The Amazing Spider-Man 2: Stuntman sues stunt coordinator for age discrimination

63-year-old BJ Davis claims he was consistently overlooked for ‘premium’ stunts during filming

A still from The Amazing Spider-Man (Sony)

A 63-year-old stuntman has sued the stunt coordinator of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 for age discrimination, claiming he “consistently refused to give plaintiff ‘premium’ stunts, instead giving a disproportionate amount of the premium stunt work to younger stunt professionals.”

BJ Davis, who earned his first movie credit as a stunt double for the 1978 Clint Eastwood vehicle Every Which Way But Loose, filed the 55-page lawsuit against stunt coordinator James Armstrong in Los Angeles on Thursday, saying Mr Armstrong of Armstrong Action “made no secret of the fact that he felt plaintiff was too old to work as a stuntman.”

Mr Davis, who claims to hold the world record for helicopter stunts, said he was blocked from participating in the better-paid “premium” stunts on the set of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 in 2013.

The production companies behind the recent superhero sequel – including Sony Pictures and Marvel – are also named in the suit, which accuses the defendants of “a particularly violent instance of age discrimination” which “exposes the pervasive problem of age discrimination in the stunt industry.”

Before a shot in which multiple stunt-people were directed to flee a grocery shop, Mr Davis says he was told there would be no physical contact involved. But he alleges another stuntman “attempted a clothesline tackle” during the scene, causing injuries that required multiple surgeries and ultimately ended his career. The complaint alleges “Mr Armstrong ordered this violence toward plaintiff due to his age.”

Andy Armstrong, 62, the father of James Armstrong and co-founder of Armstrong Action, described the claims in Mr Davis’s complaint as “absurd, inflammatory and untrue.”

The stunt industry is “absolutely age discriminatory”, added Mr Armstrong, who is 62. “It’s our job on the set to ensure safety, and it’s absurd to think that a 60-year-old could perform as well in a dangerous and stressful situation as a 40-year-old. That’s a fact of life.”