As Action Vehicle Supervisor for Quantum of Solace, Graham Kelly smashes supercars for a living.
What the hell does an Action Vehicle Supervisor do?
On an action film like Bond, it involves not only sourcing the cars, but also having creative input over what they are. The major part of my job is to do the technical side of the
stunt rigging. So, we’ll take the cars and re-engineer bits of them to enable them to do some of the big stunts you see.
Do you need an assistant? How hard was it to do the crazy stunts in Quantum of Solace?
It gets technically challenging. Obviously, we were in very different locations. We had a lot of tarmac stuff, but then we had some hostile locations. We had to change the suspension and the tyres, since a car like an Aston Martin isn’t really designed to go off-road.
Did you have any close calls while shooting?
Yes, but nothing unusual. All these sequences follow a very fine line. We’re pushing the cars to their limits, so we do have close calls. But we do all sorts of safety stuff, like roll cages and electrical safety switches. Ironically, we often take a very safe car, like an Aston, and switch all the safety systems off. If you don’t turn off the airbags, ABS and traction control, the car can’t do stuff like 360s and spins. Airbags become unsafe because if one goes off during a stunt, that can cause a lot of damage to the driver.
What’s the most dangerous stunt you’ve been involved with?
The Bond shoot was up there because had sheer drops on loose road surfaces. That was a bit nerve-wracking and dangerous. The big crashes tend to be easier because we rehearse them all the way through and put plenty of safety into it.
Which stunt or chase are you proudest of?
Probably the
Bourne Supremacy chase – that was groundbreaking. It was very real and we were in hostile environments – Moscow in the freezing cold and then a tunnel, which didn’t give us a lot of outs. We were doing about 150km/h in the tunnel. In Bond, on the mountain, we were getting pretty big numbers as well.
You hoon. Do you drive like Bond?
I can pedal a bit. I used to do a lot of driving. These days, I get in the car and just get on with it. I wouldn’t say I’m Schumacher, but I can handle a car.
What do you drive?
A Mercedes A-Class. I don’t have the desire to have all the big, fast cars anymore. For me, it’s about getting from A to B. Having said that, I do have a 520kW, V10 VW Touareg, but I hardly use that.
Have you ever been pulled over for speeding and said, “Sorry officer, I was just doing research for an upcoming movie.”?
Lots of times. I was
banned from driving during my apprenticeship with Ferrari. We used to test the Ferraris, putting them through their paces along this 10km stretch of road. Quite often, I’d go over the speed limit and that resulted in a ban. The police don’t tend to let you off because you’re testing.
Any tips for people getting chased through cities?
I wouldn’t advocate breaking the law. So I guess it’s all about being clever in traffic and using the streets to get away from people.
Dan Steiner
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