'Spider-Man' tells about life as stunt man

During the 1½-hour presentation, Daniels answered dozens of questions, many of which came from curious elementary and middle school students.

The 31-year-old stunt man told stories about his on-the-job experiences, including his work performing industry standards such as “fire burns” from flaming structures, “ground-pounding” in fight scenes, “car hits” on busy streets, “high falls” from towering buildings and “slidin’ 90s” in speeding vehicles.

Daniels also showed video clips from his movies and television shows, demonstrated fight scenes with a pair of CSC theatre students and performed a fall from a 12-foot ladder. His scores of movies and television appearances include “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle,” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”

Daniels won the Taurus Award in 2005 for best overall stunt. It was for the scene in Spider-Man 2 in which Peter Parker attempts to jump from building to building, but falls into clothing lines, and lands on cars below.

Daniels said he was inspired to become a stunt man when watching the 1980s hit television show “The Fall Guy” while growing up in Florida. He was a three-sport athlete in high school who took gymnastics and dance. Despite ridicule from classmates for taking dance, he said the training has helped him become successful in his career.

“I actually quit dancing a couple of times because people teased me on it. My parents were really supportive of me and helped me make it through there,” he said. “All the dance that I’ve done helped me with the Spider-Man movies because of all the movement and choreography.”

Daniels entered the stunt industry after high school by taking a job at Disney’s Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular show at Orlando. After his stint there, he moved near Hollywood and began seeking jobs in the film industry.

Unlike the life of the daredevil, being a stunt man is about putting safety first, Daniels said. Despite all the efforts and preparations made to minimize the danger, the occupation isn’t risk free. In addition to the many bumps and bruises he’s endured, he’s sustained a broken tail bone, a separated shoulder and required stitches after splitting his knee open after while swinging through a window during the filming of Spider-Man 2.

He said the most serious of his injuries was a concussion that he suffered when one of the many stunts he’s performed while suspended by cables went awry and he landed head first on the ground.

“Other than those injuries, I’ve been pretty fortunate,” he said.

Despite the hazards, Daniels said he doesn’t really consider his job work and enjoys getting paid for just “going out and playing all day.”

Daniels’ presentation was part of the CSC Galaxy Series of fine arts events. On Thursday, Feb. 21, the series will continue when John Bul Dau will tell about his experience of becoming a refugee as a young teen-ager after his Sudan village was raided.