Top Gear Stunt Man
| Top Gear Stunt Man | |
|---|---|
|
| |
| Full Name |
Lee Sheward (first) Steve Griffin (second) Jim Dowdall (third) |
| Nationality |
 Great Britain |
| Sex | Male |
| Occupation | Stunt performer of Top Gear (2002 TV series) |
| On-screen debut | Top Gear: Series 2, Episode 7 (2003) |
| Final appearance | Top Gear At the Movies (2011) |
Top Gear Stunt Man was an infrequently-recurring character that made several appearances within Top Gear from 2003 until 2011.
Initially referred to by co-host Richard Hammond as "Top Gear Brave Person", Top Gear Stunt Man made his debut in Series 2, portrayed by Lee Sheward. He would make the occasional appearance once every series or two.
Career[edit | edit source]
Canon[edit | edit source]
Born on 29th February, 1962[1], the man known as "Top Gear Stunt Man" would serve in the British Army's Parachute Regiment from 1978 until 1982, before retiring to become a stuntman. His first work would be in the 1983 James Bond production Never Say Never Again, where he played a minor character who fell off his motorcycle. He would soon development a positive working relationship with director Michael Winner, and starred in three of his Death Wish sequels, which featured Charles Bronson in the lead role. His final film role came in 2005 in Guy Ritchie's Revolver, although his scene was deleted from the final cut. During the intervening years, he would marry and be divorced, eventually relocating to a caravan park in Essex. His domicile is a caravan towed by a blue Ford Sierra estate, much like the one flipped by him in Series 6. During his career as a stuntman, he often fell into disrepute with the directors he tried to work with, leading him to be thrown off the set. He did not work on films such as Ronin, The Rock, or the Bourne trilogy. However, it is likely he did work on the TV series The New Avengers and the James Bond film The Living Daylights, due to an arm patch and jacket bearing their names.
Real Life[edit | edit source]
On the 22nd March, 2005, the stuntman broke the world record for the number of rolls in a car. Griffin was not credited for his appearance, but his name appeared on the Guinness World Record certificate shown to the camera.
Known appearances on Top Gear[edit | edit source]
- Series 2, Episode 7 (as Lee Sheward)
- Series 3, Episode 2 (as Lee Sheward)
- Series 6, Episode 9 (as Steve Griffin)
- Series 11, Episode 1 (as Jim Dowdall)
- Series 11, Episode 2 (as Jim Dowdall)
- Series 12, Episode 7 (as Jim Dowdall)
- Top Gear At the Movies (as Jim Dowdall)
Sheward is also credited[2] on IMDb as The Stig, making it likely he also partook in some of the show's other stunt jumps.
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ An impossible date, as 1962 was not a leap year.
- ↑ IMDb - "Lee Sheward as The Stig".
[edit | edit source]
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- British automotive journalists
- Top Gear Stunt Man
- Profile pages
- Male automotive journalists
- Stunt performers of Top Gear (2002 TV series)
- Male stunt performers of Top Gear (2002 TV series)
- Automotive journalists who made their on-screen debuts in 2003
- Automotive journalists who made their final on-screen appearances in 2011
