‘Drastic change’ needed to end practice of ‘wigging’ on British film sets
“Drastic change” is needed to end the “backwards” British stunt industry’s use of men in wigs pretending to be women, according to leading female stunt experts.
“From my point of view, it’s heartbreaking,” says stunt co-ordinator Tiger Lilli Rudge talking to Sky News at Space Studios in Manchester.
A stunt performer for 15 years, she now helps train other women with the skills needed to work in film and television, all too aware from her own experience that they will be fighting on multiple fronts.
“Women put in all the time and effort and are more than capable to do a job…and then you put a wig on a man,” she says.
Some stuntwomen say the industry remains a “boy’s club”
She adds: “The excuse that they use is that they had to use the man because there wasn’t a woman to do the job, and I can tell you that that is absolutely rubbish because I know hundreds of women that are capable car drivers, bikers, whatever, there’s so much talent out there.”
Decades ago back when male-centred action films were more en vogue, the practice of “wigging” used to be quite common. Today it is largely frowned upon.
It is a term, used within the industry, to describe the process of a wig being put on a stuntman so that they can double as a female character for some of the more dangerous action scenes.
On Amazon Prime’s big-budget spy show Citadel, as you might expect, all the primary cast have their own assigned stunt doubles who are gender and race-appropriate.
But Sky News obtained photos of a stunt driver wearing a wig and given heavy make-up to pass as female.
Tiger Rudge, stunt co-ordinator
Filmed just a couple of months ago, it is understood it happened after an incident with the original female driver meant they turned to a last-minute replacement – and a man happened to be the only person available quickly with the right set of skills.
To some female stunt performers and drivers, this explanation is familiar – there just aren’t enough women in the trade – but we’ve been told even those with the prerequisite skills are not often being booked because, they say, the stunt world remains a “boys club”.
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“It’s very backwards,” Ms Rudge insists. “America is much better…we are massively behind here and I think it needs drastic change.”
She says: “The opportunities for women are much lesser so… they have to get all these skills, the bikes, the cars, the horses, yet when it comes down to hiring they’re not getting an opportunity.
“Anything with a weapon, anything with danger, it will automatically go to men….there is a stereotype with women for some reason that they aren’t as good as men.”
A recent study carried out by academic Dr Laura Crossley – a film lecturer from Bournemouth University – found that despite an increase in female action roles women still struggle to get into core stunt teams.
Dr Laura Crossley
“The overwhelming evidence is that it’s very difficult for women to progress to the roles of the stunt directors and stunt coordinators,” Dr Crossley explains.
“They tend to be the people who will determine who gets brought onto the stunt teams and predominantly they are men.”
She adds: “I don’t think it’s necessarily something that’s being done that’s mendacious or that it’s deliberately trying to freeze women out, I think there’s just this ongoing culture… because stunt workers have existed in this sort of shadowy area for quite a long time… they just don’t tend to get that kind of transparency.
“It is jobs for the boys… if a stunt woman is brought in, she isn’t always part of the core team, she might just be brought in for a scene and then if there’s something else that arises along the way and she’s no longer around, the stunt director probably turns to his core crew and just goes ‘okay, you’re up, you’re going to do it’.”
In 2024, she argues, it’s hard to justify that a man in a wig is the only option.
“This is something that we knew was happening in the 60s and 70s, to a certain extent, but I didn’t realise it had carried on for so long….it should absolutely be industry standard that men cannot double for women and white stunt workers cannot double for people of colour,” she says.
Given the nature of closed film and television sets, it is hard to say for certain how often men double for women.
In relation to the photos we obtained from the set of Citadel Season 2, Sky News understands Amazon MGM endeavour to find gender and ethnic-specific stunt doubles and that stuntmen dressing as women happens only with the rarest of exceptions.
But Ms Rudge argues it shouldn’t be happening at all.
She said: “This comes from the top – production need to acknowledge female stunt coordinators, female coordinators will acknowledge women….unless there is more hiring of women, this isn’t going to change.”
Entertainment
Timothee Chalamet and Demi Moore among winners at SAG Awards – a major Oscars predictor
The winners of this year’s Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG) have been revealed – a major predictor of the Oscars, with just a week to go.
Demi Moore continued her run of success to be named best actress for her performance in body horror The Substance, while Timothee Chalamet picked up the award for best actor for his portrayal of Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown.
Demi Moore adds yet another tropy to her collection for her performance in The Substance. Pic: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
While not a complete shock, before this Adrien Brody had probably just nudged it as favourite for an Oscar win for his performance in post-war epic The Brutalist.
Now, the race is closer than it has been in years – and both Chalamet, 29, and Moore, 62, could be on course for their first Academy Awards.
Following a BAFTA win earlier this month, papal thriller Conclave was honoured with the top film prize, for best ensemble.
Starring Ralph Fiennes, Isabella Rossellini and Stanley Tucci, the film follows the drama of the selection process for a new pope.
Conclave stars (L-R) Sergio Castellitto, John Lithgow, Isabella Rossellini and Ralph Fiennes with the ensemble cast award. Pic: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
During the ceremony, Rossellini said the film’s cast wanted to send their best wishes to Pope Francis, who is being treated in hospital for pneumonia and bronchitis, and wish him “a quick recovery”.
