Daredevil's Stunt Double Was Knocked Out While Filming Season 1's Famous Hallway Fight [Exclusive]
We've been inundated with superhero adaptations in popular media for more than two decades now, going back to "X-Men" in 2000, which truly kicked that door wide open. But of anything that's come along in that time, it was Netflix's "Daredevil" that arguably gave us some of the greatest fight scenes in superhero history. Particularly, the ever-memorable long-take hallway fight from the season 1 episode, "Cut Man." The man largely responsible for that greatness? Fight coordinator Chris Brewster.
/Film's own Jack Giroux recently spoke with Brewster in honor of the release of "Black Adam," which he also coordinated the fights for. You can read the full interview here but, when it comes to that epic "Daredevil" scene, Brewster reveals that he paid a price to make it happen. Specifically, he got knocked the f*** out.
"Man, for the hallway, I got completely knocked out on the fifth take. They wanted to call it. We had an almost perfect take on the fourth take, and then on the fifth one we were like, 'Oh, we want to tweak these little things. It's almost perfect, but we can do better.' On the fifth one, I got knocked out. I was out cold and they wanted to bring me to the hospital, but I was like, 'No, no, just give me a few minutes.' And literally after that take, I had way more energy. All of the endorphins were kicking in and everything like that. So we did seven more takes and it was the 12th take that was the perfect, perfect take. I mean, it's just a moment that I will never, ever forget."
Remarkably, Brewster didn't seek medical attention and, instead, did seven more takes of that long, complicated, amazing scene. The results, for what it's worth, do speak for themselves.
That epic fight scene wasn't enough
One thing that really sticks out when Brewster speaks about his work is his utter dedication to getting it right and pushing the envelope. To that end, he wasn't merely content with the pure superhero artistry that they accomplished in "Daredevil" season 1. So, when it came time to make the show's third season, he actually made a deal with the producers to ensure they could try to top what they had done. No small thing, to be certain.
"Going into season 3, my deal with the producers was I will definitely sign on for season 3 but you have to give me a chance to beat the oner from season 1 because everyone's always going to say, 'We want another oner.' I'm like, 'We're always going to be trying to match season one. I don't want to match it. I want to beat it. You got to give me the chance to just blow season one out of the water and come up with something bigger and better.' It was awesome."
The episode would come to fruition in the form of "Blindsided." It is up to the viewer to decide which long fight scene was better but, fair to say, Brewster and the rest of the crew gave it their all in trying to top arguable perfection.
You can see some of Brewster's latest work in action in "Black Adam," which is in theaters now.