Not everyone knows what went down on the battlefields of J.R.R Tolkien’s Middle Earth, but Cochrane’s Steven McMichael does.
But still the film’s fight coordinator found himself caught up in the action on the silver screen at the Cochrane Movie House during The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
“I was honoured to get down to the New York premiere, but without the actors and the distractions, you get to really take the film in,” said McMichael. “And I couldn’t be prouder — each actor put 100 per cent into the fighting.”
As sword master for the Peter Jackson-directed trilogy, McMichael found himself in New Zealand for 16 months, choreographing about 75 lead character fight scenes for the three films, each featuring the likes of elves, orcs and furry little hobbits.
“I’ve pinched myself a couple of times,” said McMichael, a father of five. “I’m still in shock about it. It’s the biggest film ever made… I’m honoured and humbled by the experience.”
McMichael said he hit the ground running once he landed in Wellington, NZ., the filming location for all three movies.
“I was expecting a mad dash — and that’s what happened,” laughed McMichael.
In collaboration with the rest of the stunt coordinating team, McMichael said he designed fights for about 25 lead characters, 100 stunt people and 200 other background folk. Luckily, the cast spent a month in movement coaching and physical training, so they were ready when McMichael arrived.
“Each character had a unique fight style to them,” he said. “But the month they spent in movement training helped me. If you know how they move, you can zone in on a particular fight style.”
McMichael hasn’t always kept his stunt knowledge behind the scenes, his first forays into the industry were as a performer. With a background as an international-level martial artist and a U.S. Marine, he said he already had many skills required to be a successful stuntman.
You’ll be able to see McMichael in action in the second installment of the trilogy — The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug — as stunt double for Hugo Weaving, who plays Elrond.
Unfortunately, an injury in 2004 saw McMichael taking some time off from stunt performing, beginning his career as a stunt and fight coordinator, working on films like I, Robot.
McMichael’s wife, Leslie, is also a stuntperson. The pair have three children together and own White Wing Films.
The production company has plans to begin filming Four Saints, a First World War drama, in April.
