Former Amherst gymnast vaults way into stunt work
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NORTHAMPTON - In one review of the just-released thriller "Edge of Darkness," which was partially shot in these environs, star Mel Gibson is described as not looking "a day over 65," an apparent dig at his attempts to still do action films. But one Valley native, a guy who was with Gibson every step of the way on that shoot, says he's still got the chops.
Aaron Vexler, 34, a local gymnast who grew up in Amherst and starred at Temple University, worked as Gibson's stunt double for the movie. Though he did a little hairpin driving for the star, most of Vexler's involvement in the film was rehearsing with Gibson, who does most of his own stunts. The two worked hours together on a scene in which Gibson has to dodge a speeding car, and for his fight for his life while strapped to a gurney.
"He's a ridiculous stuntman," said Vexler, meaning ridiculously good. "The fighting he did in 'Braveheart' - that's all him."
Vexler, who lives with his wife, Caroline, on Long Island, has been doing stunts for five years and has appeared in some 70 movies and TV shows. He is well-trained in a number of disciplines, including stunt driving.
He has crashed through a glass window naked and been engulfed in flames. He has assassinated a New York mob boss in "The Sopranos" and fled with cohorts in a getaway car. He was thrown down a flight of stairs pretending to be Jon Stewart, and doubled for Stephen Colbert, doing back-handsprings across the comedian's set.
"I heard you do gymnastics," Colbert said to him. "Well, I do verbal gymnastics every night."
See some of Aaron Vexler's stunts
A family affair
Vexler is also part of a gymnastics dynasty in Amherst, going back some 60 years. His parents, Anne and Norm Vexler, were UMass gymnastics stars in the early '70s, and founded Hampshire Gymnastics School in 1974. Anne was elected to the UMass Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000. Her mother, Annie Hoog, was an alternate on the 1948 Olympic team.
Aaron's sister Talya, 29, was an All-American at the University of Georgia, is an assistant coach at Iowa, and will be coming home this summer to eventually take over the family business.
"I think it's great," he said. "It'd make me sad if it went to someone outside of the family."
Younger brother Luke, 24, also a Temple grad, finished 13th at the NCAA Championships in 2008, and was a choreographer and performer on the Post-Olympic Gymnastics Tour last year. He works at Universal Studios in Los Angeles, recreating movie-related stunts at Water World.
In a family where each of the siblings is the other one's idol, Aaron's exploits in New York and Hollywood are not taken lightly. "He's known as one of the hardest-working guys in the business," said Luke Vexler. "He's acquired so much knowledge in such a short time. And his stunt demo on YouTube is sweeeeet."
Aaron Vexler attended Amherst Regional through his junior year, training with Olympic gold medalist Tim Daggett in West Springfield. After graduating from Suffield Academy, he went on to a stellar career at Temple, making the U.S. National Team. He graduated with a degree in exercise science in 1999.
"I was a little lost after college," he said. "I wanted to be a stunt man, but had no idea how to go about it."
After working as an acrobat on a cruise ship, he joined AntiGravity, the Manhattan-based performance company that tours the world. He played Spider-Man at Six Flags and started a two-man circus troupe with former teammate Mike Moran.
Then came Caroline. Though they met at Temple, they were only passing acquaintances. But after graduation, they met again at a New York nightclub where she was dancing and he was working as "the world's smallest bouncer." She started having him over for dinner, a flame ignited and the two agreed to take on the world together.
A trained circus performer and dancer from Connecticut, Caroline, 33, has performed stunts alongside Aaron in many of his films, including "Enchanted," where he doubled for James Marsden's Prince Edward and she for Amy Adams' Princess Giselle. The scene where the puffy-bloused prince suddenly appears in Central Park and gets mowed down by cyclists involved not only Aaron but three other gymnasts, and resulted in several injuries.
"Yeah, a few of the guys got banged up," he said with a laugh.
He and Caroline were also part of the panicked crowd scene in "I Am Legend," where Air Force planes shoot out the bridges, in hopes of containing a deadly virus. "It was New York in the middle of January," said Vexler. "We froze our butts off."
Bloodied in 'Zombieland'
In "Zombieland," just out on DVD, both Vexlers appear as the living dead in the final harrowing scene in the amusement park, where Aaron gets blown off a ride while Caroline nails the "biggest, scariest, riskiest stunt of my career." Shot at 3 a.m. in Delta, Ga., she and four other zombies converge on the roof of a yellow Hummer as its driver tries to escape. As the Hummer plunges into a lake, all were supposed to jump off, and had to carefully plan their departures.
"I was on the back bumper with one leg on the spare tire," she said. "I planned to push myself off and land as far away from the vehicle as possible." Instead, as the Hummer hit a bump, Caroline was sent flying over the roof and plowed into the water in front of it - a better shot than planned for, but pretty hairy.
Up next for the Vexlers, movie-wise, is the new Smurfs flick and then one from the Coen brothers. "When big movies come to New York, we're very fortunate to be on the A-list," said Caroline Vexler.
The couple celebrated their fifth anniversary in October. Their daily training regimen combines martial arts, yoga, horseback riding, and, with a house only three blocks from the ocean, surfing. Aaron still works out on horizontal bar and trampoline, but neither Vexler overdoes the gymnastics part. "You don't want to get hurt," he said with a knowing laugh.
Growing up in Amherst with a family like the one Aaron was born into involved an awful lot of action, gymnastics being only part of it. "It was all about movement," he said, "from the Pioneer Valley Ballet to horseback riding to waterskiing off my folks' boat. It was everything physical - something I was attracted to and encouraged."
Upon a movie's wrap, Vexler will unwind, with as many family members as possible, either skiing or surfing. After "Edge" wrapped he spent two weeks surfing off the coast of northern Peru, the best waves he's ever tamed, he said, though his goal in life is to surf the Mentawai Islands in Indonesia.
Between getaways, it's one day at a time, a learning process that never ends, a burning ambition to be the best stunt man he can be.
"I'm living a dream job," he said. "Every day provides a new challenge."
When he was in the Valley for "Edge," very little of his time was spent looking up old friends and partying. "It's a hectic schedule," he said. "We're on the set at 6 a.m. and there to 5 or 6 at night. You basically just go back to sleep."
Vexler figures he'll be able to do stunts well into his 50s, progressing to specialist status, as a driver or rigger, and eventually, stunt coordinator.
He said action guys like Gibson and Russell Crowe are tough as nails and do as many of their own stunts as possible. "They know how to take a fall, which pads to wear. You're often there as an adviser."
Vexler has worked with many stunt legends, including Paul Newman's longtime double Stan Barrett, and Jeffrey Lee Gibson, also a former gymnast who gave the young Vexler his first break.
Vexler approaches his more difficult stunts much the way he did as the last guy up on high bar at Temple, having to nail his routine and stick the dismount to win the meet.
"It runs hand in hand," he said. "You have to shut off all negative thought, especially the monetary consequences of screwing up. Just focus on the task at hand."
One of the scariest moments from Vexler's Temple career occurred at a meet at the Curry Hicks Cage at UMass. As he was executing giant swings high up on the horizontal bar, a floor bolt came loose and the entire apparatus, Vexler included, came crashing down. The crowd gasped collectively and held its breath, erupting in relieved applause when he got to his feet.
Vexler, who limped for three weeks afterwards, has always seen the event in a positive light. "It taught me some good lessons," he said. "Always check your equipment before you use it."
Words for a stunt man to live by.
Bob Flaherty can be reached at bflaherty@gazettenet.com.
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Congratulations to all the
Congratulations to all the Vexlers!
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