Wild Game's Matthew Daddario Tells The Truth About Doing His Own Stunts - Exclusive
Many fans know Matthew Daddario from his work as Alec Lightwood on "Shadowhunters," but the actor has been hard at work since he slung arrows as a Shadowhunter on the Freeform series. His new film, "Wild Game," centers around his character Donnie — an egomaniac actor who enlists some local farmers into taking him on a hunt before the season officially begins. Daddario may not do too many stunts in the film beyond riding a horse and holding a gun, but his role in "Shadowhunters" required more than a bit of stunt work and massive fight sequences. While many actors are gung-ho about doing their own stunt work, Daddario has a different approach.
During an exclusive interview with Looper, Matthew Daddario discussed his "Shadowhunters" stunt work and whether or not he prefers to do his own stunts. He also revealed his feelings regarding his "Shadowhunters" fans and their dedicated pursuit of a Season 4.
Letting stunt doubles do their thing
On what the breakdown between Daddario's own stunts and stunt doubles tends to be and if "Shadowhunters" was the most demanding project in that regard, Daddario said, "Yeah, it was. It definitely was the most demanding project. Actors like to do their own stunts. It's so stupid. It's such a dumb thing. You do within your limitations, but there's no reason that you need to even go jumping off something three feet high."
Noting the fact that actors aren't nearly as trained on stunt work as stunt doubles, he added, "You don't know what you're doing. You're an actor. Even if you've done stunt training a little bit and all that, [there are] people whose professional careers is stunt work." Daddario is not impressed with actors who try to do everything themselves: "And to think that you can take the risks that they're there for, there's a reason they're there. There are smarter people doing the numbers, running the numbers, and realize the danger of you doing this." Stunt doubles would undoubtedly agree with that sentiment.
"And trust me, I've done little things where, without the stunt double, I've broken little bones, I've had other injuries, and you're fine, but is it worth it? Should you be doing it?" he posed. "So, I say, get the stunt people in, give the stunt people what they want, which is stunt time. And that's what we want from them, and it makes you look better. So, I'm all about it. But we did a lot of training and whatnot, but because sometimes you need to have your face in it. But ultimately leave it to the professionals. That's what I say." Well, no one can argue that Alec's final product in "Shadowhunters" looks pretty badass, so maybe he's onto something.
The future of Shadowhunters
"Shadowhunters" has been off the air for years, and the fan base is still so passionate and present. On what it was like working on a series with such a devoted base, he said, "First of all, the fans of 'Shadowhunters,' you could write a book on it." Noting how impactful the series has been on him and the rest of the cast, he added, "It's this scale, and the enthusiasm for the show and for the actors involved has been the best thing to happen to us ever. You do this show. And you can do a show, and it can exist in a vacuum, and no one can hear about it." However, that wasn't the case with "Shadowhunters."
"Or some people, in the case of 'Shadowhunters,' we have people who are constantly supporting us and constantly interested, and it made us work harder," Daddario noted. "It made us care more about our characters, made us care more about what we were doing. And then also it's incredibly rewarding. It's also very humbling. And the fandom, in general, was and is just incredible. And so, we are all extremely thankful for that."
"Wild Game" is now playing in select theaters and available on demand.