Mic Rodgers
Michael G. “Mic” Rodgers is an American film and commercial director, second unit director, stunt coordinator, and stunt performer. As a stunt performer, he is known for serving as a stunt double for actors such as Mel Gibson. He has also served as a second unit action director and/or stunt coordinator for films such as Braveheart, Hacksaw Ridge, ''The Fast and The Furious, and Twister. A member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, he won an Academy Award for Technical Achievement in 2002 for his invention of the “Mic Rig,” a stunt vehicle. He has also won a Screen Actors Guild Award for his work on Hacksaw Ridge'' and two Taurus World Stunt awards.
Career
In the 1970s and 1980s, Rodgers worked as a stunt performer on television series such as Wonder Woman, The Incredible Hulk, and Airwolf. He also played minor roles on productions such as the aforementioned Airwolf.In the 1980s, Rodgers also began doubling for Mel Gibson on projects such as Lethal Weapon. ''Lethal Weapon was the first of his multiple collaborations with director Richard Donner.'' He went on to double for Gibson for 25 years on projects including Braveheart and Maverick. He also served as the main stunt coordinator on Maverick and Braveheart, and co-coordinator for Lethal Weapon 2 and Lethal Weapon 3. While doubling for Gibson in Maverick, Rodgers performed a team-to-team stagecoach transfer, which was a stunt originated by Yakima Canutt in the film Stagecoach. He also served as a second unit director for Braveheart.
In 1999, Rodgers made his directorial debut with the film Universal Soldier: The Return.
Rodgers was a second unit director and a stunt coordinator for the 2001 film The Fast and the Furious. During the production of The Fast and the Furious, Rodgers developed a vehicle named the “Mic Rig” in collaboration with special effects coordinator Matt Sweeney and the rest of the film's special effects department.
Rodgers received an Academy Award for Technical Achievement in 2002 for his efforts designing the vehicle. Rodgers would return for other films in the series, including Fast & Furious, for which he won the Taurus World Stunt award for Best Stunt Coordinator and/or 2nd Unit Director.
In the 2000s, Rodgers went on to serve as a second unit director and/or stunt coordinator for films such as Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and Wanted.
Rodgers served as the stunt coordinator for the 2012 film Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, training the film's star Benjamin Walker to perform the film's choreography.
In the 2010s, he continued working as a second unit director and stunt coordinator for films such as the 2015 remake of Point Break, ''Hacksaw Ridge, and 12 Strong. He would win a Screen Actors Guild award for Outstanding Performance By a Stunt Ensemble for his work on Hacksaw Ridge in 2017. He also won another Taurus World Stunt Award for Best Stunt Coordinator and/or 2nd Unit Director for Hacksaw Ridge.
Rodgers continued working as a stunt performer for productions such as Django Unchained and Sons of Anarchy.'' He has also directed commercials such as BMW’s “Epic Drift Mob.”
He was a long time member of the stunt organization Stunts Unlimited, leaving it to become one of the original members of Brand X Stunts.