IF YOU are a James Bond, Pink Panther or Indiana Jones buff, chances are you’ve seen Rocky Taylor in action. But you may not recognise him as he would have been posing as Peter Sellers or Sean Connery or Harrison Ford as Taylor is one of the world’s foremost stuntman.
“Fun movies like the James Bonds and the Pink Panthers with the late Peter Sellers stand out in my mind when looking back on my career. They were absolutely wonderful,” he said. Taylor was on the island recently taking part in a charity golf event aimed at raising money for the Association of Parents and Friends of Children with Congenital Heart Disease.
“I have never experienced any such problems heart disease and neither has my family but I have friends who have been in similar situations,” he said.
Now a stunt co-ordinator, in his earlier days, Taylor performed extremely daring and dangerous stunts in an array of classic films such as Superman, Robin Hood: Price of Thieves, Spies Like Us and An American Werewolf in London. He also had a near-death experience on the set of Death Wish III, in which an exploding building he was to jump from blew up before he jumped, leaving him trapped inside for five minutes. When he got free he jumped, breaking his back and pelvis on landing. He has also suffered major burns.
“I suppose that incident was the most dangerous stunt I ever did. The most dangerous stunts you can do are with horses, animals and fire because you have to rely on someone to put you out when you are on fire and animals have got their own brain.”
Apart from stunts, Taylor is also an experienced actor and has had roles in films such as Titanic, Sexy Beast, Batman and The Legend of the Lone Ranger.
The tall, bustling Londoner admits that although he knows his stuff in the world of daring stunts, he knew hardly anything about Cyprus prior to coming here to take part in the Kenny Lynch charity golf tournament in Paphos. “This is my first time in Cyprus and, to be ignorant to the fact, I always thought Cyprus was on the [Greek] mainland and didn’t realise it was an island. I am very impressed with Cyprus. It’s got lovely people, the generosity is wonderful and I look forward to coming back.”
Taylor has no regrets about having to switch from being a stuntman to being a stunt co-ordinator and is keenly looking forward to the release of the new film he has been working on, Bloodrayne.
“We have just finished shooting a great vampire film in Romania called Bloodrayne with Kristianna Loken, Sir Ben Kingsley, Michael Madsen, Billy Zane and there is also a guest appearance from Meatloaf. The German director Uwe Boll is one of the best directors I’ve ever worked for and I believe he will go a long way. I have a great feeling for this film.”
His work doesn’t stop there, however. While he was in Romania instructing the actors and stuntman on the film sets, his wife Pamela has been busy back home.
“I have just moved house and the wife’s been painting so I will be helping out and getting the house sorted out when I get back home.”
seven questions
What car do you drive?
An American Grand Cherokee and it drinks more than me
Describe your perfect weekend?
If I had the choice I would like to go and play golf in a place called Niger in Africa
Assuming you believe in reincarnation, who or what would you come back as?
It certainly wouldn’t be Jess Conrad. The answer to that would be a professional golfer
What is your greatest fear?
Nothing really except I am a little claustrophobic
What is your earliest memory?
Jumping off buildings as a kid
What did you have for breakfast?
Eggs and bacon
What was the last item of clothing that you bought?
I bought a suit, a jacket and a tie at the airport because I didn’t have them with me in Romania and I thought they would come in handy especially for the charity event in Paphos
