15 Body Doubles WAY Hotter Than The Actors
Hollywood sometimes needs a little help to cast its magic spell over us. With the absence of CGI, that help comes in the form of body doubles. These superhumans are the people who perform the insane stunts that keep us riveted, and whose sculpted bods create the illusion of perfection that Hollywood is all about. Sometimes, all that airs of the stunt double is an arm, leg or ankle, which is momentarily in the shot. But they're also often the ones in the nude scenes when the big name actors don't fancy showing so much skin. Unsurprisingly, it's for this reason that it's mostly women actors who have body doubles, as it's mainly women taking their clothes off on the silver screen today. Sometimes the actresses who use body doubles are derided for not wanting to do nude scenes. This has been the case recently for several of the actresses in the cast of everyone's favorite messed up medieval TV drama, Game of Thrones. Sometimes, the job description is only having the precise measurements and body type of the actor doing the scene: for instance, you must be 5'10, 120 pounds with olive skin. But sometimes it calls for a whole lot more. Since we've included stunt people on this list, there are a number of super talented (as well as super hot) performers who are giving the real actors a run for their money. Both body doubles and stunt performers follow a strict regime and diet in order to stay in supreme shape. So it's not surprising that a lot of them are even hotter than the actresses they play on screen. Check them out.
14 Caroline Davis: Natalie Portman
Natalie Portman's body double and stunts people have racked her up more than a few problems with the public in the past. At no time was this more apparent than when it became news that it was, in fact, a body double who performed all of the dancing in the blockbuster sellout and critically acclaimed ballet movie, Black Swan. According to said ballet-dancing body double, the talented Sarah Lane, Portman did virtually none of the full body dance shots seen in the film. In a strange case of life mirroring art, the disaffected ballet double even went as far as saying that the film's directors had been lying about Portman's dancing in the film and that they should own up and come clean about it, saying: "I've been doing this for 22 years, and to say that someone trained for a year and a half and did what I did is degrading not only to me but to the entire ballet world." Another of Natalie's body doubles, Caroline Davis, had to dive into a freezing Belfast lake in a g-string in the film Your Highness (Portman could not stoop so low). Poor Caroline was paid just $500 to do so.
13 Rebecca Van Cleave: Lena Headey
In one of the most notorious scenes in the most notorious series, Game of Thrones, Cersei Lannister must atone for her sins by walking naked through King's Landing. Though actress Lena Headey has bared all before (she bravely showed her chest in 300) she decided to opt for a body double, Rebecca Van Cleave in this case. Headey said “I know I'm a very emotional actor and I get really driven by that. In order to do my job, I allow myself to be really vulnerable. I don't know any other way to do my job. Things really affect me. And the thought of being naked for three days and trying to contain her in the way she would be I think I would feel very angry. I didn't want to be angry. I don't think Cersei would be angry.” But Cleave definitely made waves with this scene, stealing the show from the leading lady.
12 Alisa Hensley: Charlize Theron and Nicole Kidman
Professional stuntwoman and all-around bada** Alisa Hensley has some serious credits to her name. Besides being gorgeous herself, she has performed stunts in Jason Bourne and high octane action Terminator 3. This skilled martial artist has an insane bod and it's no surprise that she's been voted one of Muscle and Fitness magazines "20 Most Fit Women of All Time". Hensley has doubled for the cream of the crop in terms of Hollywood leading ladies: Charlize Theron in A Million Ways to Die in the West, Nicole Kidman in The Secret In Their Eyes and Cameron Diaz in Charlie's Angels 2. Charlize has said that she will not be doing any more stunts on set after an injury on the set of Aeon Flux almost left her paralyzed. With a reputation for being pretty brave on and off-set, Charlize was back-flipping continually when she landed on her neck, pausing filming for two months. Good thing she has Alisa to step up.
11 Kate Clarke: Angelina Jolie
Who is stunt woman to the actress widely regarded as being the most beautiful woman on the planet? Kate Clarke is that woman, playing double to the gorgeous Angelina Jolie in 2005's Mr. and Mrs. Smith, the film that brought Brangelina together. Clarke landed the role over 25 other women, revealing intriguing and candid details about the bizarre world of stunt-doubling. Describing the audition process, she said: “They look at details like jawline, hairline, hands, legs. They also have you try on clothes to see how they fit.” And when she's not doing Angelina Jolie's stunt work, Clarke body doubles for Kate Beckinsale. The film Vacancy saw some pretty nifty moves, and Vanity fair has named her as one of the best bodies in all of LA. Now that's validation. Ms. Clark is an actress too and writes screenplays and poetry in between high-velocity action shots. Ever modest, this super stuntwoman said that being Jolie's body double overshadowed her writing work.
