Spot the Stuntman in Sorcerer’s Stone

There’s a scene in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone where you can clearly see a stuntman double in the place of Rupert Grint, who plays Ron Weasley. But, the stuntman is only in the movie for four frames, so it’s literally impossible to see him unless you freeze-frame the DVD.

The scene where the stuntman appears is when Ron has just declared “check” in the chess scene, and is about to be thrown off his steed by the Queen.

Right before the Queen attacks, we see a close-up of Ron, clearly Rupert Grint.

ronfall1

In the next shot, the Queen attacks.

ronfall2

In the very next shot, as the Queen’s lance hits Ron’s steed, you can clearly see that it’s now not Rupert Grint, it’s a stuntman, dressed in the same clothes.

ronfall3

Here’s a zoomed-in image of the above frame:

ronfall3a

Smoke from the steed exploding obscures the face of the stuntman three frames later. Since a movie plays at 24 frames per second, that means the stuntman is on the screen for about 1/6 of a second. That’s why you can’t see him without freeze-framing the DVD.

Just 12 frames later, just a half a second, the very next shot is a closer shot of Ron falling backwards off the steed, and now it’s clearly back to Rupert again.

ronfall4

It’s curious there was a stuntman for this shot, since Rupert clearly shot the scene falling off the steed as well. They obviously shot it multiple times with both the stuntman and Rupert.

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David Haber
David Haber

D.S. Haber (known to his friends as Dave) is a professional muggle computer programmer and web designer and lives in Los Angeles. He is proud of the fact that he is a new-blood wizard with no (apparent) previous magical blood in his family. His favorite Quidditch team is the Falmouth Falcons, who's motto is "Let us win, but if we cannot win, let us break a few heads." He is also a West Ham United (Hammers) fan.

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nicole
nicole
17 years ago

Thats an interesting point.

Rawlio
Rawlio
17 years ago

I’m thinking they used digital face replacement like they did for the hobbits in Lord of the Rings.

Dave Haber
Dave Haber
17 years ago

I was thinking that also, but two points make that unlikely:

1. If they digitally replaced Rupert’s face onto the stuntman, why are there 4 frames where the face is not replaced? And…

2. Notice the way there is dust/smoke obscuring Rupert’s face in the last example frame. Wouldn’t it be difficult to do the face replacement and match the dust/smoke in the air?

3. It’s expensive.

Did I say two points?:-)

Tonya
Tonya
17 years ago

Also if you notice just after Ron falls to the ground and some debris is flying around, a cut appears on Ron’s face. I have freeze-framed as he’s falling off the horse to the ground, and flying debris cuts his cheek really, but I never did notice the stunt double.

Carmen
Carmen
17 years ago

That’s really cool. I never noticed anything at all and I’ve watched that scene a million times.

emily s.d
emily s.d
17 years ago

i never knew that,that stunt man doesn’t look like rupert at all!

Nelson
Nelson
17 years ago

Interesting. I think that it was likely shot multiple times also, as many movies scenes are these days. I think it odd and amazing that 4 frames could make such a difference in the final cut. But that’s Hollywood!

Judith
Judith
17 years ago

My Brother and I were watching that movie (not the whole thing- just parts)frame-by-frame last night and noted that. Quite interesting.

Steve
Steve
17 years ago

Wow…I never noticed that. You’ve got great eyes! The stuntman doesn’t even look like Ron… I mean Rupert. I meant to say that.

Dave Haber
Dave Haber
17 years ago

It’s the “stuntman magic”. Stuntmen hardly ever would be taken for a “look-a-like” for the actor they’re standing in for. But as you can see from this example, they don’t need to be.

Poojitha
Poojitha
17 years ago

Oh my god! That’s something I’ve never noticed!(probably because I haven’t watched the filme so many times) Dave, you observe things very well.

Catalina
Catalina
17 years ago

Maybe the “stuntman” is the real Ronald Weasley and he Apparated onto the set for a sixth of a second on a dare from Fred and George…

Bridget
Bridget
17 years ago

I think that this is a very interesting point, however, I don’t see how this matters to the outcome of the movie. I mean, seriously, who cares? But truthfully, it is interesting.

Dave Haber
Dave Haber
17 years ago

Yeah, this is sort of a “behind the scenes” kind of bit of trivia. Next time you watch the DVD you can dazzle your friends with it…

Manshi
Manshi
17 years ago

Wow, that was really surprising but how actually did the filmmakers let it go on and umm is rupert grint so conscious about falling or getting hurt, anyway it was interesting!

huzaifah
huzaifah
17 years ago

wow, thats really cool i would never have noticed it!

