Hollywood Stuntwoman Breaks Down Her Career in Stunts | Notes on a Scene | Vanity Fair

On this episode of "Notes on a Scene," stuntwoman and actress Alicia Vela-Bailey breaks down her career in stunts, including Underworld: Awakening, Total Recall, Wonder Woman, Avatar, Interstellar, Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon, Ender's Game, and Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
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Hollywood Stuntwoman Breaks Down Her Career in Stunts | Notes on a Scene | Vanity Fair

[@user-lm4co5cb4r]

Why don’t they have an oscars category? They’re risking their lives for a few moments on screen!

[@commentcopbadge6665]

Look it up. The reasons are pretty valid. Seemed unfair to me too but when I found out the "whys", I get it.

[@vb8428]

@@commentcopbadge6665 Tell us

[@jackdonohue7893]

It makes sense

[@yc2877]

CommentCop Badge#666 tell usss

[@MatthewSeymour1986]

The usual reason is if you incentivize risky behavior by having an oscars category, you increase the chances that someone will take unnecessary risks during filming.

[@scarlett8445]

She's literally been in everything... like imagine Avatar being your second movie

[@vickie6452]

Scarlett third movie she did but yeah pretty amazing!

[@wikitheory3010]

third

[@NaraKwonPoD]

@@wikitheory3010 then what's the second?

[@V0r4xiz]

@@NaraKwonPoD No idea but she literally says third in the video. So...

[@rhiannoncarrigan147]

Nara Kwon .,p,pPP!?OQ,I,love

[@missmyk]

"We got to kick each other's butts" So cute

[@chrybmb1998]

"I love you" ***ACTION*** *slams into wall* So cute.

[@nm541]

Being a stuntwoman must be so much more difficult. Revealing clothing leaves little to no room for pads, plus the torture of having to perform in high heels. Huge props to them! (And for the love of God, costume designers, we need practical fighting costumes!)

[@samara4367]

Yes!! And they get way less recognition!

[@KaRan-yb3yv]

Well, you can't sacrifice the agility... duh

[@pseudonymousbeing987]

What fight scenes have heels? Where do stunts happen with heels? And as GiRayne said the revealing clothes is just period appropriate. Men wearing Greek or Roman clothing would also have the same issues of unprotection. And in what other context have modern films had revealing clothes for female stunts? I have a hard time thinking of any.

[@cgcohen01]

costume designers don’t really get to make that choice. the amount of skin showing tends to be more of marketing concern. they don’t have a lot of room to mess with that

[@202cardline]

@@pseudonymousbeing987 ...Have you actually...seen movies before dude? 😂

[@hhanonymous]

Wow, I could listen to Alicia Vela-Bailey talk about her craft for hours. She should have a podcast, it's real interesting learning how stunts are setup and executed. Such an awesome craft.

[@marianna3253]

I agree 100%, she's a real professional badass!

[@orbiting-jimin]

Bless your grammar and vocab

[@cash_eye]

Absolutely

[@alexmacnab-stark8593]

_窮 right, that would be so cool

[@wherethetreegrows]

This is breathtaking. Now I understand why stunts are always in the very beginning of the end titles.

[@ericcusss]

no, you're breathtaking!

[@constantinesoldatos]

@Li-qu-id no u

[@melvinrico8563]

@@constantinesoldatos no u

[@loganthekiwimaster4421]

@@melvinrico8563 no u

[@kingti85]

Isn't the cast always first in the end credits?

[@uhh3346]

I love her name! I can't believe her parents chose "Hollywood stuntwoman" so creative!

[@clementines7032]

Irk! Man too bad got stuck with "KZbin Commenter" pretty sad.

[@donnamoydenton6156]

She said her name in the beginning, and it's in the description. It's not that deep.

[@swine13]

@@donnamoydenton6156 thank you for killing the joke. I didnt want to laugh anyway.

[@Roberta_Trevino]

Too bad most of the Stuntwoman family line was mostly decimated. They were a daring people and always wanted to stay out of the spotlight. Hollywood is just a stupid name tho, what hippie names their child that?

[@hizhe2918]

@@donnamoydenton6156 r/woooosh

[@alex0589]

What an actual badass..

