Profile: Elizabeth Davidovich, stuntwoman
October 21, 2009 at 11:15 am by Candace Wheeler in Profile
Serving as a body double for everything from zombies to young boys, Atlanta’s Elizabeth Davidovich is used to getting into character. Her work is inspired by films such as The Matrix and Kill Bill, and she’s well versed in tumbling and hand-to-hand combat. Don’t let her small stature fool you; she can suffer a fall just like the boys.
How did you become involved in stunt work?
I have a background in competitive gymnastics and have always been athletic. One day, I just decided I just decided that I wanted to do stunt work. I believe in the law of attraction, that once you set your mind to something you become more aware of opportunities to do the things you want. I went on an audition for something completely different from stunt work; the audition was held at a martial arts studio. I completely kicked major ass, and the instructor who worked at the studio said I should audition for the Black Knight stunt team. That was a week to the day I first said I wanted to do stuntwork.
How long have you been in your field?
I’ve been doing stuntwork for five years now. I’m expecting my career to last at least eight to 10 more years. I feel I have an edge, because my athletic background. Plus, someone that I really admire, Zoey Bell, has been able to keep working in stunts as she gets older. I’d like to accomplish the same. Eventually, I want to become a stunt coordinator.
Do you feel that the stunt industry is different for women?
Men and women all have to be able to do the same stunts. The first five or six films I did, I actually doubled for guys. The first was an 11-year-old boy. That made sense to me, but somehow after that I kept getting typecast as the one to double for little boys. That was hard on the ego.
The biggest difference is the way directors treat women. A lot of times they treat us as if we’re a little more delicate and fragile, which is always funny. They’ll ask, for example, “Do you mind falling like this? Is that OK?” And my stunt coordinator will push me backwards and say, “Oh you mean like this?”
Is there a community of stuntwomen in Atlanta?
I haven’t really met too many other stuntwomen, outside of the Black Knight community. The stunt industry is growing more now, though, because of the tax incentives [for filming movies] that have been passed in Georgia in the past two years. I noticed almost immediately that people were coming down here to film projects, and a lot of filmmakers like Atlanta because it doesn’t have that L.A. mentality.
How do people react when you tell them you’re a stuntwoman?
A lot of people don’t know what to make of you at first. It is true that female bodies break more easily than men, and so people are always concerned about that. I don’t want to speak for all stuntwomen, but I know that for myself and the women on my team, that just makes us work even harder than the guys, because we feel we have to prove ourselves even more.
Are you ever afraid when performing a stunt?
Definitely, which is natural. Fear is what protects human beings from killing ourselves. I have to take that fear and put it aside for a moment. Then I am able to visualize the stunt and what I need to do. It’s important to acknowledge the fear and not try to ignore it. The difference between stunt people and everyone else is that we constantly take one more step to extend our comfort zones.
What projects have you worked on?
A lot of my initial work was playing a creature or zombie in a lot of indie films. My first big project was Gregg Bishop’s Dance of the Dead. We developed some amazing stunts for that project and it was a lot of fun. My most recent would be MTV’s My Super Psycho Sweet Sixteen, which airs Oct. 23. It was the first time I got double for a girl, and I was so excited because I got to get my hair and makeup done and wear a dress.
What is the worst injury you’ve had?
My worst injury happened on Dance of the Dead, which was one of my favorite projects to work on. We were in the final rehearsal for special effects, and a lot was going on. It was about 2 a.m., and the later it gets the less alert people become. We were working on a scene and I was a zombie, so I was dying and laying on the ground. All of a sudden, it felt like my ankle was hit with a hammer. It turned out that another guy who was also playing a zombie missed his mark by a few inches and ended up falling on me. I immediately felt my ankle swelling up, but I really wanted to film the scenes, so I ended up filming the rest of my scenes on one foot.
(Photo by Joeff Davis)
October 21st, 2009 at 3:10 pm
babe.
sorry, that was sexist. how about: very talented, articulate, athletic, brave, and smart.
but definitely a babe.
October 22nd, 2009 at 7:41 am
Great article, I completely agree with what Elizabeth said, the law of attraction is at work in the universe. When you become clear about your intentions, you are able to create situations and opportunities that are in alighnment with what you desire. I have no doubt that you will become a stunt coordinator in the future.