‘Hunger Games’ Stuntman Dies Doing Dangerous Leap
Sad news to come out of the Hunger Games crew. A stuntman, Carlos Lopez, fell to his death after attempting a dangerous leap without supervision. His death happened in Lisbon, Portugal, where he was with his girlfriend at the time.
The 25-year-old attempted a parkour stunt off the fifth floor window from his hostel onto a balcony that was opposite the building. Unfortunately, Lopez tragically fell to his death, and his girlfriend witnessed the accident.
A neighbor who witnessed the aftermath described the situation in detail to UK’s Mirror.
“I’ve never seen as much blood. I woke up with the noise, went to the window and saw the young man lying on the ground, on an interior patio we share with the hostel where it happened.”
We are very sad to announce that our beloved cast member and stunt man Carlos Lopez has passed away, R.I.P. We… http://t.co/t8coWWhj7K
— Between Bullets (@BetweenBullets) October 2, 2014
According to NBC News, the Hunger Games stuntman jumped around 4 a.m. When Lopez’ girlfriend heard the fall, she immediately called the hotel, who then in turn called the police. His colleagues over at the North Carolina Stuntmen’s Association, which is where Lopez trained, only had the nicest words for Carlos.
Of Carlos, they said, “A great friend… a formidable role model with great respect, discipline and personality. He was very caring, giving, and dedicated.”
Another colleague of Lopez’s wrote a post on tumblr in memory of him.
“A fellow stunt brother, Carlos Lopez, passed yesterday. I remember working with him on TMNT and he was always a pleasure to be around. Super talented and all around good dude. Rest in peace my brother, you will be remembered. For the rest of us, dont take this life for granted, keep the ones you love close. You never know when they will be taken. #rip #restinpeace #stuntfam.”
For those who aren’t aware, the practice of parkour is taking the natural urban environment and using it as an obstacle course.
Lopez’s talents listed on his resume include stunt fighting, mixed martial arts, boxing, and Muay Thai. According to the stuntsman’s IMDb page, in addition to working on the set of Hunger Games, he was a stunt performer on the upcoming film John Wick, Boardwalk Empire, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, 22 Jump Street, Olympus Has Fallen, and The Vampire Diaries.
In addition to John Wick, his next film coming out that features his stunts is The Nest, which stars Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. It is slated for a 2015 release date.
[Image via IMDb]