[@yc2877]

Alex I just commented this-

[@iv0rysh0es39]

Stunts actors/actresses are always so kind and happy-go-lucky. Very informative watch.

[@dozer11]

The Big LeBoschski there are exceptions of course as I’ve met some that are so bitter and unapproachable. But for the most part the best ones are as you described!

[@evaleigh7149]

The Big LeBoschski 1.7 k like

[@landonbecker1745]

She was so sweet and well spoken. This was insanely interesting.

[@madelinec5043]

i love how calmly and nonchalant she says things like “i was doubling for Kate Beckinsale / Gal Gadot / Anne Hathaway” like no one else but stunt doubles can say things like that :D

[@NochSoEinKaddiFan]

The drop on the elevator bumper looks so painfull, I can't help but flinch when I see it Oo And her name should be in the title instead of hollywood stuntwoman.

[@jupiterjones3789]

But then no one would click on it ;)

[@katiem2995]

How about "Alicia Vela-Bailey, Hollywood Stuntwoman Breaks Down Her Career in Stunts" people still click and the credit is there

[@OogyTheMango]

I think not including the name is just to keep the title short. Other videos like this one, on Vanity Fair and on other channels (like WIRED) do the same thing. "Movie Accent Expert" "Black Panther's Costume Designer." You don't see names unless it's a name that would be easily recognizable. It's the same thing in news headlines - "Florida Man Wrestles Alligator"

[@nightspicer]

she's not known to people so they don't add it in the title. you got this in video. same is with accent expert or hacker or anybody else

[@nightspicer]

"Stranger Things Composers Break Down the Show's Music | Vanity Fair" "The Girl in the Spider's Web Director Breaks Down a Fight Scene | Notes on a Scene | Vanity Fair" "'Colette' Director Breaks Down the Big Entrance Scene | Notes on a Scene | Vanity Fair" "Ad Experts Explain Coke vs. Pepsi | Vanity Fair" this rule sticks to everyone that is not famous. so no her name shouldn't be in the title because it's in description.

[@michaelt.5672]

18:46 Imagine being part of the crew filming this. One moment they are kissing, and seconds later they beat the crap out of each other. That's gotta be a pretty surreal thing to watch.

[@RamzaBeoulves]

Sounds like my neighbours every other week

[@SpydersByte]

@@RamzaBeoulves lulz

[@Leprutz]

Ever watched a behind the scene blopper of the jackie chan movies? You see them fighting and each time he gets hurt, his ennemy runs towards him to help him. It really does feel sureal.

[@Hussein_Nur]

What a prolific career. Well done to her. Shes a beast!

[@NedDanielss]

I wish I had heard of her sooner! It’s crazy watching all the movies but being oblivious to the fact it’s the same person. Love the series btw

[@goodial]

well cinema truly is the art of make believe! The more I find out about movies, the more the good ones feel like a miracle, as there are so many things that have to be done to perfection for the whole movie to feel great!

[@evilcatgaming9056]

I wonder why they decided against wires for the Divergent stunt. Would the effect be significantly different, or was it just for bragging rights? If the scene would be virtually the same on wires, they shouldn't have endangered her life like that. Yeah, this job is inherently risky, but stunt people are human beings, and you have an obligation to make sure your employees have the safest working conditions possible.

[@nekokna]

i am not sure,but the flowing of the clothing may reveal the wiring even after editing

[@AngelChick03]

i'm confused because it looks like there are wires attached to her at the beginning of the jump?

[@inplainsight131]

AngelChick03 they’re guide wires, not wires that catch you

[@user-ts6yi3gk6d]

Lydia .inplainsight131 just curious, what are guide wires?

[@inplainsight131]

h they don’t hold you up, they just make sure you land where you’re supposed to. They just kind of pull you in the right direction when you jump.

[@me45116]

"the men are all covered but the women don't really have a lot to cover them" A sad truth

[@AussieRoberts]

what...

[@dozer11]

Yup. The men can wear more padding while the women are usually wearing skimpier clothes or form fitting outfits. Heck even the difference between a dress vs jeans/pants means no pads on the legs.

