Tom Cruise is not afraid of heights, that’s a given fact after all the dangerous stunts he did for Mission: Impossible, but can he pull off this James Bond stunt involving reptiles? The actor doesn’t normally play with animals in his movies so this is one tricky choreography even for a renowned stuntman like him.
In Roger Moore’s 1973 James Bond film, Live and Let Die, one dangerous scene is said to be filmed using real crocodiles. The actor had to use a stunt double for this who ended up getting injured after several takes.
Live and Let Die Used Real Crocodiles For One James Bond Scene
As shared by 007 Magazine, crocodile wrangler and stuntman Ross Kananga was hired to perform a dangerous scene including his own crocodiles. That particular scenario was shot at Swamp Safari, his own 350 acres of mangrove swamp on Jamaica’s North coast. Kananga owned more than 1,000 crocodiles.
He was tasked to double for Roger Moore, with James Bond escaping from a small island by running on the backs of real crocodiles. It took him six takes to execute the scene perfectly. For this participation, he received $60,000. In an interview, he revealed suffering injuries:
…something like that is almost impossible to do. So, I had to do it six times before I got it right. I fell five times. The film company kept sending to London for more clothes. The crocs were chewing off everything when I hit the water, including shoes. I received 193 stitches on my leg and face.
In fact, it was Moore who suggested that Kananga perform the stunt while sporting crocodile shoes. Another fun trivia behind the scenes is when the scouts were looking for locations to film, they spotted a signage in front of Kananga’s crocodile farm that said, “Trespassers Will Be Eaten.”
The writer of the movie was so enthralled with the stuntman’s skills that he named the villain of the film, Dr. Kananga.
Expert Comments On James Bond’s Crocodile Scene
What Ross Kananga did in Live and Let Die was insanely difficult and dangerous. Even crocodile wrangler Frank Robb thinks it’s a bad idea to run on the backs of crocodiles. He told Insider:
If you tried to run and jump across crocodiles you’d only do it once. It just doesn’t work out so well for you. If you’re rating it looking at the realistic possibility of crocodiles and alligators approaching you in an alligator farm, it’s pretty realistic.
He also said it takes one feeding to make crocodiles believe anything people throw in the water is food. “You should never be feeding wildlife in general,” he warned. Kananga’s presence in the water already made himself a willing piece of meat for the reptiles.
This particular James Bond stunt is only one of the many challenging ones that the movie’s stunt people did in the past. It’s no wonder why it’s a classic legacy action film.
All James Bond movies are available on Prime Video.
