Nick Gillard | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1959 (age 65–66) Brighton, England |
| Occupation(s) | Stunt coordinator, stuntman, actor |
| Years active | 1977–present |
Nick Gillard is an Englishstuntman andstunt coordinator. He is best known as the leadlightsaber fight and stunt coordinator of theStar Wars prequel trilogy films (1999–2005).
Gillard was born inBrighton,England. At the age of twelve, he ran away frommilitary school to join thecircus where he performed asbareback horse rider. Over the next few years Gillard worked with several circus's includingCircus Althoff in Germany andLos Muchachos Circus in Spain. Gillard was invited to dostunts onThe Thief of Baghdad. He enjoyed it, and later left the circus to perform stunt work in films, including theoriginalStar Wars.[1][2] Gillard wasMark Hamill's first choice as his stunt double forReturn of the Jedi, though he only doubled for Hamill in the subsequentBritannia Hospital.[3]
As a stuntman, Gillard held the world record for longest fire stunt, with a fire burn without air for over two minutes onAlien 3.[4] He also performed a 200-foot power boat jump over two bridges in the filmAmsterdamned, and was set on fire over 100 times.[1]
Among Gillard's movie credits areSleepy Hollow,Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves,Raiders of the Lost Ark andIndiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Gillard was thefight choreographer of theStar Wars prequels. He had a cameo appearance inStar Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith[5] as Cin Drallig ("Nic Gillard" spelled backwards). His likeness was used for the character with a larger role inthe accompanying video game, for which Gillard choreographed the combat animations.[6]
| Year | Title | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace | George Lucas |
| 2000 | Shaft | John Singleton |
| 2002 | Reign of Fire | Rob Bowman |
| International | |
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| National | |
