Former double for Keanu Reeves does not believe in coincidence
Veteran stuntman Chris Robbins jumps off of the Hermosa Beach pier for the Easy Reader cover photoshoot. Photo by Bo Bridges
Back in 1999, Chris Robbins was ready to hang up his cleats for good. He had finished his last football season at Clemson University in South Carolina, and without prospects in the NFL, Robbins accepted an assistant coaching job at a local high school.
Then a phone call arrived. A casting coordinator, who had seen Robbins play in a football game at Clemson, wanted to know if he would be interested in trying out as a stunt double for actor Dennis Quaid on the football field. Quaid was starring in the star-studded film, “Any Given Sunday.”
Though having no experience in stunting, Robbins, then 24, was intrigued. He went down for a trial and showcased his athletic prowess. Ultimately, Robbins, who hovers around 6 feet and weighs 220 pounds, was too big to double for Quaid.
But as it turned out, Robbins was the perfect size to double Keanu Reeves in the 2000 sports comedy film “The Replacements.”
After that gig in Baltimore, where he “mostly did Keanu’s throwing and took his hits in a football uniform,” opportunity came knocking on his door again. His stunt coordinator for “The Replacement” had recommended Robbins to a friend, also a coordinator, who was shooting a football movie in Atlanta and was not happy with the quarterback double.
“So I went down to Atlanta,” Robbins said, “and filmed ‘Remember the Titans.’”
Working alongside the Denzel Washington and Will Patton sealed the deal for Robbins, who currently lives in Redondo Beach with his wife, 3-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter, with another child on the way.
Nearly 14 years since that first phone call, Robbins’ stunt career continues to stretch the field. His stunt work is divided between films and narrative video games, including the 2004 film “Friday Night Lights” and his five-year stint with the action videogame series “Uncharted,” where he stunt-doubled for the animated protagonist Nathan Drake. His stunt work for videogame “Madden NFL” is 10 years and counting.
Next month, he leaves for Arkansas where he will take on the role as assistant stunt coordinator for a historical football piece called “Greater.”
Robbins credits his success in the industry to his specialty in football and weaponry (prior to college, he served in the military for six years) and his wide repertoire as a “jack of all trades, master of none,” he said. But most importantly, Robbins points to his faith.
“Stunts came out of what I think is a God-given athletic ability,” he said. “I don’t look at life as happenstance. I feel like these opportunities have fallen on my lap for a reason.”
Robbins, who earned his masters in theology at Biola University’s Talbot School, is a certified pastor. He served in the ministry at Shepherd of the Hills Church in both Westwood and in the Valley for more than a decade.
“He’s a very laidback, fun, light-hearted and genuine guy,” said Mike Yosh, the lead animator who for several years worked alongside Robbins for “Uncharted” and “The Last of Us.”
“And if he never told me that he was a pastor, I probably wouldn’t have guessed it,” Yosh added.
“It always takes people off-guard, that I’m a stuntman and a pastor,” Robbins said, chuckling. “I’m like, what, that doesn’t go together?”
Not really, he acknowledged moments later. “It’s not hard to see that Hollywood pushes the envelope with morality all the time.”
Last July, Robbins was knee-deep stunting for the horror action-adventure video game “The Last of Us” when news of the Aurora, Colorado mass shootings broke. The game, he explained, revolves around two protagonist violently fighting their way across a zombie-infested land.
“I had to ask myself some really difficult questions,” he said. “Am I playing a part in this? I try to say yes to the right jobs, but there’s a lot of gray in there.”
At the end of the day, Robbins is not looking to preach or proselytize his colleagues. “I just want to be a good citizen in Hollywood and carry my faith,” he said. “I’m honestly very confident that that’s the most virtuous, most fulfilling way to live.”