There isn’t much that father and son stunt duo, Randy and Andrew Butcher from Cambridge, haven’t done when it comes to stunt work.
“I have been set on fire 171 times, I’ve been shot at, I’ve jumped through windows and off buildings, and crashed cars,” Randy said.
“I've done it all.”
As a child growing up in Preston, Randy says he was often called ‘a dreamer’ by friends and family.
“My generation was the first to be born into a house with moving pictures from a box in the corner of the living room,” Randy said.
“My parents had radio, but our generation, we had television. I think when I first discovered that those are real people doing that for a living, I decided that this was what I wanted to do. I wanted to become a movie star.”
Randy studied acting in Toronto as a teenager.
“But I soon discovered that Hollywood was not waiting for me. Acting was a difficult thing to get in to,” he said.
“I was always a physical guy. I was a gymnast in school, and a martial artist. When you take acting, martial arts, and gymnastics, put them in a cup, give them a good shake, out falls a stunt guy.”
In his early twenties, Randy made the decision to pursue a career as a stunt man.
“I was fortunate enough to be close enough to one of the major film centres, Toronto. I was born and raised in Preston and I’m so incredibly proud of that. Others often have to move to get to a film centre. I was lucky,” Randy said.
“I’ve always thought that if you can’t make your dreams come true in your own backyard, then maybe it’s just not worth it. Why leave you friends and family? That’s just not something I would do. But that’s just me.”
But becoming a stunt man had its challenges at first.
“It’s a small community, so it’s very difficult. I tell people that’s it’s easier to meet God than it is to become a professional working stunt man,” Randy said.
The father and son stunt duo started a podcast to talk about their work in the industry and other topics.
“We’ve had some great guests including movie producers and that are really interesting. The podcast is just a blast. It’s all about the film business and everything that happens in it,” Randy said.
