Michael G. “Mic” Rodgers (born 1954) is an American film and commercial director, second unit director, stunt coordinator, and stunt performer. As a stunt performer, he is known for serving as a stunt double for actors such as Mel Gibson. He has also served as a second unit action director and/or stunt coordinator for films such as Braveheart, Hacksaw Ridge, The Fast and The Furious, and Twister. A member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, he won an Academy Award for Technical Achievement in 2002 for his invention of the “Mic Rig,” a stunt vehicle. He has also won a Screen Actors Guild Award for his work on Hacksaw Ridge and two Taurus World Stunt awards.
Career In the 1970s and 1980s, Rodgers worked as a stunt performer on television series such as Wonder Woman, The Incredible Hulk, and Airwolf. He also played minor roles on productions such as the aforementioned Airwolf.
In the 1980s, Rodgers also began doubling for Mel Gibson on projects such as Lethal Weapon. Lethal Weapon was the first of his multiple collaborations with director Richard Donner. He went on to double for Gibson for 25 years on projects including Braveheart and Maverick. He also served as the main stunt coordinator on Maverick and Braveheart, and co-coordinator for Lethal Weapon 2 and Lethal Weapon 3. While doubling for Gibson in Maverick, Rodgers performed a team-to-team stagecoach transfer, which was a stunt originated by Yakima Canutt in the film Stagecoach. He also served as a second unit director for Braveheart.
In 1999, Rodgers made his directorial debut with the film Universal Soldier: The Return.
Rodgers was a second unit director and a stunt coordinator for the 2001 film The Fast and the Furious. During the production of The Fast and the Furious, Rodgers developed a vehicle named the “Mic Rig” in collaboration with special effects coordinator Matt Sweeney and the rest of the film's special effects department.
Rodgers received an Academy Award for Technical Achievement in 2002 for his efforts designing the vehicle. Rodgers would return for other films in the series, including Fast & Furious (2009), for which he won the Taurus World Stunt award for Best Stunt Coordinator and/or 2nd Unit Director.
In the 2000s, Rodgers went on to serve as a second unit director and/or stunt coordinator for films such as Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and Wanted.
Rodgers served as the stunt coordinator for the 2012 film Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, training the film's star Benjamin Walker to perform the film's choreography.
In the 2010s, he continued working as a second unit director and stunt coordinator for films such as the 2015 remake of Point Break, Hacksaw Ridge, and 12 Strong. He would win a Screen Actors Guild award for Outstanding Performance By a Stunt Ensemble for his work on Hacksaw Ridge in 2017. He also won another Taurus World Stunt Award for Best Stunt Coordinator and/or 2nd Unit Director for Hacksaw Ridge.
Rodgers continued working as a stunt performer for productions such as Django Unchained and Sons of Anarchy. He has also directed commercials such as BMW’s “Epic Drift Mob.”
He was a long time member of the stunt organization Stunts Unlimited, leaving it to become one of the original members of Brand X Stunts.
Awards and nominations YearAward ShowAward CategoryWorkStatus2002Taurus World Stunt AwardsBest Stunt Coordination - SequenceThe Last CastleNominated2002Taurus World Stunt AwardsBest Stunt Coordination - Feature FilmThe Fast and the FuriousNominated2002Academy AwardsTechnical Achievement AwardThe Fast and the Furious, “Mic Rig”Won2010Taurus World Stunt AwardsBest Stunt Coordinator and/or 2nd Unit DirectorFast and Furious (2009)Won2016Taurus World Stunt AwardsBest Stunt Coordinator and/or 2nd Unit DirectorPoint BreakNominated2017Taurus World Stunt AwardsBest Stunt Coordinator and/or 2nd Unit DirectorHacksaw RidgeWon2017Screen Actors Guild AwardsBest Stunt EnsembleHacksaw RidgeWon2017Online Film & Television Association AwardsBest Stunt CoordinationHacksaw RidgeWon
Filmography
Director / Producer YearTitleDirectorProducer1999Universal Soldier: The ReturnYesNo2002A Day in the DirtNoYes
Second-unit director / Stunt coordinator
Year Title Stunts Second unit director Director Notes 1980 Resurrection Daniel Petrie 1984 Cannonball Run II Hal Needham Beverly Hills Cop Martin Brest 2010: The Year We Make Contact Peter Hyams 1987 Lethal Weapon Richard Donner 1988 World Gone Wild Lee H. Katzin Rambo 3 Peter MacDonald Dead Bang John Frankenheimer Scrooged Richard Donner Tequila Sunrise Robert Towne1989 Lethal Weapon 2 Richard Donner Tales from the Crypt Various TV series 1990 Shannon's Deal Various TV series 1991 Dollman Albert Pyun Video Bird on a Wire John Badham For the Boys Mark Rydell 1992 Year of the Comet Peter Yates Radio Flyer Richard Donner 1993 Arcade Albert PyunVideo Lethal Weapon 3 Richard Donner Point of No Return John Badham 1994 Intersection Mark Rydell Maverick Richard Donner 1995 Braveheart