Legendary skateboarder Tony Hawk recalls the time he was hired as David Spade’s stunt double in 1987 Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrolbut it didn’t go as planned, owing everything to puberty.
During the latest episode of Spade’s Fly on the wall In the podcast, which he co-hosts with Dana Carvey, Hawk revealed that he originally auditioned for a role in the film, which is about a group of civilian volunteers who are hired to work alongside police officers to fight crime.
Although he didn’t get a lead role, he said that the film crew decided to hire him to replace Spade in complex skate trick scenes because both were silly. The Saturday night live Alum played Kyle in the film, a skater who was added to the show as punishment for his crimes.
But by the time filming began, it had been some time since Hawk was originally hired, and the pro skateboarder says it was around that time that puberty had hit.
“Since we tried it, I’ve had a growth spurt [for Police Academy 4] When we got there, for the first week they were like, ‘I think that guy’s too big,’” Hawk said. “And I remember the director saying, ‘You know, he’s a pretty good skater, but he’s a bad stunt double,’ and then Stacy said [Peralta, second unit director for skateboarding] kept telling me, ‘Stay down. “Stay down” And I’m leaving… I tried, I tried, and then they just quietly and secretly sent me home. Basically, I got fired.”
Spade said Hawk was replaced by skater Chris Miller, but since he wasn’t as goofy as Spade, this created some continuity issues during filming. “They sent Chris Miller who looks more like him [Spade] However, since he has a normal foot, his stance keeps changing throughout the skate sequence. It’s so crazy,” Hawk added.
However, the legendary skateboarder did make an appearance in the film. Spade recalled Peralta asking him if he could perform one of his own stunts for a specific scene involving jumping multiple steps on a skateboard.
“I can do five steps seven times out of ten,” the comedian joked. “And then we go in and I take the first steps and I’m going to f*ck hit out and then everyone has to hit me out because they’re all about two feet behind me. There is no adjustment.”
After the failed take, Peralta enlisted Hawk to do the stunt, which the skater noted “wasn’t nothing, but it was doable.”
Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol is considered Spade’s first feature film.
Source : www.hollywoodreporter.com