From kickboxing to parachuting

Professional stunt actors in Ireland belong to either the Stunt Association of Ireland or the Stunt Actors' Register - and are also members of the actors' union, Equity. To work as a professional stunt actor in Ireland or the UK, you need to be qualified in at least six main disciplines - driving (cars, motorbikes and horses); watersports (including swimming, diving, driving motorboats and waterskiing); heights (including parachuting and falling from heights); "strength and agility" (which covers gymnastics, trampoline skills and high-diving); and martial arts (which includes fencing and kickboxing). "Ideally, you should be a good all-rounder," says Patrick Condren.

Safety is monitored by the Health and Safety Authority in Ireland, and the Heath and Safety Executive in the UK. "Gung ho" types are not suited to stunt work, says Condren, who prefers to work with "professionals who do exactly what the director wants; nothing more and nothing less. A stunt actor should never improvise - for safety reasons, and also because the camera crew need to know exactly what's going to happen." A stunt actor needs "a cool head".