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Best known as the fight director for Star Wars I, II and III, Nick Gillard has worked in the industry for a long time. By the time Nick started work on Star Wars he had already built an impressive list of films such as: Aliens, The Three Musketeers, Indiana Jones, Wanted, Reign of Fire, Shaft, Red Dwarf, Waterworld, Judge Dredd, Interview with a Vampire, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Labyrinth, Legend, Krull, James Bonds and heaps more (full details available on IMDB or his website). On Star Wars Nick guided the actors and stunt players through a new kind of movement to bring a special dimension to the action scenes. To do this, Gillard had to create a fictional martial art that has an authentic, time-honored feel. Rather than assembling a pastiche of various martial arts, Gillard worked to create a distinctive technique that is based on the fact that the Jedi have specifically “chosen the sword as their weapon.” He holds several unofficial world’s records – including a 200-foot power boat jump over two bridges in the film Amsterdammed, and a full fire burn without air for over two minutes on Alien 3. (“Full fire burn” means that you don’t breathe while you are on fire, lest the oxygen in your lungs ignite.) Gillard has been on fire at least 100 times. Whether you realize it or not, you have seen Gillard on countless “World’s Greatest Stunts” videos and in such blockbusters as Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (in the boat and tank battle sequences) and Interview with the Vampire (where he doubled for Tom Cruise). He was also the Alien Queen in Aliens, and his sword work has been displayed in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, The Three Musketeers, 1492: Conquest of Paradise, and Henry V.For more info about Nick you can check out his website, see his Star Wars Wiki page or read this extensive interview. For more info on his World Premiere Jedi Fighting class at Combat Con see the detailed description. Classes and Presentations by Nick:
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