Actor-Stuntman Carson Manning Mixes Art with Action
By Dean Evans
Whether working on a television action series or a Hollywood blockbuster, veteran actor-stuntman Carson Manning’s arresting combination of dramatic skill and high-flying derring-do is never less than spellbinding. With a trove of high-profile, heard-earned credits (‘Shazam!’, ‘The Handmaid’s Tale,’ ‘Suicide Squad,’ ‘Jigsaw,’ ‘Pompeii’), the Canadian-born Manning has established himself as an in-demand performer in one of the film world’s most intensely demanding arenas — a position he has easily maintained for an astonishing three decades.
There is an important distinction between actor-stuntman and stunt double; the former requires fully developed characterizations and stunt skills while the latter only steps in as replacement for the established onscreen player. For the driven, multi-faceted Manning, his career is the culmination of a life-long dream.
“I first became interested in acting when I was a little kid,” he said. “I always loved watching true performances that pulled you into the characters, and the way they made you really believe their stories.”
Manning began honing the physical skills required f an actor-stuntman before he graduated high school.
“As a boy, I was an athlete in many sports and learned extreme balance by riding a unicycle,” Manning said. “I also rode many styles of motorcycles and cars .
After graduating. Manning pursued the full spectrum of training, taking innumerable acting classes and studying comedy via dozens of workshops and a stint with the famed Second City troupe, laying a solid foundation for his future as an actor-stuntman
“I studied acting for many years before I began stunt work,” Manning said. “It has always been a deep passion for myself and is why I get cast as a stunt actor — because I can give a great performance as well as supplying the action.”
It’s a cinematic art unique unto itself, one that requires interpretive dramatics along with an almost clinically precise approach to stunt sequences.
“Acting in stunts is very different,” Manning said. “You’re focusing on the character development of the person you’re playing but you also can’t put yourself in danger even while executing the stunt to perfection and making it look spectacular.”
Manning’s gift for creating nuanced characterizations and pulling off thrilling flights of hazardous stunts within a single scene is a rare quality, one that requires a comprehensive knowledge of the art and science each skill demands. This holistic ability has kept Manning working since the early 90s, with almost 100 impressive credits in his distinguished resume, including a nomination for the prestigious SAG Award for his eye-popping stunts in box office smash ‘X-Men:Days of Future Past.”
Whether battling fantastic monsters, throwing punches in a bare knuckle brawl, wreaking havoc with automatic weaponry, crashing vehicles at high speeds or hanging from the ceiling during a brutal interrogation, Manning stunt performances are never less than spectacular, while his dramatic presence is always equally engrossing.
“The actor-stuntman must deliver lines of dialogue and do action simultaneously,” Manning said. “And the fact that I do both gives me a tremendous advantage,”
His appearance in 2019 superhero blockbuster ‘Shazam!’ was a classic example of this. “My character is in a board room during a meeting when the villain, comes in and all hell breaks loose — he unleashes monsters that attack and kill us all. This was a very technical stunt sequence with a lot of wire work where we are ratcheted through a skyscraper window and bodies are thrown everywhere. It’s all done with extreme with precision, but to the audience it looks like complete mayhem.”
Just a typical day at the office for Manning, and he always makes it look so easy.
“I hav been doing this over 30 years , and have been accredited with great accolades,”he said. “I’ve earned deep respect in the industry, for a job that I love doing. I love being creative and that’s what keeps me going — I don’t think I’ll ever retire”
