Harry Potter stunt double who was paralyzed on set describes the moment everything ‘went wrong’
Topics: Harry Potter, Daniel Radcliffe, Film and TV
Callum Jones
Featured Image Credit: Youtube/Crisis What Crisis?/Warner Bros.
Topics: Harry Potter, Daniel Radcliffe, Film and TV
When Harry Potter stunt double David Holmes turned up on set in January 2009, he had no idea his life was about to change forever.
Holmes worked with Daniel Radcliffe on the famed series for the best part of a decade, with the pair first working together on the franchise's debut movie Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
But Holmes' stuntman career came to an abrupt end after he suffered severe injuries while filming the franchise's penultimate flick Deathly Hallows: Part 1.
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The stuntman was propelled with too much force during a fight scene rehearsal which left him with a fractured neck. He was also left paralysed from the chest down.
He now has limited movements in his arms and his hands, while a consequent cyst in his spinal cord has resulted in continued deterioration.
It's expected Holmes will soon to get to the point where he will be fully paralyzed, making breathing, speech, and swallowing independently impossible.
In a new interview, Holmes spoke about the moment it all 'went wrong'.
Speaking on Andy Coulson's Crisis What Crisis? podcast, he said: "Something went wrong that was out of my control. I flew into a wall at a phenomenal pace, neck first, and my chest folded into my nose and my spinal cord separated.
"I landed instantly paralysed, still conscious.
"The first time was on Christmas Day when I was able to eat a full meal, which was my mum's Christmas dinner, and we were in a hospital, it was a hard time and I had a little TV on the wall, and we watched Oliver Twist.
"That film saved my family that day. And for that one moment we were taken out of the hospital and we were transported through the power of a great story."
He continued: "And I always remind myself that Harry Potter does that for millions of people every day, and I'm very very proud of my contribution people's safe space.
"Despite the fact that it put me into my situation I will never not be proud about that. It's a beautiful thing."
After the terrible incident, Holmes was taken to A&E at Watford General Hospital before being transferred to a specialist spinal injury centre.
The former stuntman spent several months in hospital and spent years having various treatments and surgeries.
"Doctors told me that predicted living age is 65 - that gives me 24 years left on this planet," the former stuntman previously said.
"And on that journey am I still going to be able to talk, am I still going to be able to eat, am I still going to be able to breathe independently? I don't know.
"But I know I can do that today, so I'm going to make sure I use it before I lose it, and that is something that puts a rocket up your backside, for sure."