[@erheetrherh2659]

True, but then again women choose to wear those clothes

[@alinabe2489]

erhe etrherh how can they choose it if they are filming a movie and they HAVE to wear those costumes??

[@dozer11]

erhe etrherh that doesn’t make sense at all. The stunt woman doesn’t have that choice. If the character is in jeans and a flannel, then she can wear more padding. If the character is in a skirt, she has no choice to wear knee pads because the character would look stupid wearing that.

[@jcel4378]

There really should be a stunt category in the Oscars. Stunt man & woman do not get enough credit for their blood, sweat and tears.

[@mmushypushy]

They don’t want to award dangerous stunts in order for them not to try and “one up” others with how dangerous they can go.

[@darkmagician2521]

@@mmushypushy What a convenient excuse for not giving these hardworking stunt people any acknowledgement and recognition.

[@drewbarrymore787]

It’s not an excuse fool

[@hippopajamas]

This woman has been in freaking everything! She's such a badass.

[@DrAdnan]

My body’s so fragile I need a stunt double for daily life.

[@SamuelTBrooks]

What a tragedy it would have been to die working on Divergent.

[@modernlover0rosalyn]

This was literally my thought lol it's a cool stunt in a really bad film

[@vividneon]

It's very ironic too if you happened to read the books (the film was very very different)

[@joshwalter5009]

a stunt double died last year on the walking dead

[@shabenahassanzada9036]

Really? I loved the film

[@shurchil69]

The first Divergent was actually not too bad tbh. The sequels sucked tho.

[@saorla5589]

This is really interesting, thanks vanity fair for a different perspective into film

[@Pegasus1212]

OMG this woman should have her own channel. I would watch her breakdown scenes and other stunt men/woman do it too!!!

[@shahzeb2335]

incredible... Now i think actual heros are people doing stunts while all credit is simply given to lead characters without even mentioning real name and effort behind these performances... it takes a strong woman/man to perform such a job with perfection...

[@tayler4040]

Yeah they do give credit, it's just not as mentioned.

[@salmagonzalez4560]

Shah Zeb did you know Jackie Chan did his own stunts

[@kamranali-cf1rl]

you deserve an oscar this is real talent

[@TheRManProds]

PUT HER NAME IN THE TITLE!

[@TehMomo_]

they don't put the name in most of the titles of these "notes on a scene" movies.

[@rmannayr2129]

UM THEY SHOULD!

[@MrPicklecopter]

They want you to click on the video to see who it is. It counts as a view.

[@TheRManProds]

Jollyman83 SO WHAT???? IT DOESN'T MATTER!

[@lilanorss7927]

If u want her name that badly check the description

[@TheBS1000]

She actually had a recurring character (also named Alicia) on Agents of Shield that I always wished we got more of. She was such a serious, no-nonsense badass and her red hair and overall performance made me wish she had been cast as Mystique in the X-Men prequels instead of Jennifer Lawrence.

[@bunnysenpaimon6742]

She's a stuntwoman, her husband's a stuntman, are they going to have stuntchildren?

[@SunflowerSpotlight]

Awww a whole stunt family. ☺️

[@ALLDAYKPOP]

@@SunflowerSpotlight There actually are stunt families

[@beeleg]

eri139 stuntbabies

[@siukong]

You joke, but it's actually not uncommon.

[@alyanaK]

If they have a youtube channel I would definitely subscribe

[@user-ho9re6ju7w]

Hollywood 👏 needs 👏 to 👏 care 👏 about 👏 the 👏 safety 👏 of 👏 stunt 👏 people

[@syystomu]

I know right... I winced so many times watching this video

[@BexMcInulty]

I feel like they do it to their best ability but sometimes they don't take everything into consideration.

[@kweenbrook]

I 100% agree. But when you think about time, money, and preparation dont all go in one. Then like someone already said not everything is taken into consideration.

[@LindsayDaly]

*Love that she refers to James Cameron as "Jim" lol*

[@laura_731]

everyone that knows him even in a small way calls him that, it's how he introduces himself

[@shonuff4323]

Why? That's what people names James go by.

