Michelle C. Smith: Redefining Hollywood's Stunt Landscape

Leading Hollywood Stuntwoman Amasses Millions Of Followers For Teaching Next Generation Of Performers

Empowering Women and Shaping Action Cinema

Michelle C. Smith: Redefining Hollywood’s Stunt Landscape

Stunt work is one of the critical components of making an action film or shows in Hollywood. However, only 30% of stunt performers are females. Thus, the question arises as to how women can make a name for themselves in the industry. Michelle C. Smith, a leading stuntwoman and fight choreographer in Hollywood, has millions of followers on social media, where she teaches the younger generation the art of stunt work. Smith’s extensive work includes blockbuster films like Deadpool, Apple TV’s See, and CW’s Supergirl. She shares that there are no agents for stunt performers, and networking and building relationships are the keys to getting stunt work.

Smith’s journey into the world of stunt performing began when she was five years old when she started twirling a baton. Her love for dance and competition led her to become a national and world champion baton twirler. In Vancouver, she met people working with the Underground Circus, where she first experienced life as a working artist, as her troupe booked corporate gigs. The stunt and circus entertainment communities are closely linked, so she started meeting stunt performers. Smith observed some workers practicing fighting with swords and asked to join them. She realized that she could make a career working in Hollywood at that moment.

In 2008, Smith focused on stunt work after ten years in the circus and one motion capture film on her resume, Barbie and Three Musketeers. The Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief production came to town looking for people who knew acrobatics, and Smith worked on the stunt team as one of the stunt warriors. She quickly became well-known in the industry for her abilities to train, teach and explain the movement to actors she was doubling or working with on set.

Stunt performers, like professional athletes, have a limited number of years to push their bodies to the extreme. Smith is still working, but she feels the wear and tear. She says, “When I was turning 30, that’s when I started realizing that things hurt in my body, and things that I used to be able to do, like lift my leg up and pull it behind my head, were just like, ‘Oh, that’s not actually like good for me to be doing to my body anymore.'” She adds that much of their self-worth as performers is wrapped up in what they can do.

Through the pandemic, Smith hit a wall of burnout, specifically around performing. She’s been performing since she was five years old, and she says she’s ready to find out who she is when she’s not doing that. In 2014, Smith began showcasing baton and bo staff tricks in social media videos. Since then, she has expanded her video content to include tutorials on the lightsaber, knives, other handheld weapons, and hand-to-hand combat. Her online academy, Freestyle Staff Academy, is a subscription service that teaches members how to freestyle staff spin, a combination of baton manipulation with martial arts and performance arts.

TOP 3 LIGHTSABER TRICKS | Michelle C. Smith (Intermediate)

As Smith transitions in her career, she focuses on the following essential steps:

Be specific about your next career move. Figure out what isn’t working for you in your current situation and how you want to improve it.
Keep an open mind when it comes to pivoting. You might find throughout your journey that you prefer to be working in a different industry or sector.
Preparing as much as you can is underrated. Preparation will enhance your success when you’re presented with the opportunity of a lifetime.

Smith believes that people are afraid to try new things, mess up, or be vulnerable. She talks to her students about how important it is to be willing to drop things. According to her, if you want to learn how to do all this fancy stuff.