Daniel Radcliffe pays tribute to paralyzed Harry Potter stunt double

Actor Daniel Radcliffe shared a behindthescenes story of his Harry Potter stunt double David Holmes who performed the franchises stunts until an onset spinal injury left him paralyzed from the chest down is the subject of a new HBO documentary produced by longtime friend Radcliffe reported PeopleThe documentary David Holmes The Boy Who Lived begins with a clip of the stunt performer who is now 42 years old avoiding exploding dragon fire and whirling in midair on Harrys broomstickI used to fly said Holmes in the documentarys first moments Not so much anymoreI wanted to make something about Dave for years because hes extraordinary and I wanted to share that with the world Radcliffe 34 told PeopleI was trying to do it myself the actor adds with a sheepish grin We shot some stuff and I didnt really know what I was doing For some reason I thought I might know how to direct a documentary I absolutely didntRadcliffe and Holmes then turned to Dan Hartley who worked as the video operator on the Harry Potter films because Dans an actual director says Radcliffe With Hartley on board they shifted the projects focus from a broad look at stunt performers to just Holmes life before and after his accidentWe all met each other 23 years ago and that bond that family that we had on Harry Potter really cemented over the decade that we filmed together Hartley saysFor Holmes The Boy Who Lived provided an opportunity to work with some members of that clan again including producers Vanessa Davies and Amy Stares who were formerly the Potter films publicist and assistant director respectively On this project the family has been able to come back together again Holmes says to tell my storyThat story revolves around the January 2009 accident in which the stunt performer injured his neck while being pushed backward into a wall while test filming for the franchises last two sequelsNow a wheelchair user and host of the Cunning Stunts podcast Holmes told People hes really honored that my legacy on film is not just me hitting that wall 14 years ago And Im understanding the responsibility that lies with not just representing not just myself but a wider community of all the disabled people that will be absolutely finding parallels with their own life with my storyHe added however that he has yet to see The Boy Who Lived himselfI am not ready to watch it yet he explained nodding to Radcliffe and Hartley I know that these guys have done an amazing job I know that it was made with love and sensitivity and thats enough for me right nowSince his injury Holmes has been on a neurological journey in and out of hospitals and physical therapy for problems from his original spine surgery Ive been using film and TV and storytelling to get me through it he said I know in my life therell be a time Ill get into bed and I wont get out of it When that day comes Holmes said hell be ready to see the era of his life depicted in the documentary Id like to look back on myself with all the hope and optimism that I live with now he sharedRadcliffe said that the filmmaking team has shown it to as many of Daves friends and family as we possibly can Im fairly confident weve done him proudQuite a lot of people that were high on that list were the people in my peer support group in the disabled community adds Holmes It was very important to me that disability is represented right along this journeyAnd knowing that I have a team of Avengers that are wheelchair users or people from all different aspects of the disability spectrum that have seen this thing and said No its really empowering and its really positive and youre going to do a good thing for the world those opinions are the ones that matter to me reported PeopleThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever