A Hollywood Paycheck

Once upon a time I was a stunt double for Kerri Kenney of the 'Reno 911!' phenomenon.  I had done a bit of work as her photo double and everyone always seemed pleased to see me.  This was some of the first semi-important work I'd done since arriving in Los Angeles.  It seemed like only a matter of time before bigger, better things would come my way, not that I expected what came next.

 I was sitting at the desk in my Studio City apartment just a few hours before my waitressing shift, doing online submissions for castings, when the phone rang.    

"Hello?"

"Hi Laura, this is ___ from Reno 911! stunts department.  I'm calling because we've got a stunt coming up with Kerri and I think you'd be great for it.  Have you ever done stunts before?"

"Well, no...  But I am pretty athletic.  Is it a big stunt?"

"On a scale of 1-10, it's a 7."

"I see."

"Let me ask you this -- do you like roller coasters?"

"Absolutely."

"Then you're hired."

--gulp--

The following week I arrived on set with my "I got this" face on...  I had no idea what I was doing.  Everyone was welcoming and I quickly fell into the drill.  The other stunt performers had all been in the biz for 8+ years.  The stunt world is a hard one to get into and I was incredibly fortunate to find myself in their company.

Next came the stunt... and it was AWESOME!  We were strapped onto the outside of a cop car which sped down the interstate around 70mph, ending in a screeching halt as we "crashed" into a building that then exploded, peppering us with flaming particles (we couldn't run due to the fact that we were strapped to the vehicle).  Then it was over.  With just a couple hours of work, major exhilaration, and the biggest paycheck I'd received yet, I was flying high.  

Over the years, I have continued to be reminded by that great first experience in the big leagues in the form of residuals; happy, unexpected sums of money I receive in the mail.  Some have been big, some have been small, but never have I received something that is excessively less than the cost of what it would take to print a check and mail it...  all of that changed today... 

Only in Hollywood!!

xoxo 

-Laura