David Holmes

Early life and career

Holmes grew up in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex. He was a daredevil and competitive gymnast as a child. After seeing him jump from his bedroom window onto the trampoline in the garden, his mother signed him up for the local gymnastics club. In 1997, through his gymnastics club, he landed a role as a “stunt kid” for sci-fi movie Lost In Space (1998), starring Friends actor Matt LeBlanc. For his stunt career, he trained in gymnastics, trampolining, high diving, kick boxing, horse riding, and swimming.

Holmes worked as Daniel Radcliffe's stunt double for Harry Potter in the first six Harry Potter films. Holmes was spotted as a potential Radcliffe double by stunt coordinator Greg Powell, who asked him to do a broomstick test for director Chris Columbus. “I found myself in this wonderful studio strapped to the back of a truck, getting towed down the runway, dragging my feet along the floor.... That's how I got the job."

Describing doing stunts as his "calling in life", Holmes said doubling for Radcliffe was "the best job in the world." "I had the time of my life on the Harry Potter set. I was the first person to play Quidditch on a broomstick." In addition to doubling for Radcliffe, he occasionally also doubled for Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy and played a Slytherin beater in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. "It was an amazing experience. I loved it and Dan was an absolute pleasure to work with. The cast and crew were like a second family."

Harry Potter accident and aftermath

On 28 January 2009, while rehearsing a stunt sequence on a wire for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, Holmes, then 25 years old, was hurled into a wall and broke his neck, leaving him permanently paralysed from the chest down. "I was filming a scene where Harry fights a snake and I remember hitting the wall and my chest folding into my nose. I was fully conscious for the whole thing. I knew I had broken my neck." When stunt director Greg Powell ran over and squeezed his hand, he could not feel anything. Another stuntman on set described him as looking like a "puppet with strings cut", as he was "sagging" while hanging from the wire. Holmes underwent multiple surgeries, and spent seven months at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Stanmore; Radcliffe, Felton, and Matthew Lewis regularly visited him while he was there.

As well as his paralysis, Holmes describes suffering from PTSD from his accident, and had difficulty adjusting to his new life. “I have gone from being able to stand on my hands for half an hour at a time and then all of a sudden I can’t sit up in bed." He initially turned to drugs to cope with his injury. He requires 24-hour care, and his condition is degenerative. Due to a cyst on his spine, he progressively loses function, and is expected to someday lose the ability to talk, eat, and breathe on his own. “I go through the stages of grief with every muscle group I lose."

Holmes was credited for additional stunts on Mortdecai (2015). However he was not involved in the filming, Holmes recalled “I was booked on Mortdecai to sit in my wheelchair to sit in the back of a restaurant as a fight routine kicks off. I never made it to work that day because of an infection, but because they booked me they put on the credit list.”

Holmes started Ripple Productions, along with two friends who are also paralysed. In 2020, they launched a podcast with Daniel Radcliffe, called Cunning Stunts, where they interview other stunt actors to raise awareness about the risks they face. Holmes participates in charity events to raise money for hospitals and advocates for disability rights. After becoming disabled, he took up automobile racing, driving a car with hand controls rather than foot pedals. Holmes' girlfriend, Rosie, is also paralysed. "It took me to break my neck to meet the woman of my dreams."

Filmography