Jamaican-born Hollywood stuntman traces his roots

Paul H. Williams, Gleaner Writer

They make movie stars look good, but they seldom get any publicity. When the movie ends, everybody strolls out of the cinema oblivious of their fast-scrolling credits. No paparazzi follow them around, and a walk down the red carpet they won't get during the award seasons.

Yet, they are as essential to the success of some movies as the writer, director and actors. They are stuntmen, skilful and talented doubles, who dangle from helicopters, run through burning buildings and jump from one high-rise structure to another, among other potentially fatal stunts.

Roy T. Anderson, a native of Ridge Pen, St Elizabeth, is one such unsung hero, but he's not dying to be in the limelight at all. Instead, the former long jumper, who had doubled for stars no less than Will Smith, Robert Townsend, Busta Rhymes, Tyrese, Denzel Washington, Billy Dee Williams, David Alan Grier, Terrence Howard, Jamie Foxx, Avery Brooks, Courtney B. Vance, Blair Underwood, et al, was recently on the island shooting footage for his documentary, AKWANTU: The Journey, which seeks to tell the story of the Jamaican Maroons, of whom Anderson is a descendant by way of his mother.

"I must say in the beginning I was met with resistance by some in the Maroon communities, so this made it a little difficult to get the footage I need. After all, I was not born in any of those communities, but my maternal great-grandmother was, so I am claiming it. I have visited the communities, especially Accompong, several times.

Opening up

They have become a little more familiar with me and are starting to open up to me. Because of this, I have been able to acquire some truly breathtaking footage.

Anderson is exploring his place in the universe, by attempting to document the story of his spirited ancestors, the vanguards of freedom and independence. "What really started out several years as a simple genealogy project just really took on a life of its own as I began to uncover more and more documentary information about the family elders, like birth certificates, death certificates, etcetera," he explained.

"The interesting thing is that some of the most important pieces of information came by the oral storytelling of my uncle who died last year at the age of 92. He was very proud of his Maroon heritage ... That struck a chord with me, and so I began to read as much as I could on the Maroons. At the end of the day, I just felt that their story was much too important to be left on the pages of textbooks. I decided the path my ancestors took would also become my journey, as well.

And so he went back to Africa, to Ghana, formerly the Gold Coast, from which thousands of slaves were sent to the West Indies, via the brutal Middle Passage. "I had to go. That's where it all started. I had to go and get background information. What it was that made these people, the Maroons, did what they did. I believe it started from the moment of capture, that they were planning their escape," he said.

Places visited

Among the places he visited were Cape Coast Castle, which is actually a dungeon where slaves were held in subhuman conditions, and the Slave River, in which many took their final bath before departing to the West Indies. It was a poignant moment for Anderson as he walked down the path to the river as he said, "I had to stop and pause for a moment of reflection ... I could hear them singing, crying, whatever."

A tour of the holding cells was no less heart-rending. Blood and excrement stains were everywhere, even after all these centuries. Darkness, extremely poor ventilation, hunger, the scent of human refuse that was stored in channels in the floor were what the hapless slaves bore while they waited to leave for the journey through the Passage Middle - where conditions on the slave ships were not better, perhaps worse.

It was mixed emotions for Anderson who said he had to hold back. And he was even more convinced by what he saw that the story must be told. "I want people to feel it," he said of his self-financed debut documentary of which he's the writer/producer/director.

"There is some trepidation, but my family and friends have got behind me 100 per cent and this certainly helps," said the first-time filmmaker, "For too long, other people have told the story of the Maroons with their own biases and prejudices. Maroons have to tell their own story. With my documentary, that is what I'm trying to achieve."

Anderson migrated to Toronto, Canada, in 1974, at age 11. At that time, he was already active in sports, but he had no idea he would be propping up the performances of the aforementioned stars.

In high school, he excelled at track and field and football, and earned himself an athletics scholarship to the Simon Fraser University, in British Columbia, Canada, where he became an Olympic-level long jumper. He later transferred to York University, from which he graduated with a degree in communication and political science.

After working briefly as an editorial assistant at The Sport Network, the once freelance journalist, who wanted to be a sportscaster, left to pursue a career in stunt work, which he had been working at part-time. In 1981, Anderson met legendary Hollywood stunt co-ordinator Terry J. Leonard on the movie set of Class of '84, in which he performed his first ever stunt in a movie.

Now, Anderson has more than 300 movie and television production credits to his name, including Spider-Man 2, Bourne Ultimatum, American Gangster, Hitch, Shaft, Down To Earth, and Inside Man. Recently, he has performed stunts on Louis Leterrier's The Incredible Hulk, and worked as a stunt coordinator on Guns, a CBC mini-series, directed by David 'Sudz' Sutherland.

paul.williams@gleanerjm.com