Simon Crane (born 1960) is a British stuntman,

stunt coordinator A stunt coordinator, usually an experienced stunt performer, is hired by a TV, film or theatre director or production company for casting stunt performers. Their job is to arrange the casting (stunt players and stunt doubles) and performance of s ...

second unit A second unit is a discrete team of filmmakers tasked with filming shots or sequences of a production, separate from the main or "first" unit. The second unit will often shoot simultaneously with the other unit or units, allowing the filming s ...

director and

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

Biography

Born in

Twickenham Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

Middlesex, England Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the Thames in the south, the Lea to the east and the Colne to the west. A line of hi ...

. Crane was originally a law student, but not liking it, he dropped out after one year and worked as an acrobat in a circus for three years. To fulfill English requirements for stuntmen to achieve instructor level in six sports, Crane became an instructor in gymnastics, parachuting, scuba diving, high diving, karate, and fencing. When he could not obtain a union card as a stuntman fast enough, he became an instructor in three more sports, including hang gliding. His father, Dr. John Crane, was the doctor for

Arsenal F.C. The Arsenal Football Club, commonly known as simply Arsenal, is a professional football club based in Islington, North London, England. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. In domestic football, Arsenal h ...

and the

England national football team The England national football team have represented England in international Association football, football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by the Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in Eng ...

Career

Crane's first major work came in the 1985

Bond Bond or bonds may refer to: Common meanings * Bond (finance), a type of debt security * Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States * Fidelity bond, a type of insurance policy for employers * Chemical bond, t ...

film ''

A View to a Kill ''A View to a Kill'' is a 1985 spy film, the fourteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the seventh and final appearance of Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Although the title is adapted from ...

''. In 1987 he became Timothy Dalton's stunt double in ''

The Living Daylights ''The Living Daylights'' is a 1987 spy film, the fifteenth entry in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the first of two to star Timothy Dalton as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The fourth film in the series to ...

''. He also played the character of Che Che in a reenactment of the "gatecrasher" fight scene from '' On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' traditionally used to test the fighting skills of actors up for the part of James Bond.

Vic Armstrong Victor Monroe Armstrong (born 5 October 1946) is a British film director, stunt coordinator, second unit director, and stunt double—the world's most prolific, according to the ''Guinness Book of Records''. Career An early role of his before ...

coordinated the fight. Actors believed to have tested opposite Crane in the screen tests include

Mark Greenstreet Mark Greenstreet (born 19 April 1960) is a British actor, writer and director. Career First and foremost a stage actor, Greenstreet played leading roles from the works of Shakespeare, Anton Chekhov, Chekhov, and Ibsen to Joe Orton, Orton, Osc ...

Sam Neill Sir Nigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill (born 14 September 1947) is a New Zealand actor. His career has included leading roles in both dramas and blockbusters. Considered an "international leading man", he is regarded as one of the most versatile acto ...

and

Pierce Brosnan Pierce Brendan Brosnan (born 16 May 1953) is an Irish actor and film producer. He was the fifth actor to play the fictional secret agent Portrayal of James Bond in film, James Bond in the List of James Bond films, James Bond film series, starri ...

. After spending five years as the

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in ...

to an experienced stunt coordinator, Crane was allowed to act as second unit stunt coordinator on ''

Licence to Kill ''Licence to Kill'' is a 1989 spy film, the sixteenth in the List of James Bond films, ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the second and final film to star Timothy Dalton as the MI6 agent James Bond (literary character), J ...

''. In 1993, Crane performed the dangerous-looking aerial transfer for the film ''

Cliffhanger A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious situation, facing a difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode of serialized fiction or bef ...

'', for which he earned an entry in the

Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

for being part of the most expensive

stunt A stunt is an unusual, difficult, dramatic physical feat that may require a special skill, performed for artistic purposes usually for a public audience, as on television or in theaters or cinema. Stunts are a feature of many action films. Befo ...

ever performed. It cost $1 million to have Simon Crane descending on a rope between two planes at an

altitude Altitude is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum (geodesy), datum and a point or object. The exact definition and reference datum varies according to the context (e.g., aviation, geometr ...

of 4,572 m (15,000 ft).

Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Gardenzio "Sly" Stallone (; born July 6, 1946) is an American actor and filmmaker. In a Sylvester Stallone filmography, film career spanning more than fifty years, Stallone has received List of awards and nominations received by Syl ...

allotted the amount from his own salary to pay for the stunt. In 1995 he became the overall stunt coordinator for ''

GoldenEye ''GoldenEye'' is a 1995 spy film, the seventeenth in the List of James Bond films, ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional Secret Intelligence Service, MI6 agent James Bond (lit ...

'' – the opening

bungee jump Bungee jumping (), also spelled bungy jumping, is an activity that involves a person jumping from a great height while connected to a large elastic cord. The launching pad is usually erected on a tall structure such as a building or crane, a ...

was voted the greatest film stunt ever in a poll for

Sky Movies Sky Cinema is a British subscription film service owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). In the United Kingdom, Sky Cinema channels currently broadcast on the Sky satellite and Virgin Media cable platforms, and in addition Sky Cinema on ...

. After a four-year break from the Bond franchise, during which he coordinated stunts for the Academy Award-winning films ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers a ...

'' (in which he happened to play fourth officer

Joseph Boxhall Commander Joseph Groves Boxhall RD, RNR (23 March 1884 – 25 April 1967) was a British sailor who was the fourth officer on the , and later served as a naval officer in World War I. Boxhall was the last surviving former officer of ''Titanic'' ...

, and had two lines) and ''

Saving Private Ryan ''Saving Private Ryan'' is a 1998 American epic war film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat. Set in 1944 in Normandy, France, during World War II, it follows a group of soldiers, led by Captain John Miller ( Tom Hanks) ...

'', Crane returned to handle the stunts for ''

The World Is Not Enough ''The World Is Not Enough'' is a 1999 spy film, the nineteenth in the List of James Bond films, ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions and the third to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional Secret Intelligence Service, MI6 agent Jam ...

'', with Vic Armstrong as second unit director. Crane also took the role of stunt coordinator in

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, rapper, and film producer. Known for his work in both Will Smith filmography, the screen and Will Smith discography, music industries, List of awards and nominations re ...

's '' Hancock'' (2008). He was to make his directorial début directing a film adaptation of the popular video game, Kane & Lynch: Dead Men but departed from the project. Crane directed the 3-D supernatural thriller ''The Peak'', which was based on a screenplay from Neal Marshall Stevens and Crane worked with Will Smith again as second unit director and stunt coordinator on ''

Men in Black 3 ''Men in Black 3'' (stylized as ''MIB³'') is a 2012 American science fiction action comedy film based on the comic book series, in turn based on the conspiracy theory. It is the third installment in the ''Men in Black'' film series. Direct ...

''.

Filmography

Actor: * ''

'' (1987) – Gibraltar Soldier #1 (uncredited) * '' Blue Ice'' (1992) – Secret Serviceman (uncredited) * ''

'' (1995) – Lt. François Brouse – Tiger Helicopter Pilot (uncredited) * ''

'' (1997) – 4th Officer

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Crane, Simon Living people British stunt performers 1960 births