Stuntman Crashes and Burns—Repeatedly

SPRINTING THROUGH THE STREETS of New York with cops in pursuit, then getting hit by a yellow cab and shot in the leg was one of the best days of Warren Hull’s life: The brutal 2014 chase scene for the TV series “Person of Interest” jump-started his career as a stuntman.

“It cemented exactly that this was what I wanted to do,” says Hull ’11.

Since then, he’s done everything from mauling humans as a zombie in “Fallout” to rappelling from the ceiling to arrest Rachel Brosnahan on “Saturday Night Live” and diving across a football field as a Pop-Tart for NFL commercials.

He credits Gymkana in part for putting him on the path. Tumbling for a Washington Wizards halftime show led to an invitation to join a stunt dunking troupe, which he balanced with a full-time job at an engineering firm after graduation. But he never considered leaving his 9-5 until 2014, when his dunk team signed on for a bit part in the Amy Schumer movie “Trainwreck.”

The two weeks on set changed his life. He qualified to join the Screen Actors Guild, which opened the door to more jobs. But finding them wasn’t easy—especially because all the websites Hull scoured were grossly out of date and hard to navigate. He put his tool-designing skills to use, co-creating with Derric Stotts ’09 StuntListing.com, a database featuring photos, wardrobe details, reels and more. Now it’s the biggest stunt casting website in the world.

Since it was launched in 2017—shortly after he finally quit his day job—it’s helped New York-based Hull make copious industry connections. Staying flexible is key; he’s often being contacted on Monday to ask if he’s free on Thursday—or even the same day. “They’ll say, ‘Start driving to Brooklyn and your contract will be on your phone by the time you get there.’” Flip through some of his projects:

“Queens of the Dead,” a campy zombie movie. Hull was covered head to toe in green glitter as he threatened to eat people before finally getting a drill to the head by Margaret Cho. “It was so funny, but that glitter didn’t come out for weeks.”

Playing a Speedo-clad corpse floating off the coast of Fire Island in 50-degree water for the indie film “Instagays.” “It’s probably one of the most dangerous stunts I’ve done, for hypothermia reasons,” he says. When they hauled him out after four minutes, he couldn’t stand or dress on his own, and was so cold his body didn’t even start shivering for another 15.

Ice-T on the latest season of “Law & Order: SVU.” Hull not only doubled for the actor in a scene where the character gets beat up, but helped develop the fight and even taught the “SVU” veteran a few moves. “You’re trying to save the bodies of the actors,” he says.

Crime drama “Godfather of Harlem.” Hull set his fellow stuntman ablaze while his buddy was tied to a chair—one of about 200 he’s started over the years. Hull’s also been on fire a few times himself; it takes flame-resistant clothing, protective gel and training to hold your breath while squirming convincingly and keeping the heat out of sensitive areas like armpits.