Me
Me
17 years ago

Why on Earth would they even have a stuntman if the also had Rupert do it too? Doesn’t that totally defeat the purpose of a stuntman!

Dave Haber
Dave Haber
17 years ago

My point exactly…

Anonymous
Anonymous
17 years ago

thats really interesting i never noticed its kind of weird. i agree with the person who said that fred and george dared ron to apparate.

Anonymous
Anonymous
17 years ago

its totally crazy i did not notice that!

Anonymous
Anonymous
17 years ago

Or, they needed someone who could hold onto the horse during the impact of the sword…

Me
Me
17 years ago

Ok so i just watched it. Its Really cool! But why would they need someone to hold onto the horse if the piont of the scene is that Ron FELL OFF the horse?

Anonymous
Anonymous
17 years ago

Good point…
Maybe they stuck that in so we could see it:d

Anushi jain
Anushi jain
17 years ago

Hey thats really cool i would have never noticed that even though i’ve seen the movie a billion times.

no0r
no0r
17 years ago

Well, there’s another instance where you can clearly make out a body double for ‘Hermione’ in the 3rd movie. It happens when the trio runs around hogwarts before Bugbeak’s execution. When you see them running frm behind, you can see that the girl is much bigger and well built than the regular Hermione. Watch the scene and you will notice the difference!
cheers!

Jekku
Jekku
17 years ago

Woah…I’m blind..thats my favorite part of the movie..and I never noticed..WOAH!

Marilyn
Marilyn
17 years ago

Something all of you missed is that it is also the double when Ron hits the floor (zoom in on the face), so here’s my theory: they filmed the exploding horse with the double (you don’t want a young actor around pyrotechnics), patched in a quick shot of Rupert falling backwards to keep us conviced he’s really there (it’s a different angle, so smoke and flying debris are easy to add–he probably only fell a foot or so), then the double was used for the long shot of Ron flying backwards off the toppling steed and landing hard on the floor (after he hits he pulls into a tucked position, and then they cut Rupert in again). I caught it at full speed and went back frame by frame to check.

caitlyn
caitlyn
17 years ago

why were the doubles needed?

Dave Haber
Dave Haber
17 years ago

In big Hollywood movies, doubles are almost always used instead of the main actor when they have to do something that might be dangerous. If the main actor gets hurt doing something, it could hold up the entire shoot, costing millions of dollars.

Michael Brinkley
Michael Brinkley
17 years ago

As an independent film maker I have a simple answer for why the double was used. Rupert was not available when that shot was filmed. The scene is a series of many shots taken at different times. They did not have Rupert on the horse, shoot, replace him with double, shoot and then put him back on. It is possible that the frames with the double were actually done as a pickup. If so, it would be much cheaper to grab someone working on the set, put him in the clothes and film him, than it would be to get hold of Rupert’s agent, fly him to the studio and pay him to do that shot. Four frames just isn’t worth that much expense.

jo
jo
17 years ago

ether way….both the stuntman and rupert are hot:-P

sarab
sarab
17 years ago

well all i can say is that i am stunned at your discovery

Elizabeth
Elizabeth
17 years ago

What you also have to remember that even when Daniel, Rupert and Emma were on set, because they were so young there was a very tight limit on the amount of time they could actually be used. They also had to keep up with their school work, be given breaks etc. Using stuntwo/men and doubles is pretty common anyway even with adult actors. Doing stunts is a very highly skilled profession. The people who do stunts are very, very highly trained which makes it a LOT safer for everyone. Really knowing how to fall makes a big difference. I believe Elizabeth Taylor had back problems due to falls she took when filming National Velvet. Which I can relate to having fallen off a few horses myself! And I never looked as good on a horse as Miss Taylor:-(

Jay
Jay
17 years ago

I was reading the post about Ron Apparating onto the statue when he’s older. I thought it was nonsense, but that got me thinking. Maybe it’s s spoiler involving Dumbledore’s death. Maybe, there is a spell that allows one to relive certain events. This could be used to explain the older stuntman, who is actually playing the part of the Ron from the future. This way, Harry could go back and try and stop Dumbledore from dieing

Amy
Amy
17 years ago

Jay, you’re putting way to much thought into it. You can’t pick apart the movies for clues like you can the books.

