Winston Duke talks about ‘The Fall Guy’, overcoming fear

Winston Duke’s newest character delivers thrills.

In “The Fall Guy,” Duke plays Dan Tucker, a talented stunt coordinator who knows easy methods to make even essentially the most demanding movie stunts seem easy and fun. When his best friend, stuntman Colt Seavers (Ryan Gosling), comes into conflict with several shady characters on and off set, Tucker is tasked with helping his buddy get answers and complete their sci-fi film.

“I was at a point in my life where I said I wanted to do something cool,” Duke explains. “I didn’t want to do something super hard. From the very beginning, the biggest advantage of videos is that they can be layered. So even though the top layer may be very fun and enjoyable, sometimes the depth and seriousness can lie in the three layers below. I wanted something that would start out as a lot of fun and then find meaning.”

While Duke’s character in his recent film could also be fearless, it is a trait he needed to develop in real life. The Tobagonian-Rwandan actor says he’s a “very fearful person” but often challenges himself to look fear in the attention and overcome it.

“I believe fear is a great thing. I all the time see fear as something that tells me I’m taking this seriously,” Duke shares. “Every time I do not feel fear, I ponder why I’m so free. I believe I’m a really fearful person. That’s what I believe builds my integrity because I’m like – I realize that is essential.

“I realize there are consequences. I understand all these items and I’ll do it anyway. Normal? I’ll do it anyway, and I’ll come out higher on the opposite side. I’m afraid of each project I tackle. I’m afraid of each stunt I do. I’m afraid of each recent relationship I start, all these items, but , you continue to do it.

In “The Fall Guy”, Duke decided to perform a lot of his own stunts, no matter fear. The actor hopes the film will introduce audiences to the customarily underappreciated work of stuntmen, including his stunt double, JoJo, who worked with Duke on “The Fall Guy” and “Black Panther.”

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“I always do a lot of stunts,” Duke says. “But I always have the care and cooperation of a really great team. JoJo was on that stunt team. He had a really great relationship with me. He knew my body and how I worked. When he was preparing everything for me, even before I showed up, he had an idea of ​​how to tell the story with certain moves that I knew very well.”

“My relationship with the entire (stunt) team was very helpful,” Duke adds. “I also played a stunt coordinator on this film. So I needed to shadow stunt coordinator Chris O’Hara and the remaining of the stunt team only for my very own learning.

“The Fall Guy” can now be seen in cinemas across Poland.