15 Historical Firsts in the World of Stunts

Filmmakers have wanted to captivate audiences with spectacular feats since the dawn of filmmaking. Who knows if they actually called them “stunts” back then, but movies have displayed these risky feats as early as 1903. In the silent picture era, physicality was a must, so Hollywood’s first “stars” were comedic, vaudevillian performers or early action heroes who could ride horses, sword fight, and barroom brawl.

Even for the early 1900s, the stunts look pretty cool by today’s standards. Seriously, grab your iPhone and go film your buddy falling off a horse. We might be desensitized from everything we’ve seen since then, but your buddy could still break his neck, so maybe some technique should be involved. It’s a fine line between safety and “looking real,” so little by little, professional stunt performers have implemented techniques to get the shot, but come home at night (relatively unscathed.) Here’s a look back at 15 firsts in stunts that helped grow the industry.