Issac Lamb
Daniel and David have remained close friends after meeting on the Harry Potter set
David Holmes was just 17 years old when he started making magic happen as Harry Potter’s stunt double.
The talented gymnast, from Leigh-on-sea in Essex, performed stunts deemed too risky for the film’s 11-year-old star Daniel Radcliffe.
But in January 2009 while filming the seventh film, he was rapidly jerked back on a harness, leaving him paralysed at the age of 24.
Here, in his own words, he explains how breaking his neck has never changed his personality, and how his friendship with Daniel, along with a new role in a Harry Potter audio book, has brought him peace.
‘I will never regret my work on Harry Potter’
David Holmes
David (left) says it was Daniel (right) who encouraged him to tell his story in a documentary
I had the time of my life on the Harry Potter set. I was the first person to play Quidditch on a broomstick.
I was filming a scene where Harry fights a snake and I remember hitting the wall and my chest folding into my nose. I was fully conscious for the whole thing. I knew I had broken my neck.
After the accident, I lost a decade of my life but I never held on to hate and blame. I owned the fact that I chose a dangerous profession. And even though my accident was not my fault, I could do nothing about it. It was the job I chose to do.
The hardest thing was the impact on my loved ones when they were seeing the trauma of what I was going through.
I always tell myself that my stunts in those films were pivotal moments in the story. Harry Potter is a safe space for a lot of people. It’s a gift for humanity and I will always be proud of that and I don’t regret it.
There are kids watching Harry Potter on phones in conflict zones and it’s making them feel safe. Families connect and enjoy them.
My partner Rosie, who I met three years ago, is a quadriplegic like myself, and those films got her through some dark times. I know the power of storytelling and what that can do for people, and I can’t think of anything more lovely than knowing that I was there for her before I even knew her.
It took me to break my neck to meet the woman of my dreams, she makes me feel like a man.
‘I didn’t sue, I wanted to focus on my recovery’
David Holmes
David was a stunt double for Harry Potter and several other characters on the film
The accident wasn’t my fault and I had very little control over the best way to navigate it.
The experience and the character of Harry Potter meant so much to me. The studio said their insurance would cover everything so I decided not to sue.
I wanted to focus on my recovery. I know so many people who don’t have the luxury of an insurance policy so I would feel like a sham if I moaned about my situation.
Six years ago, I was going in for major surgery on a cyst on my spinal cord. The right-hand side of my body is getting worse, doctors can’t tell me whether I will retain my speech, breathing and swallowing in the future.
The operation was a huge risk. Unfortunately it hasn’t stopped things getting worse but I survived.
Before I went in, I made a short YouTube video explaining my contribution to the Harry Potter films in case I died.
I speak to Daniel [Radcliffe] all the time, we’re very good friends, and he encouraged me to tell my story. We released the documentary David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived. I have never watched it but one day I won’t be able to get out of bed and I will watch it then.
My acceptance of who I am has got even greater since I released it. I’m a person with a severe disability who has a platform and I push for as much awareness as possible.
People aren’t aware of how difficult it is to live as a disabled person. If me and Rosie moved in together, we would lose access to a lot of our support. We live in a society where disabled people are punished to love each other.
I can’t go to a cinema and sit next to her because there aren’t two disabled spaces. I can’t visit my friends’ houses because they are not accessible. I try and shed some light on these issues. I do what I can with what I’ve got, I’m always pushing for more for my community.
‘It’s really cool to be back in the wizarding world’
David Holmes
David is still close friends with Tom Felton, who played Draco Malfoy
David Holmes
David, pictured with Tom to his left, also performed stunts as Dracoy Malfoy
I’m playing Stan Shunpike, the conductor of the Knight Bus, in the new audiobook of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, which comes out in January.
It was the third movie I filmed, and I was actually on the bus as the stunt double for Daniel, whizzing through the streets of London.
I was honoured when they asked me to audition and it’s really cool to be back in the wizarding world.
The character breakdown is a cockney who talks himself up a lot, so it wasn’t hard for me! I was there when the original lines were delivered so it felt like a full circle moment.
For ages, I’ve been campaigning for a wizard in a wheelchair or a disability to be visible in that world in some way. It’s nice for the fan base that know my story, that I’ve been included.
I hope it leads on to other roles as a voice actor, my voice is still there and I can still create art with it.
‘I want to remind people to wiggle your toes’
David Holmes
David’s friend organises an annual cricket match in his name, featuring the Harry Potter cast, to raise money for the hospital where he receives treatment
Every year, my friend organises a cricket match with the Harry Potter cast and crew, raising money for the spinal cord injury centre in Stanmore (north-west London) and this year we want to make that even bigger.
I’m writing a kids book about a teenage stunt performer and I would love to host a fully inclusive festival for disabled people.
I’m also thinking of doing a one-man show, talking about my time on Harry Potter and the crazy adventures I’ve had. I’m applying for funding to assist me with my cost of care to do it.
Hopefully people will think there is a story to tell. I want people to leave my show with an appreciation for stunt performers. If my legs came back to life tomorrow, I would go straight back to work. It’s the best job in the world, I travelled the world telling stories with my physicality.
The thing I’m most proud of is that I broke my neck and stayed the same person. And I want to remind people to wiggle your toes. Health is real wealth. Practise gratitude every day.
