Stuntman David Lea died of lung cancer on August 6 at the age of 67
Friends and family have revealed how the late Hollywood stuntman, David Lea, who is friends with Sylvester Stallone and Jackie Chan, suffered a knife wound to the bone on camera but didn’t flinch until the scene was over.
Lea died of lung cancer on August 6 at the age of 67. He has doubled for Michael Keaton in Batman films, braved brutal fight scenes with Sylvester Stallone in Tango & Cash and worked with a host of other A-listers.
Stallone is said to have been devastated by the stuntman’s death and offered his condolences to the family, as did John Wick film director Chad Stahelski, Day Shift director JJ Perry, Mortal Kombat actor Lewis Tan and Bruce Lee’s protégé Dan Insanto.
In exclusive interviews with , his daughter, friends and colleagues revealed how badass British-born Lea was and was totally devoted to his work, even encouraging Stallone to repeatedly bang his head against a metal table to create the perfect to make a recording.
His daring stunts – also for the actual 2003 film Daredevil – ranged from being hit and run over by cars, jumping from moving vehicles, being thrown ten feet across a room, smashing through thick wooden doors and two bricks to break at his hand.
Lea has acted for Michael Keaton in Batman films, braved brutal fight scenes with Sylvester Stallone in Tango & Cash and worked with several other A-listers
Lea first worked with Sylvester Stallone in 1989’s Tango and Cash. His friends and family tell how he even encouraged Stallone to repeatedly bang his head against a metal table to get the perfect shot
Lea’s first big break in Hollywood came when he was hired as a stunt double for Michael Keaton in 1989’s Batman. He also created the stunts for 1992’s Batman Returns. Lea is pictured with Keaton
Lea’s mentee, would-be stuntwoman Nora Perez, revealed how he suffered a knife wound to the bone on camera but didn’t flinch until the scene was over. This happened during filming of a staged knife fight in Batman
Leah with Jackie Chan and Sylvester Stallone. His friends tell how he has formed a great bond with the actors he has worked with
He performed stunts in Will Smith’s 1999 film Wild Wild West, the 1997 films Batman & Robin and Con Air, and most recently doubled for Mickey Rourke in the 2022 film The Commando.
Friends say that even in his late 60s, Lea still took a beating to get great recordings
“He seemed to become really good friends with every celebrity he worked with. He may see them as role models, but he wasn’t a star,” Lea’s daughter, Angel Lea-Seagreen, told .
“He was a very generous, time-consuming person who always wanted to help people. I think he gained a lot of love and respect for it.
Lea’s mentee, stuntwoman stuntwoman Nora Perez, revealed how Lea would brush off serious injuries to get the perfect shot on set.
While working as a stunt double for Michael Keaton in the 1989 Batman film, Perez said Lea was genuinely cut in a staged knife fight.
He said, ‘I felt the knife hit my bone, but I just pushed it through, I just kept going through the scene until they called cut.’ He would say, ‘Until they say cut, I’m not breaking that character.” Perez told .
“He was always cheerful and cracking jokes. There wasn’t a day when he wasn’t fooling around. But when he came to work, it was all about work.
‘He was very graceful, he thought of others before himself. He was a great mentor to me in that I became a better person.’
“He seemed to become really good friends with every celebrity he worked with. He may see them as role models, but he wasn’t a star,” Lea’s daughter, Angel Lea-Seagreen, told . Lea is pictured with his daughters Kristell (left) and Angel (right).
Lea i with his daughter Angel and grandson Jaime. ‘He worked until a few months ago. He was doing what he loved so he kept going as long as his legs would carry him,” said Angel
Lea posed with the Batmobile. He performed stunts in the 1997 film Batman & Robin
His daughter Angel, a primary school assistant in Essex, England, said Lea was working until a few weeks ago and his lung cancer was developing rapidly
Lea’s daughter said of her late father, “He was in no way from a privileged background,” she said. “He worked damn hard. And he valued everyone in his life’
Lea’s lifelong friend and stunt coordinator Phil Tan, who got him the Batman job as his first big break in Hollywood, said Lea developed a close bond with Stallone and would take it a step further in fight scenes with the Rocky star.
“Sly loves fighting Dave. He was very hurt when we had to tell him Dave passed away,” Tan told .
Lea choreographed a brutal brawl with Stallone in the 1989 film Tango & Cash — and made it chillingly real.
‘ Dave said to Sly, ‘I want this to look good. So if you bang my head on the table, I really want you to do it. Beat the shit out of me, and it’ll look real damn and you’ll look amazing,” Tan said.
“He kept hitting his head like five or six times. And that was just one shot. He did a few takes.
Tan, who helped produce Mickey Rourke’s The Commando, which was released in January this year, said Lea still took a beating to get great footage well into her 60s.
“Dave had to be kicked through a door. Because of the budget, we couldn’t get a balsa door that you can just kick and it goes right through. So we have a real door.
“I said, ‘It’s going to be just one take and it’s going to hurt like hell. Are you okay with that?” He said, “Bring it to Phil. Let’s go.”
“So he got kicked by Michael Jai White, who’s huge, 240 pounds of muscle.
“He kicked him right through the damn door. It was wonderful. But because it was a real door, it cut him. It was bleeding, but he said, ‘I’m fine, do you want to do another one?’ He never complained.
“He’s one of the toughest guys I know. The toughest guy on the street, the toughest guy on the set.”
Lea has been trained in six styles of Kung Fu, Shotokan Karate, Escrima, and Kickboxing
The sought-after double worked on Batman Forever with Val Kilmer and Batman and Robin with George Clooney, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Chris O’Donnell
Lea has been trained in six styles of Kung Fu, Shotokan Karate, Escrima, and Kickboxing.
He has worked with stars such as Stallone, Smith, Ashley Judd, Ben Affleck, Colin Farrell, Tom Cruise, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Ewan McGregor, Scarlett Johansson, Sandra Bullock, Michelle Pfeiffer, Famke Janssen, Dennis Quaid and David Boreanaz.
Angel, a primary school assistant in Essex, England, said Lea was working until a few weeks ago and his lung cancer was developing rapidly.
“My head has been spinning so much over the past few weeks,” she said. “His decline was pretty quick. It was fast and it was aggressive.
‘He worked until a few months ago. He was doing what he loved, so he kept going as long as his legs would carry him.’
She said her fondest memories are of messing around with her father on London’s Oxford Street and Chinatown, taking photos and making comedic videos.
“He didn’t come from a privileged background in any way,” she said. “He worked damn hard. And he valued everyone in his life.”
His family held a memorial service for Lea Monday at a church in Los Angeles.