Daredevil (2003)

The world’s top martial arts choreographers, action specialists and trainers came together on DAREDEVIL to devise and execute some of the most impressive action set pieces ever put on celluloid.

Three months prior to filming, Ben Affleck began a regimen of fight and fitness training to prepare for the role of Daredevil. Working under stunt coordinator Jeff Imada and veteran British fight trainer Dave Lea, Affleck trained in a variety of fighting styles, every day before and during production. "It was a new training regimen for Ben," Lea says. "I started with stretching and then hand-drills, stick-drills and kicking. Then we devised a combination of street fighting, jailhouse rock, hand fighting, various Kung Fu styles, and boxing styles. For Daredevil, every fight is different. He uses what he needs to use at the time, and he takes a hit as often as he gives one. Daredevil can be fluid and graceful, or just plain down and dirty."

Blind actor and personality Tom Sullivan, whose inspirational life story provided the basis for the television movie "If You Could See What I Hear," served as a sight consultant to both Ben Affleck and Scott Terra (who plays the young Matt Murdock.) "My job was to teach Ben to be the best blind person on Earth," Sullivan says. Sullivan worked closely with Affleck and director Mark Steven Johnson to carefully find a balance between Matt Murdock as a lawyer and Matt as Daredevil. "We tried to set up a situation where Matt always has the capacity to be Daredevil, only he has to hide that from the world at large. As Matt, he has to remember to be ‘more blind’ than he is." Sullivan, a lifelong athlete who won the U.S. Nationals as a wrestler, also worked closely with Affleck and his trainer in the techniques of close quarter combat.

Renowned martial arts specialist Cheung Yan Yuen choreographed several of the film’s major action set pieces. A film legend in his native Hong Kong best known for his work on the feature film "Charlie’s Angels," Yuen hails from a dynasty of martial arts experts. His brother, Wo-Ping Yuen, was the action choreographer for "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "The Matrix."

Yuen admits he initially had reservations about Affleck, Garner, and Farrell’s ability to perform the complex martial arts scenes he was creating. "I was pleasantly surprised and pleased with their skill," he says. Affleck, Garner and Farrell performed the majority of their own stunts in the film.

The film’s car and motorcycle chases and shootouts fell under the purview of stunt coordinator Jeff Imada, a veteran stuntman and stunt coordinator who has lent his talents to nearly 100 films, including "Blade," "Fight Club" and "Blade Runner."

With all this elaborate martial arts choreography and acrobatics, the filmmakers were determined to keep all the action grounded in reality. Matt and Elektra are human beings, not superheroes, and their athletic skills had to be believable. "We tried to make sure that gravity applies to all of our characters," says Gary Foster. "Daredevil has a more brutal, physical style than some of his comic book counterparts. Daredevil is a guy that if he were to jump off a building, he’d hit three fire escapes to slow himself down."

---

Pages: [1] 2 3 4