Stuntman Eddie Braun braves Evel Knievel's unsuccessful rocket car jump in new Disney+ movie

Friday, July 23, 2021
CHICAGO (WLS) -- For over three decades, stuntman Eddie Braun has been taking the falls for the stars on screen. Now, there's a movie about his death-defying talents that debuts on Disney Plus Friday.

After years of making action heroes look good, a director is now making him a leading man!
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SANDERS: "You had this dream early on, what makes a teenager wanna become a stuntman?"

BRAUN: "I think every teenager wanted to be Evel Knievel in that era, the guy wore a cape. My first injury as a child was a jump, trying to take my Schwinn Sting Ray bicycle and jump trashcans. I broke my arm. At that point I thought I was so cool, I was like Evel Knievel."

Braun wanted to do what his idol couldn't, like jumping the same canyon in a rocket.

BRAUN: "By the time I tried the Snake River jump, I had over 30 years as a professional stuntman, so I felt at that point I had the experience and wherewithal to jump something so audacious."

SANDERS: "What is it that you found about the psyche of a stuntman that made you want to do this whole thing?"
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DIRECTOR JURT MATTILA: "What I learned about Eddie and his fellow stuntmen is that they are incredibly committed to their craft. They love making movies, they love telling stories, so much so that they use their body and sometimes, put their life on the line to get the shot that we all get to enjoy in a big film."

SANDERS: "Did you ever really get hurt?"

BRAUN: "It hurts to do stunts, so there's no avoiding getting hurt, what you hope not, and ought not is to get injured, there is a huge vast difference between the two."

Braun is no stranger to the windy city.

BRAUN: "I did a movie called 'Hoffa' there with Jack Nicholson and Danny DeVito, I had a blast, I've done a Transformers film there. Chicago's just a great place and I love it there, I can't wait to get back!"
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