Joe Bucaro III
- Stunts
- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Joe grew up in Park Ridge and Wheaton, Illinois, for 27 years. Ever
since watching Evel Knievel live at the old
Chicago amphitheater jump 10 buses at age 8 and seeing
Hooper (1978) in the theaters as an
impressionable 13-year-old boy, he knew he wanted to become a Hollywood
Stuntman.
Climbing the local water towers, hopping freight trains,
skateboarding, BMX racing and all sports would prove to be vital in
facilitating his dream. He attended Wheaton Central H.S. and graduated
in 1982. Central was also the home of
John Belushi and writer
Bob Woodward who broke the Nixon
Watergate scandal. Joe was a 2-sport athlete in H.S. and college, but
college was short-lived. He was legendary for his 1/4-mile-long
wheelies on his Ninja 900 and hurdling over the roofs of stationary
cars. After many odd jobs, sales was his niche, but stunts always
loomed in the background. He was a successful food broker, selling
steak and seafood door to door throughout the Chicagoland area.
When a stunt school opened in Chicago in 1988, Joe jumped at the opportunity.
From there, he honed his stunt skills and learned about the motion
picture industry, hustling sets and working as an extra in such films
as Uncle Buck (1989),
The Package (1989) and
Flatliners (1990). His first break
came when Universal Studios on a nationwide search were looking for
stuntman/actors for their Wild West Stunt Show down in Orlando. Out of
2000 or so applicants, he was cast and moved to Florida in 1991. After
a 2-year stint in Florida, he was off to Vegas for the stunt Pirate
show at the MGM Grand. Bored and agitated, he was too close to LA not
to take a chance. Not knowing a soul or having any connections, he
hustled the sets and got THE big break doubling for
Steven Seagal and hasn't looked back.
Since then, Joe has also doubled for
Arnold Schwarzenegger,
'Will
Ferrell', 'John Cusack',
Jeff Goldblum,
David Hasselhoff and
Dan Marino. He also stunt coordinated
and doubled for Vince Vaughn on 22 projects and in the past and is currently doubling for Gerard Butler. Joe is
regarded as one of Hollywood's elite all-around stuntmen.
He has been nominated twice for the World Stunt Awards and has won two Emmy awards
for best action sequence's for television. When he's not doing gags,
you'll find him on the golf course (USGA 3 handicap) or scraping pegs
on a variety of motorcycles. He is happily
married to his wife Lisa and they have two children, Ryder and Raquel.
He's living out his GOD-given boyhood dream...
since watching Evel Knievel live at the old
Chicago amphitheater jump 10 buses at age 8 and seeing
Hooper (1978) in the theaters as an
impressionable 13-year-old boy, he knew he wanted to become a Hollywood
Stuntman.
Climbing the local water towers, hopping freight trains,
skateboarding, BMX racing and all sports would prove to be vital in
facilitating his dream. He attended Wheaton Central H.S. and graduated
in 1982. Central was also the home of
John Belushi and writer
Bob Woodward who broke the Nixon
Watergate scandal. Joe was a 2-sport athlete in H.S. and college, but
college was short-lived. He was legendary for his 1/4-mile-long
wheelies on his Ninja 900 and hurdling over the roofs of stationary
cars. After many odd jobs, sales was his niche, but stunts always
loomed in the background. He was a successful food broker, selling
steak and seafood door to door throughout the Chicagoland area.
When a stunt school opened in Chicago in 1988, Joe jumped at the opportunity.
From there, he honed his stunt skills and learned about the motion
picture industry, hustling sets and working as an extra in such films
as Uncle Buck (1989),
The Package (1989) and
Flatliners (1990). His first break
came when Universal Studios on a nationwide search were looking for
stuntman/actors for their Wild West Stunt Show down in Orlando. Out of
2000 or so applicants, he was cast and moved to Florida in 1991. After
a 2-year stint in Florida, he was off to Vegas for the stunt Pirate
show at the MGM Grand. Bored and agitated, he was too close to LA not
to take a chance. Not knowing a soul or having any connections, he
hustled the sets and got THE big break doubling for
Steven Seagal and hasn't looked back.
Since then, Joe has also doubled for
Arnold Schwarzenegger,
'Will
Ferrell', 'John Cusack',
Jeff Goldblum,
David Hasselhoff and
Dan Marino. He also stunt coordinated
and doubled for Vince Vaughn on 22 projects and in the past and is currently doubling for Gerard Butler. Joe is
regarded as one of Hollywood's elite all-around stuntmen.
He has been nominated twice for the World Stunt Awards and has won two Emmy awards
for best action sequence's for television. When he's not doing gags,
you'll find him on the golf course (USGA 3 handicap) or scraping pegs
on a variety of motorcycles. He is happily
married to his wife Lisa and they have two children, Ryder and Raquel.
He's living out his GOD-given boyhood dream...