The rise of the Woman Warrior..

Throughout history there has been little thought for the awesome warrior women who fought bravely on battlefields along with their male counterparts. As a company owned by a woman, the BAA wanted to set itself a challenge, a tough one none the less, but hey, you have to aim high, right?

We wanted more women to be employed in the screen action industry. We wanted more women performing on battlefields as skilled supporting artists and more women stunt performers. I think we can proudly say we've achieved a certain level of success, however, there is a long way to go. 

On Game Of Thrones, the introduction of the heroic Brienne of Tarth proved that within armour, it is pretty much impossible to tell whether it is a male or a female, without getting a little bit close and creepy. Brienne sparred with Ser Loras Tyrell, before defeating him and proving her worth to King Renly Baratheon (First Of His Name, King of the Andals and the blah blah) and Queen Margaery as part of the Kingsguard. The point is, no one knew the character was played by a woman, until she took her helmet off and she proved that she fought as good as any man. 

It is well known that women fought alongside men on battlefields under a male disguise. They were also trained to be able to defend their homesteads against attack, should their male partners be away fighting in a battle. 

Does it matter that there boobs under that chainmail?!

As an agency, we have provided hundreds of male skilled supporting artists and featured action performers on battlefields for major productions such as King Arthur, Hollow Crown, Game of Thrones to name a few. But women?... well. 

During a conversation with an AD for a large feature, we were told that we needed to source for men (any height and size and any hair length) for a battle sequence. Apparently It did not matter what they looked like, as they will be clad in armour and have helmets on. At this point our female MD jumped up suddenly from her chair and said  "Well, in that case, surely we can put women forward?!"

We got excited. VERY excited at the prospect of calling upon our army of sword wielding warrior women who have sweated blood and tears through our courses and waited patiently for work, whilst their male counterparts fought from one battle to another.

The idea was pitched. The case was indisputable. The excitement, however, was short lived. 

We were told that the Director only wanted men as it was historically accurate. He wouldn't even entertain a costume test on our awesome women warriors. We knew that it would be impossible for anyone to know there was a woman under the chainmail and helmets. We wanted so desperately to prove this could work. 

On a positive note, there has been a rise of female lead characters, such as Rey and Jyn Erso in the most recent Star Wars instalments. As well as Brienne Of Tarth, alongside other strong-willed female characters in Westeros and Essos, Female superhero's are proving they are just as popular as their male counterparts so things are improving. 

Unfortunately, these lead parts go to a ridiculously small population of people who make it all the way to the top of the casting ladder. The vast majority of action performers in the screen action industry are stunt performers and skilled supporting artists and it is still a heavily male dominated landscape. 

Do men really need to double women anymore?

With the increased popularity of female lead and supporting characters, there is certainly more of call for female stunt women and the industry has seen a change in the amount of work women stunt performers are getting. Not only does it prove that the gender gap is closing in the stunt world it also proves that women can be just as good at the physicality of the role as men. 

There has always been the argument that male stunt performers were doubling women because it was difficult to find females who were highly trained in certain stunts such as driving and motorbiking. This can still be an issue.

The stunt industry relies on high level sporting qualifications and experience and as such can only pull on the successful stunt performers who have spent years of their lives training in a range of different sports. There lies the problem. There are still many sporting industries that attract more men than women.

As a screen action training company who trains the vast majority of people wanting to become stunt performers in the UK, we believe strongly that in order to affect the gender gap, we must ensure schools and colleges promote the career of a stunt performer. You cannot go to university to study stunts, which is why the educational establishments do not actively promote stunt performing as a career. 

As an agency that focuses on closer to camera work (more featured work) we're seeing an improvement in the amount of work that is coming in for women and the rise in women applying for our courses is increasing every year.  For the first time since the birth of the BAA in 2009 we recently taught a Warrior Phase I with over HALF of the participants being women.

That's a massive sword swipe in the right direction.  

 

If you're interested in a career as an action performer there are a few different career paths you can take. Check out our Careers Guide. 

If you would like to attend one of our industry recognised courses - check out our course diary. We offer a wide range of industry approved screen action training, from firearms and screen combat to intensive stunt courses.