10 Heidi Moneymaker: Scarlett Johansson
ScarJo's mesmerizing looks and body are part of the reason that she has become an internationally recognized and successful star. But incredibly Heidi Moneymaker is nearly 40 years old and her body is unbelievable. This was probably why the stunt star was chosen to play Scarlett in the recent box office sellout Captain America: Civil War, not to mention the Avengers series. The aptly named Moneymaker has racked up a total of 72 stunt credits along with her killer abs. Movies in which she's brought the action include The Hunger Games and Star Trek, and she's even played doe-eyed Hollywood A-lister Amanda Seyfried, too. In an interview with Maxim magazine, Moneymaker said that what counts in a body double casting is body type and height. She once had to make her hips look larger to mimic the curvaceous starlet she was doubling for, but when you're a stand-in for ScarJo, you know you're sizzling.
9 Alicia Vela-Bailey: Gal Gadot and Jennifer Lawrence
Alicia Vela-Bailey is the stunt double of stunt doubles. She was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture. She has played stand in to Gal Gadot in Batman versus Superman and Wonder Woman, Jennifer Lawrence in X-Men: First Class, Kate Beckinsale in Underworld, Anne Hathaway in Interstellar, Rosie Huntingdon-Whiteley in Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon and Charlize Theron in Brandon Flowers: Crossfire. She has also delivered stunning stunt performances in action-packed blockbusters like Avatar and Alice in Wonderland, as well as the critically acclaimed TV series, The Office and New Girl. Not satisfied with taking on every stunt Hollywood can dream up, she's even building an acting career for herself and has been cast in the role of Alisha Whiteley in Agents of SHIELD. Unbeknownst to us, we've seen a lot of her already, and we're thinking we're going to see a lot more of Alicia.
8 Shelley Michelle: Julia Roberts and Sandra Bullock
Shelley Michelle has been crowned queen of body doubles by more than one source. Which is not surprising, given that she has been a body double for 85 different Hollywood actresses, Sandra Bullock among them. Most famously, Michelle doubled for Julia Roberts in the cult classic Pretty Woman, in which movie lovers everywhere were astounded by THAT bod. It's no wonder that Michelle has insured her legs for an immense million dollars. And the legendary movie poster we're all so familiar with? Yup, you guessed it, those legs for days are actually those same perfect pins Michelle has had the foresight to get locked down. Initially, the studio denied that they had used a body double at all, before later coming around and admitting to it. Michelle is another stunts woman to have spoken out against the amount of nondisclosure and charlatanism that goes on around the stunt doubling in Hollywood.
7 Leilani Munter: Catherine Zeta-Jones
The scorching Leilani Munter hasn't just doubled convincingly for glam actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, she's a race car driver. Speeding to the finish line at the ARCA Racing Series and the Firestone Indy Lights, this is one high octane woman. Sports Illustrated has even suggested that she is one of the top female race car drivers in the world. But that's all a side lane to her work as a stunt double in the movie world. She was the double for Catherine Zeta-Jones in 2001's American Sweethearts and 2000's Traffic. But, never one to disappoint, the super fast, super fit stunt star is also an environmental and animal activist. Her cars are marked with animal themes in order to draw attention to the causes, including dolphin captivity and orca whales mistreatment at Seaworld. We are seriously in awe of this all-around superwoman of a stunts person, who proves it's cool to do your own stunts.
6 Tara Macken: Jessica Alba and Aubrey Plaza
Nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture, for her performance in 2015's Furious Seven, Tara Macken has it going on. With stunning features inherited from her mixed race background, the half Filipina half Irish stunts woman has kicked butt in an impressive 58 different roles, most recently doubling for the international supermodel turned actress Cara Delevingne in the summer's blockbuster, Suicide Squad. She has also played the mesmerizingly beautiful Jessica Alba in Mechanic Resurrection, not to mention the hilariously deadpan Aubrey Plaza in Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates and Life After Beth. She was a stunt double to Eva Longoria in Telenova and Olivia Munn in Mortdecai. She's also performed stunts in Iron Man 3 and The Hunger Games. As though that wasn't cool enough, she played Hydra Mercenary in Agents of SHIELD, and we're looking forward to seeing even more of Macken.
