Daniel Radcliffe's Harry Potter Stunt Double Tells His Story In The David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived Trailer
Loving "Harry Potter" is immensely complicated these days, between its creator's inexcusable transphobia and the underlying problems that have always been there since the Wizarding World began. Loving many of the people who made the "Harry Potter" films, on the other hand, is as easy as pie, especially the cast members who have taken it upon themselves to publicly speak out against the bigotry propagated by the author who gave us The Boy Who Lived. But what about all those unsung artists who toiled away in the background to help make the "Harry Potter" films a reality? Thanks to an upcoming documentary, one of those folks is finally getting some deserved time in the spotlight.
You might not know the name David Holmes, but you've almost certainly seen his work. Holmes served as Daniel Racliffe's stunt double throughout the first six "Harry Potter" movies, stepping in to take a beating every time Harry's adventures took a turn for the life-threatening (something that happened quite a lot in those movies). Tragically, however, an accident during rehearsals for "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1" led to Holmes breaking his neck and becoming largely paralyzed from his chest down. Of course, that's not the end of his story, which will be the focus of "David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived." For more on that, check out its trailer in the space above.
David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived comes to Max this month
Stunt performers are some of the most under-appreciated artists in Hollywood, risking life and limb for our entertainment on a daily basis. Even with improvements in safety measures, it's still an incredibly dangerous job that can quickly go horribly wrong, even on big-budget franchises like "Harry Potter." It's why we here at /Film continue to campaign relentlessly for the Academy to finally add an Oscar for stunt work and why a doc like "David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived" is all the more meaningful, shining a light on one such stunt performer whose life changed forever on what should've been just another day doing his favorite job in the world.
Directed by Dan Hartley and executive produced by Daniel Radcliffe, "The Boy Who Lived" features "candid personal footage shot over the last decade, behind-the-scenes material from Holmes' stunt work, scenes of his current life and intimate interviews with David, Daniel Radcliffe, friends, family, and former crew," pers its official synopsis. By exploring Holmes' life both before and after his accident, the film aims to examine "universal themes of living with adversity, growing up, forging identities in an uncertain world, and the bonds that bind us together and lift us up." If that doesn't sound like a story worth telling, then I don't know what does.
"David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived" will debut Wednesday, November 15, 2023, at 9 pm ET/PT on HBO and will also become available to stream on Max.