Show Reel Of The Week: Performer & Stuntman – Josh Fried

Give us your elevator pitch of who you are, what you do and what your skill set is.

My name is Josh Fried, I grew up an all around athlete, but spent the majority of my focus on gymnastics, diving and martial arts training. After 4 years of Division 1 Gymnastics competition at The College of William and Mary, I moved to Las Vegas to perform in the show Le Reve at the Wynn Hotel.

At Le Reve, I performed tumbling, acrobatics, harness work, high dives, hand balancing and a variety of aerial apparatuses. Following 4 years in Le Reve, I moved to Los Angeles and have been working in the stunt industry, performing stunts for Film, Television, Commercials, Video Games, Award Shows and Music Videos.

What is your ideal role?

Over the years I have worked to creatively combine many of the different disciplines I have studied. Gymnastics, Diving, Martial Arts and Circus all come together in a really interesting way, and my hope is to creatively pull from each of these areas. I have worked as a performer for nearly a decade; my immediate goals, besides continuing to perform, are to begin working as a fight choreographer and stunt coordinator.

As a choreographer, I would like to develop and integrate a unique style based on my personal areas of experience, and and as a stunt coordinator, learn to oversee and manage all that goes into creating action that is safely executed, while providing something unique and exciting on film.

Name your top 5 credits.

My full resume can be found on my IMDb page.

Some highlights have been:

• Stunt doubling for Zac Efron on The Greatest Showman
• Doubling for Charlie Day in Hotel Artemis
• Performing stunts for multiple episodes of Westworld
• Performing stunts for multiple episodes on the television show Grimm
• Working with Jackie Chan on a commercial

Where do you find inspiration?

I have never been one of those people who spends hours online watching YouTube videos, or Instagrams, or re-watching old movies.

I like to spend time in the gym playing. I train most days of the week, sometimes at a gymnastics gym, other days in a big room at an LA Fitness. I like to put together a little set up, maybe a few mats, or blocks or obstacles and begin with one trick and build from there.

I find it so fascinating that we can be in the same environment, training the same way day after day, week after week, year after year, and still find new movement on a regular basis, just out of nowhere. I believe the inspiration truly comes from continually playing, building on your physical vocabulary, and forcing yourself to be creative and experiment. Spend some days worrying about technique and footwork and all of those details, and other days just throw it all out the window and have fun. The fun in all of it is what keeps me inspired and motivated.

What motivates you to continue performing/creating?

What I find most interesting about being a physical performer is that in most cases, if we are a working professional, we are most likely beyond our physical prime. Every year or two, I realize there are certain tricks or skills that I just don’t want or need to do anymore. I think we all face that moment of realization that there is some kid out there half our age, that is doing these skills with ease, and I won’t ever be that person again.

What keeps me motivated is instead of focusing on maintaining the big and exciting tricks, I channel that drive into creating things that aren’t necessarily difficult, but rather unique, or done in a different way. I have re-focused back to the basics, and I constantly try to execute something simple, in a new way. This keeps me coming back for more, and allows my trainings to stay exciting, instead of feeling like an exercise in maintenance.

How do we follow you on social media and contact you?

I can be found on Instagram

JoshFriedStunts@gmail.com

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