The Fall Guy Demonstrates Physics Principles Behind Hollywood Stunts

Action movie The Fall Guy has reached ninth place on Netflix's worldwide top movies chart as of August 25, 2026, showcasing the complex applied physics and engineering required to execute major film stunts.

Directed by David Leitch, the 2024 film features a record-breaking physical sequence where stunt performer Logan Holladay, doubling for Ryan Gosling, completed eight and a half barrel rolls in a Jeep Grand Cherokee across a beach in Sydney.

Holladay drove the vehicle at 80 miles per hour before a compressed-air cannon mounted under the chassis fired an impulse into the sand. The stunt surpassed the 16-year-old Guinness World Record of seven rotations previously set by Adam Kirley during the 2006 production of Casino Royale.

The sequence relied heavily on rotational motion governed by angular momentum, requiring precise math and structural calculations prior to filming. Stunt Designer Chris O'Hara explained that engineering teams spent five months executing simulations to account for sand density and vehicle weight adjustments.

"Engineers are involved, numbers and math," O'Hara said in an interview with the Motion Picture Association. "We have trajectory patterns showing what a car's going to do at this angle at this speed with this weight. Stunts have turned into a very educated profession."

The production team calibrated the cannon's pressure carefully to optimize the vehicle's rolling momentum without causing unnecessary vertical displacement.

"Too much pressure creates more 'up' than it does forward momentum, which means that a lot of your energy is going down into the ground when you land," O'Hara stated. "But what you want is similar to trying to skip the perfect rock: you want to keep it low and keep that speed up so you can get twenty skips."

Beyond vehicular maneuvers, the production also executed a 150-foot free fall involving stunt performer Troy Brown. Descending from a helicopter without safety wires, Brown landed directly on a ground-based airbag designed with specialized internal venting.

The design utilizes impulse-momentum mechanics, extending deceleration timing to reduce peak g-force loads on the human body during impact. The vehicle mechanics and fall designs coincide with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voting to establish a competitive Oscar for Achievement in Stunt Design debuting in 2028.