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Genres: Action

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Details

Country: UK

Language: English

Filming Locations: RAF Bentwaters, Suffolk, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co: Wise Old Fox 

Technical Specs

Runtime: 75 min

Sound Mix: Stereo

Color: Color

Aspect Ratio: 1.78 : 1 / (high definition)

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What do The Dark Knight Rises, Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, Fast & Angry 6, & every James Bond film since Quantum of Solace have in common? All of them featured automobile chases driven in part by Ben Collins. Collins may be better known as The Stig, the "tame racing driver" from Top Gear.
Collins played the second Stig�the in the white helmet & nomex�before parting ways with the show over an autobiography. As that list of movies suggests, he is been busy using his skill behind the wheel in service of Hollywood blockbusters since then, with some time away from the cameras racing professionally as well.
Collins has a brand spanking new video (which Lionsgate is releasing today through some digital HD channels & then other networks like iTunes on November 3rd), which gave Ars the chance to speak to of the most experienced wheelmen in show business. Stunt Driver showcases Collins' talent in front of the camera & behind the wheel of some fascinating four-wheeled machinery. He is tasked by a demanding film producer with finding the ideal automobile for a Bond-esque chase sequence, & the next 75 minutes see Collins check various vehicles before finding something suitable.
Since we are a expertise site, they were curious about how the onslaught of automobile expertise had changed stunt driving. In fact, Collins told us, "we must deactivate plenty of stuff on cars for stunts. Safety systems like stability control have numbed the brains of drivers, & driving, & drivers pay less attention the more systems there."
Precision stunt driving requires a more analogue relationship with the vehicle, it seemsCollins pointed to an experience filming Stunt Driver as an ideal example, "We didn't have the luxury of prepping the cars for Stunt Driver," they said, before telling us about a sequence with an Aston Martin. The automobile was supposed to slide around a tank, but there wasn't time to deactivate the antilock brakes, which as Collins pointed out don't actually decrease stopping distances.
In lieu of everything going to plan, "the ABS triggered & they very hit the tank in lieu," they said. Collins described trying to push the brake pedal through the floor of the automobile before it finally stopped short of an expensive meeting of carbon fiber & metal. "I was very glad they didn't have a camera inside the automobile for that," they said.
It is not a case of getting in a automobile & driving as quick as feasible. "I'm playing a character in a automobile," Collins told us. Different characters need different driving styles, & not all of them will be the best drivers. Ultimately, though, it is about what looks lovely on camera.
Each of the films Collins worked on has brought its own challenges. "For Quick & Annoyed 6, I had to dress as a chair" for a scene with an actor on the roof, they said. "I had the headrest on my head with small eye holes cut out of it." By contrast, piloting Batman's Tumbler was apparently like driving a submarine at high speed, with no peripheral vision & a tortuous driving position.
It is evident that his work with the Bond franchise holds a special place in his heart. The automobile chase from Quantum of Solace was his immediate answer when they asked if they has a favourite scene or stunt. Not only was it at high speed, "it was my first Bond. It was a boyhood dream come true," they told us.
The obvious questionYou cannot interview the Stig without asking a Top Gear query, & there cannot be lots of people with as much experience as Collins has with so lots of different cars on the same track. Did they drive anything that kept him awake the night before? "I've seldom been worried about driving," they told us, although "the Koenigsegg was raw. It was a actual fight driving it.
A number of the automobile choices in Stunt Driver were similarly exciting�the Noble M600 for example. It is chalk & cheese compared to the McLaren 650S," Collins told us. The latter is a automobile we have recently got to know a lot better�expect a full review & video soon�so they were curious about the contrast between the lightweight 600+ horsepower supercars.
Collins is as large a fan of the 650S as they are, but they said the car's complexity also brings a fragility that is no nice for stunt work. With the Noble, "you could imagine smashing in to a villain in a automobile chase. It is a viking. The McLaren is much more delicate," they said.
Finally, talk turned to Collins' racing. They had a nice 2014 in the World Endurance Championship (WEC), racing a Ferrari 458. "WEC was great being the quickest in the automobile. I was one time with a different team at Le Mans & got the quickest 458 lap." A trip to Bathurst in Australia for the 12-hour GT3 race followed, but a teammate wrote the automobile off in the first rehearsal.
Rallycross might well feature in his future racing designs. Were the cars are fun to drive, they wondered? "Yes, they are unmatched. You are allowed to be a bit messy in them," they said, before adding that "racing them will need some precision."