From Mr. Universe Champ to the movie star that defined the nineties, Schwarzenegger has run the gamut. His distinctive voice and huge physique turned him into an overnight star thanks to The Terminator, and as the biggest, toughest guy in Hollywood, it comes as no surprise that this behemoth did his own stunts.
Being a bodybuilder and doing movie stunts are two different things, so it’s pretty impressive that he’s able to show off both skills. Through the years the amount of stunts he’s done has dipped, just like any other aging actor, but he still proved his worth by being the mountain of muscle we all know and love.
Gal Gadot
While Wonder Woman has been part of pop culture for almost a hundred years, it took a long time before the public was ready for a movie based on the character. Israeli actress Gal Gadot has set the standard for this powerful female warrior and did all of her own stunts to bring the character to life.
To anyone who knew her, this came as no surprise. Gadot used to be a combat fitness instructor in the Israeli military. Her ability to fight for real (service in the Israeli military is mandatory) lent tons of authenticity to the character, and acting in a movie is nothing compared to being in an army.
Douglas Fairbanks
No stuntman required for this classic actor. Douglas Fairbanks's legacy is still alive today thanks to films such as The Artist, which includes a main character loosely based on Fairbanks. There are hundreds of films and still images of Fairbanks engaged in dangerous activities, from simple handstands on mountain cliffs to carrying both Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford.
He exulted in his athletic abilities and never missed a chance to put them to good use. His most famous roles are swashbuckling – in one famous moment in a Robin Hood film, a rare stuntman runs up the chain of a rising drawbridge, only to reveal the stuntman was, in fact, Fairbanks himself.
Jennifer Lawrence
Best Actress winner Jennifer Lawrence has made her name by appearing in plenty of blockbuster films, but when she started as Katniss Everdeen in the The Hunger Games series, she had just begun. Everdeen is a pro with the bow and arrow and a skilled woodswoman, which means that Lawrence had to learn how to handle herself in the same situations.
She gets into plenty of fights, pulls off some eye-popping acrobatic moves, and never lets anything bring her down. It gets to the point where Lawrence barely seemed like she was acting – if the Hunger Games were real, Lawrence might be able to emerge victorious even without the cameras.
Margot Robbie
Margot Robbie jumped into the public eye by playing the wildest woman from the DC Universe in one of the worst movies from the DC Universe, Harley Quinn. This crazed lunatic had all eyes on her during her scenes, as well as in Birds of Prey, thanks in part to a salacious outfit and unstoppable fury.
Robbie let the madness in big-time by doing her own stunts – a requirement she gave the producers, who didn't care enough, clearly. It meant a ton of extra work for Robbie, which is kind of a shame since it was all for Suicide Squad. It's like pouring gold coins into an open sewer. Yeah, there's gold down there...but...