UPDATED: Daniel Radcliffe Producing Documentary About Stunt Double David Holmes, Who Was Paralyzed on “Harry Potter”
It is no secret that playing the titular boy wizard in the Harry Potter film series was a task worthy of the Triwizard Tournament. Daniel Radcliffe can attest to that and has done so on more than one occasion. Now, his stunt double, the extraordinary David Holmes, will have the opportunity to tell his story.
David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived is a brand-new HBO original documentary coming in November. The film will detail Holmes’s life, including his work on the Harry Potter films and the injury that changed everything. The HBO official documentary synopsis expounds further on the contents.
The film is a coming-of-age story of stuntman David Holmes, a prodigious teenage gymnast from Essex, England, who is selected to play Daniel Radcliffe’s stunt double in the first ‘Harry Potter’ film, when Daniel is just 11. Over the next 10 years, the two form an inextricable bond, but on the penultimate film a tragic accident on set leaves David paralyzed with a debilitating spinal injury, turning his world upside down. As Daniel and his closest stunt colleagues rally to support David and his family in their moment of need, it is David’s extraordinary spirit of resilience that becomes their greatest source of strength and inspiration.
Holmes took to Instagram yesterday to share the news and his considerable excitement with his fans. “This film tells the story of not just my achievements in front of [the] camera, but also the challenges I face every day, and my overall attitude to life after suffering a broken neck,” he wrote in his post.
View this post on Instagram
Daniel Radcliffe has joined the production as an executive producer and is also heavily featured in the film’s personal and behind-the-scenes footage, as well as interviews. Radcliffe and Holmes have maintained their close friendship since their Potter days, as both have frequently affirmed in previous interviews. The two also teamed up more recently to launch the podcast Cunning Stunts, which highlights the work of stunt performers.
David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived debuts on HBO and will be available on Max on Wednesday, November 15. It will also air on Sky Documentaries and NOW starting on Saturday, November 18.
UPDATE (Nov. 1):
A trailer for David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived is now available. Watch it here: