David Holmes (stunt performer)

David Holmes
MBE
Born (1983-07-02) 2 July 1983
Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, England
Occupations
  • author
  • stunt double
  • activist
Years active2001–present

David Michael Holmes MBE (born 2 July 1983)[1][2] is a British former stunt performer and gymnast, best known for his work on the Harry Potter films. Following an on-set accident in 2009 that left him paralysed, he is now a published author, podcast host, and disability rights activist.

Early life and career

Holmes grew up in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex. He was a daredevil and competitive gymnast as a child. After seeing him jump from his bedroom window onto the trampoline in the garden, his mother signed him up for the local gymnastics club.[3][4]: 20–22  In 1997, through his gymnastics club, he landed a role as a “stunt kid” for sci-fi movie Lost In Space (1998), starring Friends actor Matt LeBlanc. For his stunt career, he trained in gymnastics, trampolining, high diving, kick boxing, horse riding, and swimming.[5]

Holmes worked as Daniel Radcliffe's stunt double for Harry Potter in the first six Harry Potter films. Holmes was spotted as a potential Radcliffe double by stunt coordinator Greg Powell, who asked him to do a broomstick test for director Chris Columbus. “I found myself in this wonderful studio strapped to the back of a truck, getting towed down the runway, dragging my feet along the floor.... That's how I got the job."[5]

Describing doing stunts as his "calling in life", Holmes said doubling for Radcliffe was "the best job in the world."[6] "I had the time of my life on the Harry Potter set. I was the first person to play Quidditch on a broomstick."[7] In addition to doubling for Radcliffe, he occasionally also doubled for Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy and played a Slytherin beater in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.[8] "It was an amazing experience. I loved it and Dan was an absolute pleasure to work with. The cast and crew were like a second family."[5]

Harry Potter accident and aftermath

On 28 January 2009, while rehearsing a stunt sequence on a wire for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, Holmes, then 25 years old, was hurled into a wall and broke his neck, leaving him permanently paralysed from the chest down.[9][10][11][4]: 149–153  "I was filming a scene where Harry fights a snake and I remember hitting the wall and my chest folding into my nose. I was fully conscious for the whole thing. I knew I had broken my neck."[7] When stunt director Greg Powell ran over and squeezed his hand, he could not feel anything. Another stuntman on set described him as looking like a "puppet with strings cut", as he was "sagging" while hanging from the wire.[12] Holmes underwent multiple surgeries, and spent seven months at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Stanmore; Radcliffe, Felton, and Matthew Lewis regularly visited him while he was there.[4]: 171–173 

As well as his paralysis, Holmes describes suffering from PTSD from his accident, and had difficulty adjusting to his new life. “I have gone from being able to stand on my hands for half an hour at a time and then all of a sudden I can’t sit up in bed."[5] He initially turned to drugs to cope with his injury. He requires 24-hour care, and his condition is degenerative. Due to a cyst on his spine, he progressively loses function, and is expected to someday lose the ability to talk, eat, and breathe on his own. “I go through the stages of grief with every muscle group I lose."[3]

Holmes was credited for additional stunts on Mortdecai (2015). However he was not involved in the filming, Holmes recalled “I was booked on Mortdecai to sit in my wheelchair to sit in the back of a restaurant as a fight routine kicks off. I never made it to work that day because of an infection, but because they booked me they put on the credit list.”[13]

Holmes started Ripple Productions, along with two friends who are also paralysed. In 2020, they launched a podcast with Daniel Radcliffe, called Cunning Stunts, where they interview other stunt actors to raise awareness about the risks they face. Holmes participates in charity events to raise money for hospitals and advocates for disability rights.[14][15] After becoming disabled, he took up automobile racing, driving a car with hand controls rather than foot pedals. Holmes' girlfriend, Rosie, is also paralysed. "It took me to break my neck to meet the woman of my dreams."[11]

In 2023, a documentary about Holmes's life, accident, and friendship with Daniel Radcliffe, David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived, was released. It premiered at Doc NYC on 13 November 2023 before being released on HBO two days later.[16] Radcliffe, who served as the film's executive producer and is featured throughout, said Holmes is "an incredibly important person in my life."[17] The documentary was well-received by critics and the general public.

"The film is a coming-of-age story of stuntman David Holmes, a prodigious teenage gymnast from Essex, England, who is selected to play Daniel Radcliffe’s stunt double in the first ‘Harry Potter’ film, when Daniel is just 11. Over the next 10 years, the two form an inextricable bond, but on the penultimate film a tragic accident on set leaves David paralyzed with a debilitating spinal injury, turning his world upside down. As Daniel and his closest stunt colleagues rally to support David and his family in their moment of need, it is David’s extraordinary spirit of resilience that becomes their greatest source of strength and inspiration."[18]

In 2024, Holmes published a memoir, The Boy Who Lived, which captures his thrills working on the Harry Potter films and the lows of his life in the wake of his accident.[4] In 2025, he was selected to voice Stan Shunpike, the conductor of the Knight Bus, in a new all-star audiobook of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban for Audible.[19][20]

