Mic Rodgers

In the 1970s and 1980s, Rodgers worked as a stunt performer on television series such as Wonder Woman, The Incredible Hulk, and Airwolf.[10] He also played minor roles on productions such as the aforementioned Airwolf.[11]

In the 1980s, Rodgers also began doubling for Mel Gibson on projects such as Lethal Weapon.[10] Lethal Weapon was the first of his multiple collaborations with director Richard Donner.[12] He went on to double for Gibson for 25 years on projects including Braveheart and Maverick.[10] He also served as the main stunt coordinator on Maverick and Braveheart, and co-coordinator for Lethal Weapon 2 and Lethal Weapon 3.[10][12] While doubling for Gibson in Maverick, Rodgers performed a team-to-team stagecoach transfer, which was a stunt originated by Yakima Canutt in the film Stagecoach.[12] He also served as a second unit director for Braveheart.[1]

In 1999, Rodgers made his directorial debut with the film Universal Soldier: The Return.[13]

Rodgers was a second unit director and a stunt coordinator for the 2001 film The Fast and the Furious.[14] During the production of The Fast and the Furious, Rodgers developed a vehicle named the “Mic Rig” in collaboration with special effects coordinator Matt Sweeney and the rest of the film's special effects department.[14][15]

Rodgers received an Academy Award for Technical Achievement in 2002 for his efforts designing the vehicle.[6] Rodgers would return for other films in the series, including Fast & Furious (2009), for which he won the Taurus World Stunt award for Best Stunt Coordinator and/or 2nd Unit Director.[8]

In the 2000s, Rodgers went on to serve as a second unit director and/or stunt coordinator for films such as Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle,[16] Mr. and Mrs. Smith,[17] and Wanted.[18]

Rodgers served as the stunt coordinator for the 2012 film Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, training the film's star Benjamin Walker to perform the film's choreography.[19]

In the 2010s, he continued working as a second unit director and stunt coordinator for films such as the 2015 remake of Point Break,[20] Hacksaw Ridge,[7] and 12 Strong.[21] He would win a Screen Actors Guild award for Outstanding Performance By a Stunt Ensemble for his work on Hacksaw Ridge in 2017.[7][22] He also won another Taurus World Stunt Award for Best Stunt Coordinator and/or 2nd Unit Director for Hacksaw Ridge.[9]

Rodgers continued working as a stunt performer for productions such as Django Unchained[23] and Sons of Anarchy.[10] He has also directed commercials such as BMW’s “Epic Drift Mob.”[24]

He was a long time member of the stunt organization Stunts Unlimited, leaving it to become one of the original members of Brand X Stunts.[25]