[@justindeleon1010]

It seems like everyone calls him Jim

[@vihpol]

Wow horrible replies so far hahahahah errybody be buddies with good old Jim C up in the tubes

[@falerdog]

I don't know him but he's not the bloody queen or princess, so with all due respect..he's Jim. Deal.

[@cgh7337]

I'd love to ask her, when (in her opinion) does a stunt become "too dangerous"?

[@TheHellRanger]

i would love to ask tom cruise that lol

[@jennhoff03]

I heard another interview with a stunt man who said the most dangerous stunt is when you're going forward and then a wire pulls you straight backward. You can break your back pretty easily doing that. That's how the stunt kid on Harry Potter became paralyzed. He was flying on a broom, there was a (CGI) explosion, so the wire pulled him backwards and his spine snapped. I could never do that job, man, it sounds brutal!

[@jcortese3300]

Probably when you don't trust the people you're doing it with.

[@JeffCreates]

I would guess when no-one is sure exactly what's going to happen as a result of doing it

[@summer6100]

Any stunt can be dangerous if you're working with people who are cutting corners or not being mindful. With an attentive, careful crew, anything can be done. If you're interested in crazy stunts, check out Buster Keaton.

[@optilizmus]

“my husband was doubling the other actor” that’s it. that’s true love right there.

[@lindseycole6798]

so basically shes more wonderman than gal gadot

[@lenar6381]

Gal gadot was an actual warrior so please dont disrespect her

[@alexia3552]

Lindsey Cole my thoughts

[@kweenbrook]

@@lenar6381 true true.

[@palpatine3248]

Lena R how is it disrespectful

[@natuna23]

@@lenar6381 imagine all the people......

[@meganadele]

Wow I'm amazed by all the movies she's worked on, loved her character on Agents of SHIELD. Stunt people really don't get the credit they deserve.

[@katearcher8514]

Yes! I thought she looked a lot like that multiple woman.. inhuman.. person. But I thought, if it were really her, she would've mentioned it while talking about AoS.

[@gabe6297]

@@katearcher8514 I know you posted this comment like 5 months ago but i just stumbled across it and decided to look it up and turns out she was the actual actress who played that inhuman character! The Inhuman had the same name too just spelled alisha which is kinda cool :)

[@vickey111]

This was really interesting, I'm surprised at how often the safety procautions aren't enough to really keep you safe. Your worried you'll miss the landing cussion, a stunt guy and later also you break your ribs, sliding in the building in transformers your just 'saving yourself'. I always thought hollywood producers would be scared shitless stunt people would die/end up in the hospital and get bad publicity for the studio.

[@evilcatgaming9056]

It's sad, but I don't know how much bad publicity it would garner for the studio. A stuntwoman who did Domino's stunts in Deadpool 2 actually died in a crash because the character wasn't wearing a helmet, and Deadpool 2 did really well.

[@samara4367]

No me notices. (but they also rarely die)

[@kenziedee_]

so cool that she and her husband get to do stunts together for a living

[@humanbeing5546]

Wait she actually jumped down 8 stories?!

[@adebusolabada2468]

well yeah

[@lpsgirly1227]

Woke Beans yeah with the rope thing

[@humanbeing5546]

Adebusola Bada I’m shook

[@eatinglegocandy]

Lps Girly122 did we watch the same video... she didn’t jump with the rope tf

[@kaiyisha2501]

Girl knows she’s made it when she stars in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. That scene was so monumental

[@febrezesmells-good9585]

Kaiyisha Would day Avatar was her career highlight

[@kaiyisha2501]

Febreze Smells-Good probably but AOS to me is the best show to be made🤗

[@miracle_worker3270]

You know you made it when you get to call James Cameron "Jim".

[@thebratquinn7665]

I love that. Wife: I love you Husband: I love you too *kiss* Director: THREE...TWO...ONE *BODY SLAMS EACH OTHER THROUGH A WALL*

[@JaylinAAllen]

She jumped off of a building 😱🙈

[@MarijuanaSoldiers]

so? i jumped outta a plane a few times. what makes her cool is that she gets paid to do it.

