Renowned for his equestrian skills, stuntman Andrew Cottle is expanding his daredevil repertoire, reports Joanna Hunkin
KEY POINTS:
Ben Barnes may be the star of the new Narnia instalment, Prince Caspian, but when you see the Prince galloping through rivers and forests, or being dragged by horses, it won't be Barnes you're watching. It's New Zealander - Andrew Cottle, a champion showjumper turned stuntman.
Cottle's
unintended stunt career began on the first Narnia film, where he did some basic horsework, spending a week on set. Two years later, looking for someone to double the lead role, stunt co-ordinator Allan Poppleton remembered Cottle and suggested he come in for a fitting.
"Ben came in and was pretty excited, saying 'Oh yeah, we look quite alike.' I wasn't very enthusiastic at the time because I couldn't see that I looked anything like him," recalls Cottle.
"But once I got a wig on and makeup, I actually did look quite a bit like him."
Originally enlisted as Caspian's New Zealand double, Cottle spent six weeks filming in Queenstown before returning to Auckland, for what he thought was the end of his brief stuntman career.
"Two weeks later I got the call saying, 'Do you want to come to Prague? We need a Caspian double and you're the best we've found. Can you come over?' The next week I was in Prague."
Cottle spent five months filming the fantasy adventure and honing a new set of skills.
"I ended up doing a lot of background stuff, fighting, which I learnt over there. I wasn't a stuntman before the movie but I became one. If Caspian wasn't in a scene, I was dressed up as a soldier, fighting in the background."
Though new to the industry, Cottle easily slipped into his new career, unfazed by the often dangerous work.
"The only daunting time I had was doing the drag because, well, no one wants to be dragged by a horse. When you're lying there and you're that close to a horse's back legs, anything can go wrong. Horses are unpredictable at the best of times. If it were to step backwards or get a fright and take off, it could be pretty dangerous and there could be some nasty consequences."
Fortunately, Cottle survived the sequence unscathed. Not all of his associates were so lucky.
"We had the ambulance come on set four times in one filming. It was a scene with horses and creatures and everyone running, here, there and everywhere. Being a horse person I could tell it was super-dangerous. Some people got hurt falling off their horses and others got hurt by the horses trying to get up and running in different directions."
But for the most part Cottle found the experience great fun and enjoyed the chance to break out of the discipline of competitive riding.
Back in New Zealand, his new-found skills landed him more stunt work, appearing in Laundry Warrior and Underworld 3.
"Laundry Warrior was interesting because although there was horse stuff in the movie, I never did any of it. I was just a regular stunt guy doing explosions and all sorts of stuff. That was pretty rewarding.
"Originally I was brought in only because I was a good horserider. To be recognised as able to do this other stuff was pretty cool."
With the third Narnia instalment, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, set on a boat, Cottle's riding skills probably won't be required for filming, but he says there is plenty more work on the horizon.
He's about to start on the new television series Wizard's First Rule, co-produced by Spider-man director Sam Raimi, which is being filmed in New Zealand.
"Once you're into that industry, the co-ordinators get to know you and get you to try out for other stuff."
It's definitely a career Cottle is interested in pursuing.
"It's certainly a lot of fun. When you're in a harness, on a cable, and there's an explosion and you're shot into the air - it's like a Disneyland ride. And they pay you to do this. Who gets to have that much fun and be paid to do it?"
* Prince Caspian opens today - read our review here.
