Stuntman in Hollywood & on the Job

Matt Talbott is currently finishing up his third year as a 393 apprentice. He’s working at the Google HQ Bay View site, and is often found 150 feet in the air, doing installations on the building’s signature roof. The high lift is nothing new for our members, and there’s always a little bit of stuntman magic that goes into many of our jobs. Matt also recently worked as an actual stuntman on a big production Hollywood film. 

Before plumbing, Matt worked as a commercial diver, and getting in the water is one of his passions. He and a friend are pioneers in alpine free diving, a new sport in which they hike up above 10,000 feet with all their equipment and dive into lakes no one has dived in before. 

Matt’s diving buddy is also a stunt equipment operator and heard a call for a tall stuntman who could hold their breath underwater for long periods of time. At 6’5”, Matt fit the bill, and before he knew it, he was on the set of a major action film with a celebrity ensemble cast.

“My role was an unconscious character, getting dragged around underwater, holding my breath for two minutes,” said Matt. “It’s had to be perfect, no excuses, as no one wants to reshoot a scene because the stuntman missed a cue. You have to be the rock. Plumbing is similar in that you have to do it right, and with tools in hand, you can make things happen. You go to work, lay that 10 feet of pipe beautifully, and you go home, job well done. And it stays at work.

“Though there’s lots of romance about Hollywood, most people lose their passion because you might only work a few weeks a year. I’m sticking with plumbing, knowing I can work 50 weeks of the year. But more importantly, a construction site is a laboratory of human experience. It’s inclusive, and there’s a wide diversity of people and points of view. No one cares about your background or your politics.You just need to do an honest days work, and you’re in with a shake of the hand.”