simone
done practically and safely. I want the action to look real and believable, but also impressive and entertaining.” A gymnast from the moment she could walk, Thompson segued into pole vaulting in high school and at Louisiana State University, where upon graduation was introduced to stunts in the then burgeoning Louisiana film industry. After two years of cutting her teeth filming in Louisiana, she moved to Los Angeles in 2011 to pur- sue stunting at a higher level. “I have always been a high- level athlete and stunt work allows me to pursue a physi- cally demanding, creative career that brings in so much excitement. I love being a part of filmmaking and creat- ing stories for people to enjoy. I am excited, as I am now taking the next step in my career as a stunt coordinator, in which I get to be more involved with the creative side of developing the film’s action and working with the di- rector to make his or her vision come to life.” Along with that cave jumping job, Thompson has been hit and thrown off moving vehicles, scaled high-rise buildings above the LA skyline, crashed through windows,
THE GEORGIA HOLLYWOOD REVIEW | FALL 2022 | 11
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