Rising Star: Haaron Hines | Arts & Culture

The third trilogy the Batman “The Dark Knight Rises” directed by Christopher Nolan hits the theatres July 20 it is said to be this summers biggest blockbuster hit filled with tons of action. I recently caught up with upcoming stuntman and actor Haaron Hines who makes his first big screen debut playing a cop in the film.

Getthebuzz716: Wow you had the opportunity to work on the upcoming film Dark Knight how did that come about?

Haaron Hines: A friend of mine who is a poet and actress has been telling me for years that I should be a model or act or do something cause I'm letting my cute face and nice body go to waste. Her words, not mine. I always laughed it off. Then one day she sent me an email and basically told me she'd kill me if I didn’t apply. I clicked on the link and it was for the Dark Knight. They were looking for people with military and martial arts training to play police officers and mercenaries. So I went and tried out and I got cast as a cop.

Getthebuzz716: What type of training did you have to do?

Haaron Hines: To be a stunt actor you have to have a wide range of skills the more variety of skills you have the better because that makes you more valuable to the production. Martial arts, gymnastics, parkour, stunt driving, fighting for film and being stunt certified are just some of the many things that will get you hired.

Getthebuzz716: How was your time on the Dark Knight movie set?

Haaron Hines: The set was so much fun. The energy was crazy. Everyone was excited to be there. It's a damn Batman movie so why wouldn’t they be? The experience was just awesome. Got to work with a lot of vets in the stunt industry, martial artists as well as military men and women.
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Getthebuzz716: How long have you been active in this industry and how did you manage to break into it?

Haaron Hines: The Dark Knight thing was my first time in a major motion picture. I broke into it by the grace of god and I hope to make a long and amazing career out of it.

Getthebuzz716: Was there a specific role you had that made you realize that this was the job for you?

Haaron Hines: Yeah, there were actually two roles. The first was when I was on the steps of city hall having a fistfight with my scene partner and out the corner of my eye I see Batman and Bane coming right towards me. That’s when I was like "oh shit. I'm in a Batman movie." The second was in an independent film written by Michael Simmons and directed by Ren Humphrey called Commonality. We shut down two city blocks up in the Bronx and had this crazy shoot out. Only in movies can you empty a clip at someone on a crowded street. It was incredibly fun and an amazing experience. Being able to do what seems to be impossible, that’s the magic of movies.

Getthebuzz716: How do the selection process and work schedule differ for stunt persons compared to actors? Is it similar in both television and film?

Haaron Hines: The main thing I'm learning that the stunt world is very "cliquish." It's not what you know or what you can do but whom you know and are affiliated with. The work schedule for a stunt person is different from an actor's cause there's way more physical prep. The actors act. Unless they're part of the rare few that do almost all their own stunts, they don’t have as much demanded of them physically. When doing stunts you have to be focused on looking good, looking real, and not getting hurt or killed. I haven’t done television yet but from what I've been told it can be very similar depending on whose production it is.

Getthebuzz716: The majority of our audience may not be familiar with the importance of the stunt industry in Hollywood, especially with so many actors and actresses saying that they do their own stunt work. How would you best describe the role the average stunt person has on set in various scenarios such as body doubling and stunt acting?

Haaron Hines: To sum it up in one word, invaluable. Actors are the cores of the production. They drive the story. If they get hurt trying to do something they don’t do, it shuts down the whole production and costs everyone time and money. The stuntmen and stuntwomen make the story look good. We do the kicks and flips. We jump out of planes and get hit by cars. We do all the daring, reckless stuff that make people want to go to movies.

Getthebuzz716: To date, which director do you have the most affinity for and would like to work with?

Haaron Hines: I would love to work on another Christopher Nolan project. He's an awesome director and a great guy. I would also like to work with Isaac Florentine, the guy who did the "Undisputed" movie with Michael Jai White and Scott Adkins.

Getthebuzz716: Now you also do music how do you split your time between music and acting?

Haaron Hines: I honestly don’t know. My schedule varies from week to week so I just manage the best I can. But when I'm not filming I try to do one day where I only work on music and one day where I only do something for stunts like strength training, parkour, or martial arts. But I always end up thinking about a song idea while working out or thinking of a fight scene while making a beat so I haven’t exactly mastered that yet. But I feel like being involved in both benefits me. There's a rhythm and structure to a fight scene just like there is to a song. So I apply that when I'm learning a new sequence and it helps me pick it up faster than most people.

Getthebuzz716: What roles do you have on the horizon? Are there any projects out there you'd like the opportunity to work on?

Haaron Hines: I just wrapped on the indie crime drama, Commonality. I'm also shooting a sci-fi action pilot for a show called Elite Venator. That's going to be amazing. The story is really good and the action sequences are mean. After that I film my part for the Feature Fall of the Horsemen where I play one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. As far as tuff I'd like to work on, I'd love to do another superhero movie. I grew up collecting comics so I'd love to do stuff like an Avengers sequel or something like that. I'd also like to work on something with some of my favorite action stars. Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Michael Jai White, and/or Scott Adkins.

Getthebuzz716: If you had a few pieces of advice to offer anyone who wished to pursue stunt acting, what would they be?

Haaron Hines; Work hard, train harder, and always is humble. Never let your ego get in the way of your success. Don’t be afraid to take a small role on a project cause people talk. They may see or hear about how you did on a small project and put you on a Hollywood blockbuster so just stay humble and work hard.

For more go to http://www.thedarkknightrises.com/