We recently connected with Tony Snegoff and have shared our conversation below.

Tony, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you take us back in time to the first dollar you earned as a creative – how did it happen? What’s the story?

The first show I ever did, thus the first dollar I ever earned… Was a show featuring people who had strange jobs… And one of the segments was a day in the life of a stuntman… I went to that audition, and won the job… And it was absolutely one of those learning on the job situations. I got shot, I fell down a flight of stairs, I crashed through a fourth floor window, and did a 40 foot Highfall, I ran across an alley and got hit by a truck, I got knocked through a wall, I crashed a motorcycle, Got blown up and off a motorcycle, I caught on fire, and then fell off a bridge into the ocean… All in one day… But the hardest part was the live interview in front of an audience on stage. So that’s what I did for my first dollar… Actually quite a few dollars.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I grew up in a film family. My grandfather, father, brother, and mother were all in the industry… Acting, directing, makeup, editing, looping, and dubbing, and other voice work… teaching film at UCLA, They did it all. That being said, while my family did that, I was too young to have any interest in it, so basically, I just knew that that’s the business they were in.
I was a very physical and coordinated kid… And when I was in the 12th grade, I had heard about an acquaintance, who was getting into the Stunt business… I had never heard anything about it, until that day… And I thought to myself, “I could do that! “
So when I graduated, I did two things, to prepare me for that industry… I went to a gym that was run by an older Stunt coordinator, named Paul Stader… And he pretty much taught many of the best stunt people in the business. I learned the basics…. Fights and falls, how to hit the ground, sword fighting, and more.
At the same time, I was doing acrobatics down at the famous Muscle Beach, in Santa Monica… Where I learned all types of other skills.
After that, I got a job eventually that got me into the Screen Actors Guild, which all Stunt people are in.
The next step was meeting Stunt coordinators… Which we call hustling. And basically in regards to getting work, it’s all about who you know.
I’ve been doing it for 44 years and I don’t feel like I will be quitting anytime soon.
These days, I mostly stunt coordinate and Stunt rig… But I will do Stunts still, depending on what they are… I do a lot of car, work, fights, and fire.
Being a stunt coordinator, you have to have a lot of knowledge about a lot of things… And a little knowledge, at least, about about everything.
You have to know about physics… Everything out there in life, is something that can hurt you… It is up to us, to do those things, and to make it look like it might hurt, but to keep everyone safe.
You have to be very much like MacGyver… Being able to pull things out of your hat… When the Director wants to do something, and let’s say they can’t afford it… Instead of saying, no, you have to come up with a Plan B.
We deal with producers directors, hair, make up wardrobe, props, special effects, grips, and almost all of the various film departments.
As a Stunt performer, you need to have as many skills as possible… Not just the ones that you would think of for Stunts ,like fighting and falling… But riding a bicycle riding a motorcycle, driving cars, all different types… All different types of sports, riding a unicycle, walking on stilts, etc. etc.… The more you know, the more your chances go up in regards to getting a job and someone needing you
The hardest part, though, is not the skills that you need… But the social skills, of meeting the people that can hire you. That is much harder, than all those physical skills that you might have.

One of the things that I am very adept at, is whatever I do, or whatever I coordinate, it’s got to look real!
Everything we do is choreographed… But it can’t look choreographed… It’s a dance, but it needs to look spontaneous and real.

My proudest moment?… Is actually something that I don’t usually talk about, but I saved two lives, on two different projects.
Quite often, we literally have peoples lives in our hands… And on these two jobs, something had gone wrong on both of them, and I was there at the right time.
As a stunt coordinator, I have to live by these words: “What if?”
You never say, “oh, that will never happen. “

People always ask “what’s your favorite job ?”
And I always say, and I do believe this… It’s usually never about what I do… It’s who I do it with… The people that I meet.
.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I will just say this in regards to resilience… If you go on, YouTube, and put in these keywords… lethal weapon, Stuntman, accident… Not really anymore to say about that, you’ll get a visual in regards to my resilience.
In my own personal life, however… I had a car accident, where I rolled my vehicle, head over heels, got thrown out the door, they found me lying in the second lane of the freeway… I broke my back my neck, my skull… The operation they did on me, paralyzed me from the chest down… They did another operation, that reversed the paralysis… However, I didn’t know how to walk anymore, so I was in the hospital for three months, learning how to walk again, and that was certainly an ordeal… But I think it’s just ingrained in what I do, to hit, and roll… To bounce… Because other than what I broke on the inside… I didn’t have a mark on me, and I Hit the pavement at 60 miles an hour in a T-shirt and jeans. Go figure. Lol
Most people, I know, mention the words… Guardian angel. Who knows.

But I am definitely resilient!

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding thing for me as a stunt coordinator, is to be able to call someone up and give them a job! Our work is extremely difficult to get… And while there are thousands of people in the Screen Actors Guild registered as Stunt people… There’s probably only 500 that really work at it… And a lot less than that that make a good living at it. It is tough! And while I would never tell someone not to do it… I always tell people to have other interests to fall back on.
But being able to give someone work, is awesome!

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.stuntactionservices.com
• Instagram: Tonysnegoff
• Facebook: Tony Snegoff
• Linkedin: Tony Snegoff
• Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0793372/