Elsewhere, the supporting categories were true to 2025 awards season form – Kieran Culkin and Zoe Saldana continued their runs of success with wins for performances in A Real Pain and Emilia Perez respectively.
‘I want to be one of the greats’
Chalamet attended with his mum, Nicole Flender. Pic: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
The awards are voted for by members of the SAG-AFTRA union and are held as a celebration of actors honoured by their peers.
For the best male actor announcement, Chalamet looked visibly surprised as his name was called.
After being accompanied by girlfriend Kylie Jenner to the BAFTAs last week, this time round he was celebrating with his mum, Nicole Flender.
“The truth is, this was five-and-a-half years of my life. I poured everything I had into playing this incomparable artist, Mr. Bob Dylan, a true American hero,” he said on stage. “It was the honour of a lifetime playing him.”
Making no secret of his ambitions, he added: “The truth is I’m really in pursuit of greatness. I know people don’t usually talk like that, but I want to be one of the greats.”
Moore said joining SAG-AFTRA as a teenager in 1978 gave her meaning as “a kid on my own who had no blueprint for life”.
Jane Fonda was honoured with a lifetime achievement award. Pic: AP/Chris Pizzello
Actress and activist Jane Fonda, 87, provided the ceremony’s most passionate political moment as she was honoured with a lifetime achievement prize.
“We are in our documentary moment,” she said. “This is it. And it’s not a rehearsal.”
The word “woke”, she added, “just means you give a damn” about others.
The TV winners
Shogun stars (L-R) Tommy Bastow, Shinnosuke Abe, Moeka Hoshi, Hiroyuki Sanada, Anna Sawai, Tadanobu Asano and Hiroto Kanai. Pic: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
The SAG Awards also include TV categories, with Japanese historical drama Shogun picking up the gong for best ensemble and its stars, Hiroyuki Sanada and Anna Sawai, named best actor and actress.
Only Murders In The Building took home the prize for best comedy ensemble, with star Martin Short named best actor in a comedy series.
Jean Smart, who had previously called for cancelling the awards shows due to the wildfires that hit LA in January, was named best actress in a comedy, for her role in Hacks. She did not attend, but gave a recorded introduction.
In the limited series category, British star Jessica Gunning was named best actress for Baby Reindeer, while Irish star Colin Farrell was named best actor for The Penguin.
Entertainment
‘I felt like a trespasser and imposter’: Louis Theroux to be awarded prestigious NFTS fellowship
Louis Theroux will be honoured with the prestigious National Film and Television School (NFTS) fellowship next month.
The renowned interviewer – who has been working in the business for over three decades, and whose Weird Weekends were the stuff of legend – admits he initially felt like “a trespasser” and “imposter” in his front-of-screen role.
Theroux with students at the National Film and Television School. Pic: NFTS
Never going to film school himself, the now world-famous presenter and documentarian got his first job as a print journalist in America after graduating from Oxford University.
His big break came on Michael Moore’s TV Nation series, as a roving reporter delving into offbeat culture, later striking up a deal with the BBC resulting in Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends.
A first-person storyteller, who disarms his subjects with charm, Theroux’s interviews frequently result in the unexpected.
Commenting on his upcoming award, Theroux said: “I came into the industry more than thirty years ago, feeling like a trespasser, an imposter, in a role meant for someone else, worrying that I would be found out, hoping I could keep going for a few more months, since I was enjoying it so much.
“All these years later, I’ve learned that ‘keeping going’ may be the best definition of success.”
Admitting that like those just starting out in the field, he too is “still figuring things out”, he said he hoped the fellowship would give him the chance to “connect with younger people… sharing the few things I’ve learned, and more importantly learning from them”.
Theroux at the Church of Scientology building in LA. Pic: BBC/BBCWorldwide
Theroux went on to interview a host of celebrities in When Louis Met…, including Jimmy Savile, who is now known to have been one of the UK’s most prolific sexual predators.
Haunted by the interaction, Theroux would go on to interview some of Savile’s victims in a follow-up 16 years later.
Theroux has also fronted various documentaries across BBC1 and BBC2 and released the 2016 feature-length documentary My Scientology Movie.
The author of several books, he currently hosts his own podcast series.
Theroux and his wife Nancy Strang in 2019. Pic: PA
In 2019, he set up his own production company, Mindhouse, with his wife Nancy Strang and filmmaker Arron Fellows, producing documentary film and TV series, as well as his podcast.
Theroux recently revealed he was suffering from alopecia, initially resulting in the loss of his eyebrows.
In true Theroux style, the 54-year-old has been documenting his hair loss journey on social media, seeking advice and sharing updates with his followers.
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NFTS chair Sophie Turner Laing praised Theroux’s “immense contribution” to the world of factual filmmaking, adding: “His ability to connect with audiences and uncover powerful human stories makes him a true icon in the industry.”
Previous recipients of the honorary fellowship include James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli, Wallace And Gromit creator Nick Park, director Sam Mendes and children’s author Malorie Blackman.
NFTS graduates have gone on to win 15 Oscars and 166 BAFTAs since the school opened half a century ago, with current graduates’ work on show at the BFI Southbank from Monday 3 March to Thursday 6 March.
The fellowship will be awarded to Theroux during the school’s graduation ceremony on Friday 7 March.
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