[@EureCactus]

jack 9200 I don’t think u did it without parachute

[@nonononodont]

@@MarijuanaSoldiers 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 good for you for jumping off a plane, lol. 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

[@MarijuanaSoldiers]

well no of course not, but if there was a way to without a parachute that was safe, i would do it. similar to how she usually uses wires, but in this instance she had another safe way to do it which was the inflated thing she landed on.

[@Whyaretherehandlesnowihateit]

@@MarijuanaSoldiers what exactly are you trying to prove...?

[@GZeta789]

I can't believe on Divergent they made her jump without any wires. What kind of a-hole puts their actors in risk like that?!

[@nishlimbu4026]

We don’t give enough appreciation to all the stunt doubles in films

[@mackdebruin999]

She's just as, if not more beautiful than the actresses she's doubled for.

[@bootleg_skywalker3673]

yesssss.

[@badoli1074]

"The other actor is my husband, so we had to kick each others butt!" My god, she's gorgeous!

[@nandikamansingka765]

I only watch these videos for those markers. I love those markers

[@KillJoy_Since2017]

Nandika Mansingka 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@fantastic3and1]

Sameee

[@larissarose3764]

Nandika Mansingka I like them too

[@honeybsweetnectar1713]

??? Ok

[@tryptamind6839]

Me too! If you want to know what marker she is using, it's the Crayola Window Crayons. 🤗

[@justinbourne5888]

this woman is extrordinary

[@bifa5414]

It's interesting how on Agents of Shield she was stund duble for an actress and at the same time playing her own character (who in one scene also needed stund bodies). :P Alicia Vela-Bailey was great both as Adrienne's (Bobbi) stund duble and as Alisha Whithley on that show.

[@darkmagician2521]

bifa Dax Lo (Blue Ranger - Operation Overdrive) is really jealous of Alicia because she gets to act while he doesn't. Oh the horror.

[@cisbetterthanyou6658]

I genuinely didn’t think that they had used real people to do the stunts in Avatar

[@rmannayr2129]

Stunt Doubles and Stunt Teams should get a Oscar!

[@ACsPianoCorner]

An incredible insight into the world of stuntwomen and an unbelievable résumé. I've been watching her for years and didn't even know it. A true movie hero.

[@43v3rh1d3n]

Can they please interview Cirque du Soleil performers? they do some wild stuff!

[@RandomTokuVideos]

Alica is an amazing stunt woman. And it's always fun seeing her fight her husband, Matt Mullins, on Agents of Shield. Shout-out to Sideswipe!

[@helixvfx8569]

This is probably the coolest video I’ve watched in a while, I love when they talk about these and what they did!!!!

[@Aquarityy]

The story of her and her husband doing Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. together is SO CUTE OML. That is so cool. This job would be soooo fun but soo dangerous. You can die like... wow

[@maggielin71]

I feel really bad for the stuntman and this stuntwoman who cracked their ribs. I hope they both managed to heal well! And also, major props to all stuntpeople out there. They risk injuries and even death for films, and they need a lot of skill and practice! Great job to yall👏✊

[@phoebexxlouise]

I loved learning about this. Stunt people are so cool

[@ErebosGR]

Unsung heroes, all of the stuntpeople.

[@gorditasmith7268]

18:57 that's actually romantic :)

[@zebanon5]

Does anyone else like the derpy smiley face she draws at 17:10?

[@rachelelizabeth6017]

So glad you guys made this, stunt people deserve so much more attention and appreciation!!! 💕💕💕

[@marianna3253]

This is AMAZING!! I've always had a lot of respect for stunt people but this just makes me appreciate them even more. Very interesting to see everything explained in detail!

[@lravenl]

I really love her, she seems like a super nice and fun-loving person! And so much respect for stunt people, risking their lives all the time.

[@wy4553]

So much respect for stuntwomen and stuntmen. They do so much and most of the times audiences don't even realize the extent of how much they're risking. Love this video, and love how in depth she went in breaking down these stunts!

[@loveforeignaccents]

Wow, she has a great memory to be able to provide so much detail!! Love that she loves her (very difficult) job. Much respect!!!

[@readandrant]

I love this video thanks Vanity Fair! Please make another one!