Prepare for Fifty Shades fun fact of the day: Peter James Gray is the real Christian Grey. He even shares his surname! The wildly popular and controversial Fifty Shades of Grey claims to arouse women's attention by presenting us with the ultimate love affair and the perfect man. Gray (Peter James) is apparently embarrassed about his role in the film because, as his representative put it, “he's pursuing a serious acting career.” Although he may not feel very serious when he has his bottom spanked by Dakota Johnson or some of the movie's steamier scenes, we think he's pretty hot in them. Dakota had a "bottom" double in the movie too because she has a tattoo there, which isn't exactly consistent with her demure character. Mr. Gray has appeared in more serious roles in Age of Adaline opposite Blake Lively, and in 2015's The Blackcoat's Daughter with sparkling Hollywood star Emma Roberts.
5 Rachel Kylian: Gabrielle Union
The role for which the stunning stunt double Rachel Kylian is best known as the body double for Gabrielle Union in Being Mary Jane. But that's not to mention the other huge blockbusters she's been a part of, which include Jurassic World. As is becoming a theme in our line up of the hottest stunt doubles in the business, this isn't all Rachel gets up to. An actor in her own right, Kylian has played in numerous films and TV series, in which she stars alongside established Hollywood stars including Gabrielle Union and Danny Glover. Almost Christmas is one of the several movies in which she has recently played a lead role. The list of Rachel's talents requires shopping channel-like enumeration because that's not all: she's also a model and a dancer. You know, in her free time. So if you haven't come across the superstar that is Rachel Kylian yet, that's about to change.
4 Samantha Jo: Eva Green
Hailing from the backwoods of a small Canadian town, Samantha Jo's career has rocketed into focus after the stunt star became the body double for a Bond girl. The raven-haired Samantha was the figure behind the perfect face of Eva Green, the gravelly-voiced French actress who plays Bond's love interest in Casino Royale and the lead role in 300: Rise of an Empire. But wait: she's also one of the world's top martial artists, and was a part of the Olympics, no less. Samantha has also performed stunts for Kristen Stewart in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2, as well as Scott Pilgrim vs the World and Man of Steel, in 2013. Basically, Samantha Jo is more than a stunt double, she's jet setting her way to the Hollywood big time. The next step in her ascension into superstardom? She's playing Euboea in the much-awaited Wonder Woman, which is destined for release in summer this year.
3 Monica Cruz: Penelope Cruz
A definite doppelganger effect is going on between stunt double Monica Cruz and red carpet treader Penelope Cruz, and it's not just the surname. There is a common bloodline linking the two. Because Penelope was pregnant during the filming of Pirates of the Caribbean 4, her younger sister Monica (almost a Penelope clone) acted as her body double. Penelope has said that her younger sister is actually much more beautiful than her, and we have to say that she definitely rivals her older sister in the stunning stakes. All the close-ups of Penelope and the sword fighting scenes were, in fact, Monica, although Penelope did do a few months of filming before giving birth. Performing isn't alien to the beautiful Monica, who is also an actress and a dancer in Spain. She had a lead role in the 2006 film The Final Inquiry in English. Both sisters insist that although they are in the same industry, they are not rivals.
2 Chloe Goodman: Cameron Diaz
We all know Cameron Diaz is hot after films like There's Something About Mary, and we love her unique sense of fun. But many would argue that her stunt double in The Counsellor, Chloe Goodman, is in fact even hotter. Even though Cameron's body is off the chain, Goodman stepped in as the actress' bum double in a few select scenes. The model is just 22, but despite her tender years has already appeared in a number of variety shows including MTV's Ex on the Beach and Celebrity Big Brother. She is also a body double to Cheryl Fernandez-Versini in an advert for L'Oreal. As Ex on the Beach enters its fifth season, Goodman is back with a vengeance. Google her, and up pop a myriad of photos of her buff bod, as well as whole articles devoted to her (perfect, it's true) derriere. Her Instagram is the stuff of #bodygoals legend.
1 Rosie Mac: Emilia Clarke
Although you might think that no one could be more magical on camera than the force that is Game of Thrones' Emilia Clarke, or Daenerys Targaryen. But that was until you saw 19-year-old Rosie Mac, who has been catapulted into the spotlight after announcements that she was going to be Clarke's body double in the fifth series of the insanely popular TV series. The two are weirdly alike when they don their matching blonde wigs for the role, twin dragon-wielding forces of nature. But after Clarke told fans that her raunchy nude scene in the most recent series was actually her, Mac moved on to the long-awaited remake of the Disney (and Hans Christian Anderson) classic, The Little Mermaid. Her Instagram account is also chock full of piccies of her scorchingly hot bod, complete with ultra chiseled abs. We can't wait to see what she has in store for use in the upcoming mermaid tale (tail)!
