Film Career · Stunts
Lead Stunt Double
Stunts · SAG-AFTRA
- Union
- SAG-AFTRA
- Day rate
- ~$1,100/day
- Experience
- 5–12 yrs
What does a Lead Stunt Double do?
A lead stunt double holds one of the senior positions in the stunts department, combining craft mastery with responsibility for outcomes.
On union productions the position falls under SAG-AFTRA, which sets the rates, hours, and conditions the role works within. Like every stunts role, the job is hired production by production, and repeat work comes from department heads who trust the name on the call sheet.
What does a Lead Stunt Double make?
- Stunt work pays SAG-AFTRA performer scale (about $1,100 a day) plus per-gag adjustments, with coordinators negotiating well above.
- Roughly $60K-$300K+ a year depending on how steadily the work comes and the risk of the gags.
Film work is gig based, so crew are paid a day or weekly rate rather than a salary. These are realistic 2024-2025 ranges grounded in union rate cards and industry data; actual pay swings with budget tier, market, overtime, and reputation.
Sources & how we estimate pay
Union scale is the floor; the ranges above also reflect market day rates above scale. They are grounded in the following 2024–2025 sources:
Union rate cards & wage schedules
Official guild scale — the floor each craft is paid from.
- IATSE — 2024 Basic Agreement wage scales (PDF) ↗
- IATSE Local 600 (International Cinematographers Guild) — camera rate cards ↗
- DGA — minimum salary rate cards (director, unit production manager, assistant directors) ↗
- WGA — schedule of minimums (writers) ↗
- SAG-AFTRA — theatrical & background rate sheets (cast, stunts, background) ↗
- Teamsters Local 399 — basic feature wage rates, 2024–27 (transportation, locations, wranglers) (PDF) ↗
You’ll like and be good at this job if:
Hard skills
- You are physically trained and know stunt safety
Soft skills
- You combine craft mastery with responsibility for the outcome
- You stay calm when the pressure is highest
The ladder
Related chairs in this craft family, ordered from entry toward leadership:
- 1Stunt Double
- 2Lead Stunt Double (this role)
Career progression
Within this craft family the recognized progression runs from stunt double toward lead stunt double, with each step earned through set time and the trust of the chairs above. Where this role sits on that ladder is less important than how the stunts department works: people move up when the department already believes they can do the next job.
A typical path, from entry to the top of the craft. Times are rough and vary by market, luck, and how steadily the work comes.
~$60K–$300K+/yr
- Lead Stunt Doubleyou are here
~$60K–$300K+/yr
How do you become a Lead Stunt Double?
The path here is internal: the stunts department promotes this position from within, based on a track record built in its junior chairs. Start at the department's entry level and let the work argue for you.
On covered productions, rates, hours, and conditions for the role are set by SAG-AFTRA contracts.
Covered by a union? The joining a film union guide explains how each one takes members.