Stunt performer’s childhood success puts interesting spin on career

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Stunt performer Michelle C. Smith’s life would make a great superhero origin story.

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The Vancouver resident went from a champion baton-twirling kid from Red Deer, Alta., to a pro badass that can kick butt with swords, staffs and pretty much anything else you can hold in your hands.

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“She is beyond talented. With what she does you can truly say it is one-of-a-kind. There are not many people you can say that about,” said veteran stunt coordinator/performer and director Dan Rizzuto who has known Smith for close to two decades. “She really can manipulate any type of a weapon that she has in her hand. Her ability to manoeuvre and her agility around body control is just insane.

“She just picks up anything and turns it into something that levitates and you’re like, How does this even happen?’ ”

It happens thanks to hard work and a lifetime of honing a craft.

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“I started as a baton-twirler when I was five years old,” said Smith. “By the time I was nine I was competing at a national level. By the time I was 11 I was competing at an international level.”

For those not familiar with competitive baton-twirling it isn’t just the stuff of the marching bands that you see in parades and at American football games. Think rhythmic gymnastics but with extensive baton tricks.

“She’s been an athlete and performer her entire life, so she has gone through this profession as an athlete, so I think she brings an incredible array of skills at a high level,” said stunt performer Andrea Ross, who has worked with Smith on the TV shows Charmed and Motherland. “She learns extremely quickly. She’s incredibly creative and she’s one of the best coaches and instructors that I know.”

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Smith began her road to sought-after stunt performer when she was 19 and left Red Deer for Vancouver in 2003. Once here, she joined the Underground Circus and added silks, hoop, rope and partner balancing skills to her repertoire.

“The circus and stunt communities are quite closely connected here in Vancouver. I started meeting stunt performers and it just sort of came to me,” said Smith. “Someone had a sword one day and I said, ‘I can do that’, and I played with the sword and people said, ‘You should do stunts’ and I said, ‘You’re right I should’. Then I just turned my focus to stunts and film and acting.

“The first show I worked on was Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief back in 2009.”

From there, Smith built her resume through building her prop manipulation skills and her pure athleticism.

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“It took me a really long time in my professional career to really find my place,” said Smith. “I think it’s because I’m a bit unique in my abilities. There’s nobody like me in the industry at the moment who does what I do.”

Aside from performing, Smith co-ordinates fights and is a sought-after instructor of the way of the sword and the staff.

“It is something that is very uniquely suited to me because I love teaching and I love having the creativity and the artistry and I’m good at being the boss. I’m an Aires so I like being in charge,” said Smith, who helped Jason Mamoa when he was here working on See.

“Really when you break down what a fight coordinator is that’s basically what you do: you are choreographing fights, you’re training actors, you’re training your stunt performers, you’re making everybody do stuff safely, you’re assisting the stunt coordinator in making the project work on-set and in rehearsal. I’m like, ‘Yup, that’s me. That’s where I fit here.’ ”

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She also fits online as her impressive social-media numbers show. She has 1.4 million TikTok followers and 900,000-plus on Instagram. Her YouTube channel is a hit with 300,000 followers and almost 17 million views.

On her YouTube channel she offers free tutorials and runs The Freestyle Staff Academy, where people can sign-up for paid training.

“It is my platform where I can teach all of my material and share all of my knowledge with people all over the world,” said Smith.

The academy not only attracts stunt hopefuls, but is also popular with regular folks looking for a unique workout that can also help fulfil a Jedi or a Ninja fantasy.

“It is a really unique and fun way to move your body,” said Smith. “It’s also brain gym. I just think it hits a lot of different aspects people are looking for in a unique ability.

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“It makes people feel special, it really hits that inner child.”

Her colleagues aren’t surprised that Smith has had online success.

“I think she is one of the best around at a very specific thing and she found a way to share her love and knowledge for object manipulation,” said Ross. “Because she is such a good teacher, I think social media was really drawn to that combination of being really good at something and then also able to share it.”

Rizzuto, who has worked with Smith on many projects, including Deadpool, Van Helsing and Motherland, says a big part of Smith’s social-media success is her uniqueness.

“I honestly think it’s because people are watching stuff they’ve never seen before,” said Rizzuto.

While Smith’s specific skills often set her apart from others, she is happy to report that these days women aren’t a rarity in her business.

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“I do remember when I first started it was quite male-dominated. Sometimes it was not pleasant with some of the things that were being said around you and to other women,” said Smith. “But in the last five or six years I’ve noticed quite a significant shift. I think as the industry is becoming a lot more inclusive of all types of humans and genders and orientation.

“I feel like there is a little bit of a breath of fresh air coming through the industry now. I think we are a lot more aware of each other and accepting, compassionate and empathetic. I think that’s necessary because we spend a lot of time with these people. You are spending 15 hours a day for months on end, so you want to make sure you have a really clear and positive environment, and I think the way things are shifting is really nice.”

dgee@postmedia.com

twitter.com/dana_gee

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