Steve McQueen’s motorcycle chase in The Great Escape

Steve McQueen was one of the all-time great macho men in Hollywood history, and was just as much of a daredevil off-camera. One of the actor’s most memorable action sequences is in The Great Escape, when he evades his captors on a motorcycle. To McQueen’s dismay he didn’t get to perform the iconic fence jump himself, but the rest of the chase is all him.

Jackie Chan’s skydive onto a hot air balloon in Armor of God

Arguably the greatest stunt-performing actor of them all is Jackie Chan, whose action-packed filmography boasts scores of eye-popping feats. His deadliest movie was 1986’s Armor of God, on which he very nearly died after one stunt went wrong. One extraordinarily dangerous feat that went right, however, was a skydive onto the top of a hot air balloon, which Chan achieved without pulling his parachute beforehand.

Tom Cruise’s rock climbing in Mission: Impossible II

To discuss actors doing their own stunts without mentioning Tom Cruise is impossible (no pun intended). In 2000’s second Mission: Impossible movie, we meet Cruise’s Ethan Hunt relaxing (!) with a spot of free solo rock climbing – at over 2,000 feet. Cruise really was that high up performing all but one shot of the climbing himself, wearing safety cables that were digitally removed in editing.

Michelle Yeoh’s motorcycle jump onto a train in Police Story 3: Supercop

30 years before her Oscar-winning performance in Everything Everywhere All At Once, Michelle Yeoh joined Jackie Chan in 1992’s Police Story 3: Supercop. Given Chan’s reputation for doing his own stunts, Yeoh wasn’t about to be outdone and followed suit. Most memorably, Yeoh jumps a motorcycle onto the back of a moving train, made all the remarkable given she hadn’t ridden motorcycles before then.

Keanu Reeves jumps from a car to the bus in Speed

Keanu Reeves hadn’t quite built his committed man-of-action rep back when he made 1994’s Speed. Director Jan De Bont had planned to use a double for the moment when Reeves’ Jack Traven jumps from the car to the bus, but Reeves secretly rehearsed the stunt and pleaded the director to let him do it. De Bont relented, and Reeves’ jump made the movie.

Angelina Jolie jumps between a bridge and two moving trucks in Salt

2010 thriller Salt casts Angelina Jolie as a spy on the run, and one scene sees her drop from a bridge to the roof of a passing truck – then down the road, jump from that truck to another on the underpass below. While the magic of editing and digitally removed safety cables have a part to play, every moment of that is Jolie herself.

Daniel Craig jumps from a balcony to a moving bus in Quantum of Solace

Daniel Craig is renowned for being the most physical James Bond actor to date, which included doing a portion of his own stunts. Perhaps his most daring moment came on 2008’s Quantum of Solace, when Craig jumps from a balcony to the roof of a moving bus. The same production saw Craig injure his shoulder and temporarily lose a fingertip.

Jason Statham hangs out the side of a helicopter at 3,000 feet in Crank

Jason Statham’s 2006 action thriller Crank features a climactic fight sequence aboard a helicopter in flight over Los Angeles. No green screen work was used for this part of the sequence: Statham really is dangling out of the open door of the airborne vehicle at 3,000 feet. Naturally, a safety harness was employed to keep him from falling, but it was still a risky move.

Burt Reynolds – Deliverance

1972 survivalist thriller Deliverance features a scene in which Burt Reynolds’ character is washed over a 40ft waterfall. Director John Boorman intended to use a dummy, but Reynolds insisted on doing it himself – then broke his tailbone on hitting the rocks below. The story goes that when Reynolds asked how it looked, Boorman replied, “it looked like a dummy going over a waterfall.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger runs for his life from wild dogs in Conan the Barbarian

As no available stuntmen had a body to match that of Arnold Schwarzenegger circa 1982, the bodybuilder-turned-actor did his own stunts on Conan the Barbarian. His riskiest moment came when Conan runs onto rocks to evade ravenous dogs, as the animals in question were genuinely savage. In one take, one of the dogs actually caught Schwarzenegger, who fell and suffered a back injury.