Deadline reports that veteran stuntman and rigger Shawn Robinson was found dead on July 28. Robinson had been working on location in New Orleans on the upcoming Peter Berg film Deepwater Horizon; he was discovered in his hotel room by a coworker after failing to show up for work. The cause of death has not yet been released.
Colleague T.J. White spoke to the impact that Robinson had in the stunt performer community. “He was an amazing stunt rigger and worked on some of the biggest shows in town,” White said. “[He] was responsible for the safety of hundreds of stuntmen and women. He was a very likeable guy who always had a smile on his face. This is tragic.”
Robinson worked on dozens of action films over his 25-year career, including Guardians Of The Galaxy, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Lone Ranger, Fast & Furious, X-Men: The Last Stand, War Of The Worlds and The Lost World: Jurassic Park. Robinson also hailed from a family of stuntmen; his brother Troy is Vin Diesel’s stunt double, and their father Dar Robinson was a legendary stuntman who innovated many stunt techniques. Dar himself was killed on set, while performing a motorcycle shot for the 1986 film Million Dollar Mystery.