stuntman (stunt-man) noun

A man who substitutes for an actor in scenes involving dangerous feats. Also known as double.

[From English word stunt (an unusual or dangerous feat) which is of unknown origin.]

Hey, do you see a pattern here?

"grip", "gaffer", "best boy", "foley" and now "stuntman".

They're all AWADs and they're all ALADs, right? Gotcha! Wrong Answer. :) They're all essential people in the movie-making business.

Sometimes I wish we had a stuntman around here to stand in for me. But, heck, I'm not a star. And lately I haven't been getting a lot of views either -- which isn't all bad, ya know. It means I can loosen up a bit and hang out.

That's what the star does, you know. He just hangs out while the stuntman is getting banged up. Some stuntman really look like the star. That's why they're called a "double".

When there's trouble coming in the script, the director says "We need a double for this trouble." Do you suppose that's where the term "double whammy" comes from?