Robert Nagle(I)

From the time he started to take his Big Wheel over jumps at age 6, Academy Award® winner Robert Nagle was destined to be a stunt driver. His early fascination with taking mechanical things apart to see how they worked presaged his eventual career as an engineer and his desire to see how fast he could make things go led to his career as a race car driver. Which came first? "They went hand in hand," says Nagle. "I was drawn to both, so I built and discovered ways to go faster."

Born in Germany and raised in the US (with stops in Greece and Iran courtesy of his engineer step-father) 6-time SAG award nominee Nagle was a curious and restless child, driven to acquire knowledge and skills, before quickly moving on to the next task.

Nagle started out in drag racing, "but soon became bored with it" and began studying race car engineering at Chaffey College. "It was run by engineer Kent Fisk, who was a big inspiration for me, he kept me challenged." This in turn led him to road racing. "I was hooked immediately," says Nagle.

After he discovered that several of his fellow race car drivers were moonlighting in the film industry, Nagle realized that he had a creative itch to scratch and traded in the night lights of Talladega for the bright lights of Hollywood. Working in film "fulfilled a creative side of me that I didn't really realize was there," says Nagle and much like his previous career benchmarks, Nagle quickly became one of the leading stunt coordinators in the business.

In the 15 years since, he has been stunt driver and coordinator in almost 60 films and television series including: Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, four films in The Fast and the Furious series (including Furious 7 and Fast 8), The Hangover, The Dark Knight Rises, Total Recall, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Jupiter Ascending, Collateral, Miami Vice, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Drive, and HBO's "Luck."

Nagle's most recent work can be seen in the upcoming Spider-Man: Homecoming, Kidnap, Baby Driver, Hunter's Prayer and John Wick: Chapter Two.

In addition to his Hollywood stunt work, Robert has recently driven for the hit BBC TV series Top Gear, as well as for the amazing new rig, the Mill BLACKBIRD, which is the first fully adjustable car rig that can be used to create CG cars of virtually any shape or configuration, without the need to rely on a physical car.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnBC5bwV5y0&app=desktop

Robert's work has caught the attention and recognition of the entertainment industry, garnering him four Screen Actors Guild award nominations for Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble (The Kingdom, Public Enemies, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, and The Dark Knight Rises) and a Taurus World Stunt Award nomination for Best Work with a Vehicle in The Kingdom. Robert has trained a 'who's who' in the industry including Michael Mann, Colin Farrell, Jamie Foxx, Ryan Gosling, Jake Gyllenhaal, Jason Clarke, Stephen Dorff, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Maggie Grace, and Stephen Graham.?As a Stunt Coordinator and 2nd Unit Director, Nagle brings a tremendous amount of knowledge and know-how to the art and craft of complicated vehicle specialty sequences, raising the bar to unprecedented levels for film and television productions.

While the casual observer might assume that Nagle spends a lot of time being patched up like Burt Reynolds in Hooper, Nagle's led a relatively charmed life, injury-wise. "I broke my thumb on a NASCAR commercial," he says. "It's the only time I've really been hurt." That's not to say he hasn't had some hairy times. "I did have a wheel come loose on a Ferrari after a 140 MPH run through a canyon," he admits.

What's next for Nagle? "I would love to make that transition to directing, either car commercials or second unit directing. I have a huge passion for cars and know what looks good on camera. Working as closely as I have with Michael Mann has taught me so very much." Given his track record, we wouldn't bet against him.

Robert lives in Studio City, California.