- Born
- Birth nameCharles F. Stahelski
- Height6′ 1″ (1.85 m)
- He came from a kick-boxing background; he entered the film field as a stunt performer at the age of 24. Before that, he worked as an instructor at the Inosanto Martial Arts Academy in California, teaching Jeet Kune Do/Jun Fan. After doing numerous roles in low budget martial art movies like Mission of Justice (1992) and Bloodsport III (1996) his first start as a stunt double came from the movie The Crow (1994) for doubling late Brandon Lee whom he trained with at the Inosanto Academy. After Brandon Lee's lethal accident Chad was picked for his stunt/photo double because he knew Lee, how he moved, and looked more like him than any other stuntman.
His greatest break as a stunt man came when he hooked up with Keanu Reeves on The Matrix (1999). He worked as martial arts stunt coordinator in its following sequels and doubled Keanu Reeves for extreme shots. He also formed a company called Smashcut with his stunt colleagues which was responsible for cool stunts in some of the greatest movies and series.
After a ten year in the film world he continued to give his best as a stunt coordinator and stunt performer.
- IMDb mini biography by: The Old Fox {by_oldfox@yahoo.com}
- ParentsGary StahelskiKathleen Stahelski (Diamond)
- He often doubles Keanu Reeves.
- Chad Stahelski mainly spent the beginning of his career as Keanu Reeves' double for stunts. But in 2014, he directed a movie with Keanu Reeves starring in it.
- Some of his greatest characters he doubled includes Crow and Neo from the movies The Crow (1994) and The Matrix Trilogy: The Matrix (1999), The Matrix Reloaded (2003), and The Matrix Revolutions (2003).
- His specialized skills involves Martial Arts, Wire work, Rigging, Tumbling, Mini-Tramp, Trampoline, High Falls, Fire Burns, Martial Arts Choreography, Air Rams, Ratchets, Weapons, Acrobatic Reactions, Certified Scuba Diver, Precision Driving, and Motorcycles.
- For The Matrix (1999), Chad Stahelski originally turned down the audition for Keanu Reeves' stunt double, thinking that he will not make it. But his boss made him to go for the audition, which was conducted by Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski and fight choreographer Yuen Woo-Ping and he got the part.
- If I'm the smartest guy in the room, I'm in the wrong room.
- I guess I have kind of a type. Pretty much anybody who shows up in a black leather overcoat, I've doubled for them.
- For me, it's about surrounding myself with the best, most talented team out there, and not ever being afraid of being the worst guy in the room. It's ego-crushing, yeah. Every day is ego-crushing. But it keeps you sharper than you can imagine.
- (On Brandon Lee) Losing a friend like Brandon was heartbreaking, but you also know that he and his fiancee were four or five weeks out of their wedding when the accident happened, you look at what they had, and you feel even worse. You don't ever want to feel that again, because at the end of the day, it's just a movie.
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