Ashley
Ashley
17 years ago

Jay–
I think Amy is right. The director in the movies does what he thinks is best for the best movie he can make (and be paid for). So what I think happened was the older stuntman looked the most like Ron and was the best actor who showed up.
And anyway, if you “relive certain events” then your basically saying you are going back in a memory, which you cannot change. Every time Harrys been in a memory he goes thru things and no one acknowledges that he is there, because when the memory happened he wasnt there.
so basically you can mend the present and plan for the future, but you cannot change the past.

Hannia Zia
Hannia Zia
17 years ago

I agree with Ashley and Amy about the older Ron thing. Anyway, why WOULD an older Ron come back to do the falling-off-the-horse thing? It would take too long for the older Ron to come back in time, explain to Ron why he’s there (which is…?), get Ron off the horse, hide Ron, get on the horse, fall down, get Ron back on the horse and go front in time.

It’s pointless to do that unless the older Ron wanted to stop his memory of pain or something. And something else: Can people go FRONT in time with time turners? (I know it’s not on the subject but it popped into my head!)

Good for noticing Dave! Now I know why I have glasses although it’s probably because I read the small print of the Harry Potter books too close!

Si
Si
17 years ago

A large number of scenes were shot using body doubles (as is the case with most movies)…one of the reasons for this is the child work load agreement, meaning that children under sixteen can only do so much work on a film, so they get a double in who is over 16. Lots of the long shots are also body doubles…I am assuming that the six frames that are used here are body double Ron, probably shot during a camera rehearsal (where the doubles are always used).

And how do I know this? I was Draco’s body double on the first film!

Elizabeth
Elizabeth
17 years ago

Thank you, Si! That confirms pretty much what I said earlier on this thread. Nice to hear it from a professional.

alex
alex
16 years ago

Oh, yeah! I didn’t notice that before, I though it was Rupert Grint doing that stunt himself.

George
George
16 years ago

Wow. Kind of a pointless stunt replacement. The guy isn’t even doing anything dangerous. I assumed the Harry Potter cast wasn’t a bunch of prettyboys and girls, but now my faith in that is shaken. I mean, come on. An actor should be prepared to get jerked around a LITTLE bit.

Dave Haber
Dave Haber
16 years ago

George: I agree, but that knight he was sitting on was pretty high up, that’s a potentially dangerous fall. It’s also possible it wasn’t done for safety, perhaps a small reshoot was necessary and Rupert wasn’t available.

How’s Fred, by the way?

Kalaiselvi
Kalaiselvi
16 years ago

That’s interesting. I didn’t noticed earlier though i saw it many times. Nice catch.

Justin P
Justin P
16 years ago

In an interview it was stated that the 3 kids couldnt due many of the stunts do to legal matters. They do a few stunts in the upcoming ootp movie though.

Ashley
Ashley
16 years ago

sharp eyes. i didn’t even notice that!

maybe rupert wasn’t able to perform this scene so well, that columbus decided to get a double for him? the trio was still very young at this time, and very new to the business. perhaps not that good with stunts yet…

sm
sm
16 years ago

I think we also need to remember that when sorcerer’s stone was filmed Rupert was only 11 or 12….not considered old enough to do stunts of that caliber so a stuntman had to be used because it was considered too dangerous for a child his age.

Patti
Patti
16 years ago

There are things throughout all of the movies that clearly demonstrate that multiple takes are required for many different scenes and then they are spliced together for the final product. For example, the next time you watch the third movie, notice the strings on Harry’s sweatshirt in the scenes where he is talking to Snape about the Marauders Map and then later in Lupin’s classroom. In the fourth movie, watch the blanket that Hermoine uses to wrap around Harry’s shoulders after he comes out of the Black Lake. Personally, I just hate it when I notice these things — it takes away the “magic”!

Ari
Ari
16 years ago

To whoever said that the stuntman is the “Ron of the future”, Half Blood Prince hadn’t even been written, so nobody had any way to know that Dumbledore was going to “die”. How do they put a clue about something that they don’t even know will happen? They just needed a stuntman.

jake
jake
16 years ago

Si: In what parts of the first HP movie did Draco need a double? Where can we see you in the movie?

Katie
Katie
16 years ago

I agree with Patti from Bellevue. I tend to notice these things, not just in HP movies, but in other movies as well. It does take away from the magic.