Eric Oram is the man who spiced up fight sequences in the third part of the franchise. He tells D Kaushik how the main character, played by Robert Downey Jnr, changes
Do you know that kickboxer Eric Oram, a well-known name in the world of martial arts, was a gifted musician, used to play drums till the age of 16IJ
He was also offered to be part of an accomplished and renowned band (which he didn’t name), but couldn’t participate. He channelled his disappointment towards his other passion, martial arts, which his dad had got him into.
He is regarded as the most senior instructor under Grandmaster William Cheung — the man who taught and inspired the legendary Bruce lee and an authority on Wing Chun Kung Fu.
In Hollywood he is known as a stunt director who worked on films like Sherlock Holmes.
Seems like he has a great bonding with Robert Downey Jr.
The stunt director told us the plot of Iron Man 3 has several changes.
“It is obviously bigger and more challenging. The visual effects, the size and scale. Everything is huge. What makes the film unique is its focus is on the comeback of Tony. He becomes more honest and likable, compared to earlier. It is about his story, the hero behind the iron mask who faces his enemies. Robert is a great guy,” said the stunt director.
Eric added that after learning martial arts, there has been no looking back. But more than Hollywood projects and different characters, it is things he does off camera that interest him more.
“I love adventure and keep trying new things. But working on a film gives the chance to work with different characters and mould actors per the character. Every film comes with its own challenges. To establish certain aspects of a character in audience’ mind is the biggest challenge. But Iron Man is already a popular franchise, with a lot of excitement around the film,” he said.
Oram says that for Iron Man 3 he tried to keep stunts sequences realistic.
“While the characters remain an important part of the film, sometimes it is fight sequences that take the story forward. This is what we tried to do in Iron Man 3,” he ended.