Jonathan Goodwin is not an average stunt performer. Part Houdini, part Superman, this stuntman has stunned the world by his performance — crawled his way out after being bitten by a venomous snake and buried underground. In an email interview, he tells SANGEETA YADAV that it took 20 years to perfect his act
Which has been the most difficult stunt in this whole seriesIJ
Well, that’s a tough question because there are all sorts of things I have done — buried alive three times, I’ve been attacked by sharks, burnt at the stake and hung from my feet from a helicopter. These are very dangerous and scary. But if I had to pick one up from The Incredible Mr Goodwin, it would be a recreation of a stunt done by Yakima Canutt using a stage coach. In the recreated version, I was in a car that was driving down a runway at 60 miles an hour and I climbed out of the car and climbed all the way underneath it, side to side, and back in on the other side. That was a pretty intense experience.
What is the most challenging part of your professionIJ
I don’t get scared much, but certainly gets my adrenaline pumping. I’m not a big fan of heights and I do these stunts where I am up very high — hanging from a helicopter or dangling from the london Eye. They were pretty adrenaline fueled situations. But part of my job description is to be able to control these fearful emotions, and keep all of them at bay so I can concentrate on the job in hand.
What is the strength that encourages you to put yourself in these extreme situationsIJ
I believe that practice makes a man perfect. I think my main strength is my practice of 20 long years and the study I do before performing any stunt.
What was the turning point in your life and in your career graphIJ
When I was seven years old, I read a book about Harry Houdini. I became fascinated with him as a character and wanted to be like him and learn those skills. That’s basically what you can see in show.
Who is your superheroIJ
Houdini would be top of that list but there’s a very long list of Victorian performers whose names people would not have even heard of. Tight-wire walker, Charles Blondin for example, was incredible. There’s a long list of Victorian sideshows and stunt performers about whom we talk about in the show. We talk about inspiration, and every stunt that I do, in some way, pay homage to a performer of the past. We talk about that person and what they did because it’s really important to show respect and pay tribute to the people that came before you.
Any plans to come to India and showcase your talentIJ
It’s very high on my list. I would love to visit the country. Unfortunately, I have not had the opportunity to do so yet.
There are people who aspire to be like you. Any message or advise for themIJ
I would tell them to concentrate on the specifics that one has to do. If a person starts to get over-awed by the big picture — about the real jeopardy and danger involved —that’s when things start to go wrong.
So, I would advise people who want to become performers like me to breakdown each stunt into little chunks and then tick them off the list one at a time to perfect it in the end.