[@Emeralsha]

Wow, I adore this person. Awesome personality and seems super humble. I always wondered how these stunts were pulled off!

[@yorsusiewong]

Wow this was so eye opening! you are amazing! thank you for all that you do for us to have these awesome movies!

[@joseribamarjr5164]

She's amazing. I loved the way she broke down everything. So much I had no idea.... Great video. Please bring her again

[@lydiaself9349]

Really cool to watch this especially as I am training to be a stuntwoman

[@amirulaffandi9854]

Good luck!

[@latedala07]

That’s awesome!!!!

[@lydiaself9349]

amir azman thanks!!

[@Alex-ix6oi]

Good luck!

[@lydiaself9349]

Alex cheers!!

[@Neverland99]

she look like Jessica Biel

[@martinjorge7587]

Thanks for sharing your experiences! Watched the whole thing through. Nice to hear that perspective of acting.

[@beth-bi9yv]

This is intense. ...curious to know the injury rate on this kind of job.

[@Sophie-db1ko]

Awesoome! Thank you great series!!! ❤️

[@matwang1]

Didn't she also play the cloning Inhuman in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.? Also the creature in Lights Out?

[@Peter_Cordes]

Yes, well spotted. marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Alicia_Vela-Bailey played marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Alisha_Whitley

[@_Calliegraphy_]

You are amazing. First video that captured all my attation for most of the video. You have some serious balls!

[@losangeles3062]

Amazing, and the explanations are fascinating!

[@j7.54prd]

I hope she gets an actual role in one of upcoming tarantino's movies

[@ErebosGR]

I sure hope not. Tarantino has a history of treating his actresses and stuntwomen very unsafely.

[@skateordie002]

@@ErebosGR one case = a history.

[@jobhhh]

a role in john wick universe will be great

[@aquaticflames]

Brother, is that you?

[@commentcopbadge6665]

Stunt people are not professional actors.

[@moosedraw3731]

Knowing she literally jumped off a building for divergent blows my mind.

[@darlainabell4079]

Loved this! It showed me there’s more to it, behind the scenes

[@Ahturos]

Really amazing video seeing what goes in both tv-show and movie. Amazing!

[@abielvidge1821]

Stunt doubles absolutely deserve more recognition than they get

[@nervousdorito3696]

"I love you" "I love you :)" _le kiss_ *proceeds to kick the crap out of each other*

[@keithhallworth]

I love this. Thanks VF for making this video!

[@cappytin6730]

Great video, wish we got to see more of this type of behind the scenes content!

[@Noaporat9]

Yesss Alicia!! You go girl!! The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D family is proud of you❤

[@_june_lost]

It's always cool to see fellow AOS fans online! There's not enough of us!

[@misslanapford9169]

VANITY FAIR :::: More of these PLEASE... Stunt Women are amazing.... So more videos and interviews of a whole range of stunt woman..👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@andtheneat]

*This was so entertaining to watch! I never ever watch long videos but I loved this.*

[@drs1922]

This was so enjoyable to watch! This woman has done so many good movies, I'm so impressed.

[@c.n.2587]

Shes awesome, its really good to get other perspective in the making of a movie.

[@thealexanderharrold]

She's an angel.

[@cyte5148]

This was so cool! Please make more of these :)

[@jessicahickey4527]

Really enjoyed this!! Honestly really like this girl she’s so chill and nice

[@mohdkhairul9701]

Cool lady. I hope she have a nice long career ahead of her.

[@BlackMirinda]

This was so so fascinating!!! Please put her name in the title!

[@Joe-Juli]

This is so cool, ive never really thought about how it all worked - now i want to watch more videos about how stunts works!

[@Robin-bh2yi]

I love this kind of video’s! I never hear so much about stuntman/woman and there jobs! Keep on going with these video’s!

[@clairevotta6702]

this is so cool when I was younger and someone died in a movie I thought they died in real life i could never watch horror movies....

[@zues22t]

this was awesome

[@CoreHibb]

Thank you for sharing this, Vanity Fair.. Alicia is Great!! 💙💙❤️❤️

[@damienlowery]

Thank you for doing some of the amazing stunts to some of my favorite movies!