Rome: Oscar-winner Dame Helen Mirren and other members of the cast of Fast X, the latest instalment in the popular two-decades-long Fast & Furious franchise, have called on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognise the work of stunt professionals by creating a new category at the Oscars.
At a lively press conference in Rome on Friday night (AEST), held ahead of the Fast X premiere, the star-studded cast of the action franchise, which now includes four Oscar-winners including Mirren, Rita Moreno, Charlize Theron and Brie Larson, made the appeal while discussing working on the film, and the important role stunt professionals play in production.
The Fast & Furious franchise is heavy on stunts – and the cast says professionals working in the field should be rewarded.
After discussing a bruising fight scene between her character and one played by Charlize Theron, Michelle Rodriguez, who has been part of the franchise since the first film was released in 2001, called for stunt performers to be given their own category at the annual Academy Awards. Mirren echoed the call, adding that both those who design and execute stunts should be rewarded for their efforts with awards.
Mirren and Rodriguez join a growing list of significant Hollywood figures calling for the Oscars to recognise the work of stunt professionals. Steven Spielberg, James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger have publicly called for a stunt category at the Oscars and, more recently, Keanu Reeves and Chad Stahelski, the lead actor and director in the John Wick franchise, have made similar calls.