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Josh Hartnett reflected on doing his own stunts for his new movie Fight or Flight during a screening and Q&A event in New York City on Monday, May 5
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“To have anybody trust that I could pull this stuff off was very exciting,” the actor said
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Fight or Flight is in theaters Friday, May 9
Josh Hartnett put it all on the line for his newest role.
During a screening and Q&A of his new action-comedy Fight or Flight in New York City on Monday, May 5, the 46-year-old actor admitted he “was super excited to have this script,” as it gave him a chance to tap into skills he hasn’t touched for a while.
“I’m in my 40s; I haven’t done a stunt since I was 29,” said Hartnett. “So to have anybody trust that I could pull this stuff off was very exciting.”
Director James Madigan recalled how Hartnett told him, “I really want to do all my own stunts,’ ” the very first time they talked.
“And I was like, ‘Well, that would be amazing, but it’s a very tight schedule,’ and we didn’t really have much prep [time], and that’s usually when you would figure that kind of thing out,” said Madigan. “And I was like, ‘I really hope that happens, but this is really hard.’ “
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Josh Hartnett in New York City, May 2025
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But it all worked out, as “A hundred percent of the stunts that you just saw, Josh did,” Madigan told the audience during the Q&A at the DGA New York Theater, which followed the screening.
For Hartnett, though, it was still a group effort. “We had an amazing stunt team and these guys helped me every step of the way,” said the Trap actor. “They made me look really, really good.”
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He also shouted out his stunt double Clayton Grover, who was “there to kind of guide me through everything,” Hartnett said.
“He would work with the rest of the stunt team to find ways and work with me to find ways to make these things happen so that I could actually do them, which you don’t always get that sort of bespoke situation,” he added. “But yeah, I was able to do them without dying.”
Katee Sackhoff and Charithra Chandran costar with Hartnett in Fight or Flight, from a screenplay by Brooks McLaren D. J. Cotrona.
The action-comedy stars Hartnett as Lucas Reyes, “a mercenary takes on the job of tracking a high-value asset known only as The Ghost on an international flight,” per an official synopsis.
“Realizing the plane is filled with assassins assigned to kill them both, the pair must work together in a fight for their lives,” the synopsis adds.
Fight or Flight is in theaters Friday, May 9.
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