How did you get into the stunt side of the business & since its so physical, what kind of a workout do you do to stay in shape?

Well, I used to get beat up a lot as a kid, and I thought I could make money at it!  :D  Actually, there's a saying in the biz that you either fall into it or you're born into it.  Most of the stunt people who are really busy had very active backgrounds, like martial arts, gymnastics, sports, things like that, and they met other working stunt people and started to train with them and make themselves known in the industry.  There are some places you can go to take a "stunt course," and while I do believe you can get some quality instruction at these schools, I don't think that the majority of stunt people come from this kind of avenue.  Due to the dangerous nature of the business, a stunt coordinator can't hire just anyone, so it's really a "who you know" kind of thing.  A lot of trust is involved with even the simplest stunt, so you have to be constantly networking and meeting and training with others in the stunt community.

As far as my personal workout, I try to do a lot of cardiovascular training whenever I can.  As my football coach used to say, you have to build up your wind before you can work on technique.  So I run, practice my martial arts, play ball, do pushups-crunches-pullups, and weight train as I have time.  Running and stretching are probably the two things I do the most, though.
 

In some of the NAROH episodes they actual show Matthew riding through the forest & what seems to be a simple scene like riding away from a castle, they used his double, why?

That first season, we had a riding double who did the vast majority of the horse work for Matt.  There are many reasons for this, but the primary one is that a wide shot which shows the characters leaving or arriving at a location is usually designated as a "second unit" shot.  In other words, the first unit captures most of the scene, be it dialogue, the actual actor's close ups in a fight, or what have you, and then a second crew, the second unit, comes in to get all the shots that are required to "fill out" the scene. 

For instance, if an actor in a scene is in a car and he leans down to turn on a radio, then the shot which shows the actor's face as he leans down is first unit.  However, the shot of the radio where only "his" arm is seen actually turning the knobs is second unit, and was shot at a different time, most likely with someone's arm who wasn't the actor at all.  The main reason for this is that it would take way too much time to shoot every single shot needed for the scene, and different parts of the scene may be shot in different locations, depending on the shooting schedule. 

Matt walking into the castle, as shot from inside the room, is a sound stage, and outside the castle, riding up to it, is a real castle or a facade that may be miles away from the sound stage.  Since Matt may be needed to shoot a different dialogue scene when the second unit shoots the arrival to the castle at the exterior location, the riding double performs for Matt, and it is shot in a way that minimizes the need to see Matt's face for that part of the scene.  Viola', movie magic!

What movie director would you like to work with?

I'd like to work with George Lucas, he's someone I've admired since the first Star Wars movie was released, and I really like the way his projects develop a plot.  He also has a propensity to use unknowns, and to give his actors the chance to perform and not just "reproduce," and I think that comes through in his productions.  It's always refreshing to see new faces on the screen, and not just the same people playing the same characters just in different situations!

Do you have any pets?

I had a pet rock, but I didn't feed it properly, and it died ... which is okay, since I didn't have time to walk it anyway.  I've had many pets in my life, I love cats and dogs, and horses and all kinds, but right now I'm in between pets, so I don't have any little friends running around my place.  Pets are the best friends you can have, though ... they always need you and they don't care if you're having a bad day, they just want to eat!

Linda, The Toronto Outlaw
Thanks for the questions, Linda, I hope you're happy with the answers... if not, just remember:  I AM blond!  ;)

Dave

P.S. This is a pic from a swordfight I used to do in a Pirate musical I played the lead in for about 4 and a half years.  This was taken last January, methinks!  :))