A Rabbit’s Foot
You’ve worked on everything from Bond to Marvel. Did you always see yourself becoming a stunt performer, or did you arrive there by accident?

Bobby Holland Hanton: Becoming a stunt performer definitely wasn’t a straight line. I started as a gymnast at four years old and trained intensely—five or six days a week, four to five hours a session—right up until I was 17, competing for my country. Then three big things happened at once: I lost my Russian coach, I had a serious back injury, and I suddenly shot up in height. In gymnastics, you want to be small and compact; I went from being one of the smallest to the tallest in my age group in about 18 months. My lower back took a lot of stress, and I had to retire. I was devastated. After that, I poured myself into football, playing semi-pro for Fareham Town from about 17 to 19. But all that time, I think of it as getting a “physical degree.” Gymnastics is the best base you can have for anything physical—spatial awareness, core strength, coordination, understanding how to control your centre of gravity. It all transfers to whatever you do next.

A Rabbit’s Foot
So how did that “physical degree” turn into a stunt career? 

Bobby Holland Hanton: It started with a newspaper ad. There was an audition for a live acrobatic stunt show at Legoland Windsor. They had a 10-metre diving tower, gym equipment along the dock, and water all around—basically a playground for ex-gymnasts. I was 19, thought I’d give it a go, and got the job. I spent a couple of seasons there doing live acrobatic and stunt shows for kids, then moved into commercials: free-running and parkour ads for brands and football spots where I doubled David Beckham, Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres for Adidas. That got my foot in the door. The real turning point was going to see Casino Royale (2006) at the cinema. I never stayed for credits back then, but I was so blown away by Daniel Craig’s first Bond and the stunts that I watched them roll. I saw the name Marvin Campbell—an ex-Olympic gymnast I used to look up to—listed as a stunt double. That was the lightbulb moment. I realised there was a path from gymnastics into professional stunt work, so I started researching the British Stunt Register. You have to be elite in six disciplines from a list of about 12. I chose gymnastics, trampoline, and 10-metre diving first, then added swimming, scuba diving, and kickboxing. For some people it takes five to seven years to qualify; gymnastics let me shortcut a lot of that.

A Rabbit’s Foot
Your first big film break was Quantum of Solace (2008). How did that happen? 

Bobby Holland Hanton: Out of the blue, I got a phone call from Gary Powell, the stunt coordinator for Bond. I honestly thought it was a wind-up from my mates. He said, “I want you to come in and audition for James Bond.” I nearly laughed. Then he went quiet and I realised he was serious. I turned up at Pinewood Studios like a deer in headlights. At that moment, there wasn’t anyone on the stunt register with the specific mix of skills that matched up for a particular scene. I wasn’t very fortunate. I had to go back four or five times—fitness tests, photos, more physical assessments, talking through the sequence. It came down to me and another ex-gymnast I used to compete against. Eventually Gary called and said, “You’ve got the job.” I rang my mum and burst into tears. A year and a half earlier I’d watched Casino Royale just hoping I might one day get any stunt job. Suddenly I was stunt doubling Daniel Craig. It was supposed to be five weeks’ work and turned into six months. Looking back, that opened every door afterwards.

A Rabbit’s Foot
You sound incredibly driven. Have you always had that level of self-belief? 

Bobby Holland Hanton: As a kid, yes. As an adult, not always. When I was young, if I couldn’t do something in gymnastics, I would just keep going until I could. I’d come fifth in a competition and it would eat away at me. Next year I’d come third, then second, and I wouldn’t stop until I won. I was obsessed with improving and being the best. But as you get older, self-doubt creeps in. You start asking, “Am I good enough? Can I really do this?” I probably need more self-belief, if I’m honest. What I do have is drive: once an opportunity appears—like the Bond job, or later doubling for Thor—I lock in and go all in. Getting the job is one thing; keeping it and raising the bar every time is the real challenge in this industry.

A Rabbit’s Foot
You’ve now been Chris Hemsworth’s double for years. How real is that ‘bromance’ between actor and stunt double that we see in films like Once Upon a Time… (2019) in Hollywood? 

Bobby Holland Hanton
It’s very real. I first met Chris on Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) doing background stunt work. We got on well, then reconnected on Thor: The Dark World (2013). Originally, I was asked to double Tom Hiddleston as Loki, but I’d already seen Thor and Avengers and thought, “I want to double Thor.” So I went to the gym for six weeks, trained like mad, turned up looking very different, and asked if I could be a second double for Thor. It was a risk—they could have told me I’d lost the job altogether—but it paid off. Chris saw what I could do physically, we were similar in age and humour, and we just clicked. For the past 15 years, we’ve done 16 movies together. I’m in his contract; wherever he goes, I go. His family call me the fourth Hemsworth brother. I stay with them, travel with them, and they’re genuinely like family. The job is to make everything look good and keep him safe, but there’s a deep trust both ways. It’s a real team effort. He knows I’ll never push him into something he doesn’t need to do, and I know exactly what he’s capable of physically— which is a lot. That trust is everything.

A Rabbit’s Foot
Finally, do you feel stunt performers are starting to get the recognition they deserve? 

Bobby Holland Hanton
It’s changing. Twenty years ago, before social media, no one really knew who stunt performers were. You did the work and disappeared into the credits. Social media shifted that. Chris has always been incredibly supportive—he’d say, “Post the behind-the-scenes stuff. I want people to see what you do. I’m not going to pretend I do everything.” That gave me confidence to share more of the reality of stunt work. At first, some people weren’t sure, but I felt strongly that the world should see how hard stunt teams work and the risks they take. Now there’s finally going to be a stunt Oscar category around 2027. It should have happened a long time ago—there are awards for makeup and costumes, so it’s mad that stunts took this long. But I think the conversation, and the visibility of stunt performers, has forced the change. It’s overdue, but it’s a big step.