It’s no secret that stunt performers often take on the more dangerous moments where a lead actor could get hurt.
But, as Nikita Mitchell explains, that isn’t limited to big, on-camera set pieces.
The British stunt performer acted as a stand-in for Margot Robbie on the set of Wuthering Heights after the two worked together on 2023’s Barbie.
Mitchell says doubles can sometimes spend weeks or months training with stars before shooting so they can mimic their movement perfectly on camera, and she tells Newsbeat the Australian actress is “quite brave” about doing her own stunts.
“Her brother is a stunt performer back in Oz and she did say to me once if she hadn’t been an actress, she might have gone into stunts,” she says.
But Mitchell did step in during some of Wuthering Heights’ dicier scenes to make sure the star was safe.
She says this included one where Robbie’s character Cathy is on the edge of a cliff and another where she gets thrown into a tree by Heathcliff.
Mitchell was on hand to test the harness and wires beforehand, and to help ensure Robbie’s safety when it was her turn.
But she also stepped in to literally take the fall for Robbie during a scene where Cathy tumbles from a wall when she’s spotted scoping out the grounds of a mansion owned by her future husband, Edgar Linton.
Mitchell says the “eight to 10ft” (2.4m to 3m) fall didn’t worry her, as she’s tackled 150ft (46m) cliff drops – on wires – in the past.
Like Ponomari, she says it can be “disappointing” when audiences never see a scene you’ve worked on, but agrees it’s “just part of the game”.
But, whether they make the cut or not, stunt actors and body doubles – who are compensated by the day – do still get paid for their time.