Despite his life-changing accident, Holmes does not regret participating in the Harry Potter films. "The experience and the character of Harry Potter meant so much to me," he said.[7] "I always tell myself that my stunts in those films were pivotal moments in the story. Harry Potter is a safe space for a lot of people. It's a gift for humanity and I will always be proud of that."[7]

Holmes was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2026 Birthday Honours for services to film, media and to charity.[21]

Filmography

Stunts

Year Title Role Notes
1998Lost In SpaceStuntsUncredited
2001Harry Potter and the Philosopher's StoneHarry Potter stunt doubleUncredited
2002Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
2004Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
2005Green Street HooligansStunt performer
Harry Potter and the Goblet of FireHarry Potter stunt doubleUncredited
2007The Last LegionRomulus Augustus stunt double
Ruddy Hell! It's Harry and PaulStunts3 episodes
Harry Potter and the Order of the PhoenixHarry Potter stunt doubleUncredited
My Boy JackStunt performerTelevision film
The Golden CompassStunts
National Treasure: Book of SecretsStunts
2008DoomsdayStunt performer
Mutant Chronicles
InkheartUtility stunts
2009Harry Potter and the Half-Blood PrinceHarry Potter stunt doubleUncredited
2010Prince of Persia: The Sands of TimeYoung Bis stunt double
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1Harry Potter stunt double
2015MortdecaiAdditional stunt performercredited only

Other

Year Title Role Notes
2000 Bedazzled Student uncredited
2001 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone Slytherin Beater Mistakenly credited as "Adrian Pucey"
2002 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Slytherin Beater No. 1
2023David Holmes: The Boy Who LivedSelfHBO Max Documentary

References

  1. ↑ "@davidholmes83 on Instagram". Instagram. 4 July 2025. Retrieved 27 June 2026. Wikipedia has it wrong, and my birthday was actually this week. I turned the grand old age of 42, and I'm very grateful to have made it this far.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ↑ This Morning (11 July 2024). Stuntman Left Paralysed on Harry Potter Set Scammed Out of Thousands | This Morning (Video). Retrieved 27 June 2026 – via YouTube. I got a call, um, on the 3rd of July [...] "I can see it was your birthday yesterday, happy birthday."{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. 1 2 Heathcote, Charlotte (16 November 2024). "Harry Potter stuntman reveals stunt that went very horribly wrong". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Holmes, David; Allen, Matt (2024). The Boy Who Lived. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 9781399738811.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Smith, Louie (24 March 2014). "Harry Potter stuntman David Holmes speaks of moment he was left paralysed in horror film accident". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
  6. ↑ "Tragic Harry Potter set accident which left Daniel Radcliffe stunt double paralysed for life". LADbible. 1 November 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Harry Potter stunt double: Breaking my neck hasn't changed me". www.bbc.com. 2 January 2026. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
  8. ↑ "13 things you didn't know about Harry Potter - These facts are not even in the movie (With Pictures) | Page 7 of 12". Theinfong. 16 January 2017. Archived from the original on 22 November 2023. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  9. ↑ Cockcroft, Lucy (1 February 2009). "Harry Potter Stuntman David Holmes Vows to Return to Work – The Harry Potter Stuntman Injured in a Fall on the Film Set Has Vowed to Return to Work, Despite Fears He May Be Paralysed". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 2 February 2009. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
  10. ↑ Nelmes, Amy (29 January 2009). "Harry Potter stuntman suffers horror injury in film set explosion". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
  11. 1 2 Smith, Louie (24 March 2014). "Harry Potter stuntman David Holmes speaks of moment he was left paralysed in horror film accident". Daily Mirror.
  12. ↑ "Tragic Harry Potter scene that caused accident leaving Daniel Radcliffe stunt double paralysed for life". LADbible. 23 January 2025. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
  13. ↑ David Holmes AMA
  14. ↑ O'Shea, Lucy (23 May 2020). "Daniel Radcliffe Joins Former Stunt Double in New Podcast Series". MuggleNet. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  15. ↑ Smith, Louie (24 March 2014). "Harry Potter stuntman David Holmes speaks of moment he was left paralysed in horror film accident". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  16. ↑ Sharf, Zack (24 October 2023). "Daniel Radcliffe's 'Harry Potter' Stunt Double Was Paralyzed After 'Deathly Hallows' Set Accident — Now They've Teamed Up for a Doc to Tell His Story". Variety. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  17. ↑ Goldbart, Max (24 October 2023). "Daniel Radcliffe To EP Doc About His Stunt Double Left Paralyzed After 'Deathly Hallows' Accident". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  18. ↑ "David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived | Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
  19. ↑ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
  20. ↑ "Harry Potter | The Full-Cast Editions | Audible". Audible. Retrieved 27 June 2026.
  21. ↑ "Rugby star Sinfield and authors Blackman and Donaldson lead honours list". BBC. Retrieved 15 June 2026.
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