Mel Gibson Virtuosity Brett Leonard Under Siege 2: Dark Territory Geoff Murphy 1996 Fled Kevin Hooks The Rock Michael Bay Ransom Ron Howard Twister Jan De Bont 1997 Nothing to Lose Steve Oedekerk Mouse Hunt Adam Rifkin Batman & Robin Joel Schumacher Volcano Mick Jackson 1998 Lethal Weapon 4 Richard Donner Species II Peter Medak Godzilla Roland Emmerich 1999 Payback Brian Helgeland 2000 The Patriot Roland Emmerich 2001 The Fast and the Furious Rob CohenTexas Rangers Steve Miner James Dean Mark Rydell TV movie The Last Castle Rod Lurie 2003 Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle McG 2004 Catch That Kid Bart Freundlich Taking Lives D.J. Caruso National Treasure Jon Turteltaub 2005 Sin City Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller XXX: State of the Union Lee Tamahori Mr. and Mrs. Smith Doug Liman Zathura: A Space Adventure Jon Favreau 2006 Apocalypto Mel Gibson Southland Tales Richard Kelly Payback: Straight Up Brian Helgeland Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny Liam Lynch 2007 Superbad Greg Mottola 2008 The Eye David Moreau and Xavier Palud New Mexico Wanted Timur Bekmambetov Iron Man Jon Favreau 2009 Fast & Furious Justin Lin Fighting Dito Montiel The Final Destination David R. Ellis 2010 Iron Man 2 Jon Favreau 2011 Straw Dogs Rod Lurie 2012 Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter Timur Bekmambetov Civil War Unit Django Unchained Quentin Tarantino 2013 A Good Day to Die Hard John Moore Snitch Ric Roman Waugh The Lone Ranger Gore Verbinski Thor: The Dark World Alan Taylor 2014 Captain America: The Winter Soldier Anthony and Joe Russo Transformers: Age of Extinction Michael Bay 2015 The Boy Next Door Rob Cohen Point Break Ericson Core 2016 Hacksaw Ridge Mel Gibson The Magnificent Seven Antoine Fuqua Blood Father Jean-François Richet For additional photography 2018 12 Strong Nicolai Fuglsig 2023 Surrounded Anthony Mandler 2024 Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F Mark Molloy
Stunt Performer YearTitleNotes1978The Return of Captain NemoTV series1979Survival Run19791941Uncredited1980ResurrectionDouble for Sam Shepard1980In God We TrustAlternately known as Gimme That Old Time Religion1980Gridlock1981Fall GuyTV series1981Simon & SimonTV series1981DynastyTV series1981RikerTV series pilot1981The ArcherTV movie1981The Devil & Max Devlin1981The Incredible Hulk1981Underground Aces1982A Time to Die1982Megaforce1982Yes, Giorgio1983The Sting II1983Stroker Ace1983D.C. Cab1984Raw Courage1984Reckless1984Cannonball Run 21984The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension1984The Woman in RedAs Mic Rogers1984DreamscapeDouble for Dennis Quaid1984Cover Up1984Beverly Hills Cop1984City HeatDouble for Burt Reynolds19842010: The Year We Make Contact1984Birdy1985Into the Night1986Iron Eagle1986Legal EaglesAs Mic Rogers1986Out of Bounds1986When the Bough Breaks1986Let's Get Harry1987Lethal WeaponDouble for Mel Gibson1987Down TwistedAs Mic Rodger1987Kidnapped1987NightForceVideo1987Bulletproof1987World Gone WildAlso Stunt Coordinator1988Off Limits1988Rambo III1988Scrooged1988Tequila SunriseDouble for Mel Gibson1989Dead Bang1989K-91989Road House1989Lethal Weapon 2Double for Mel Gibson1990Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge1990Bird on a WireDouble for Mel Gibson1991Tales from the CryptTV series - Ep: Carrion Death1991Run1991For the Boys1992Radio Flyer1992Lethal Weapon 3Double for Mel Gibson1992Forever YoungDouble for Mel Gibson1993Marked for Murder1993Point of No Return1993Heart & Souls1993Gettysburg1994IntersectionDouble for Richard Gere1994Ring of Steel1994Village of the Damned1994Chasers1994The Road Killers1994MaverickDouble for Mel Gibson1994The Puppet Masters1994Drop Zone1995BraveheartDouble for Mel Gibson1995Under Siege: Dark Territory1995Virtuosity1996The RockAs Mic Rogers1996RansomDouble for Mel Gibson1997Inventing the Abbots1997Volcano1997Batman & Robin1997Conspiracy Theory1997Titanic1997Mousehunt1998PalmettoAs Mac Rodgers1998Deep Impact1998Godzilla1998The Negotiator1998The Adventures of Ragtime1999PaybackDouble for Mel Gibson1999Universal Soldier: The Return2000The Scorpion King2000Van Helsing2000The PatriotStunt advisor to Mel Gibson2001The Fast and the Furious2001Double Take20013000 Miles to Graceland2001Evolution2003Old School2005Sin City2005xXx: State of the Union2005Zathura: A Space Adventure2006Southland Tales2006Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny2007The Invasion2007Superbad2007Ben 10: Race Against Time2008Iron Man2009-2011Sons of AnarchyTV series; Double for Ron Perlman2009The Final Destination2010Iron Man 22010Faster2012Bless Me, Ultima2012Django Unchained2013212013A Good Day to Die Hard2013Snitch2013The Lone Ranger2013True BloodTV series as Michael Rodgers2013Thor: The Dark World2013The List2014The Night ShiftTV series2014Captain America: The Winter Soldier2014Transformers: Age of Extinction2016Blood FatherDouble for Mel Gibson2016The Magnificent Seven2016WestworldTV series2018Bird Box2019Lucy in the Sky
Actor YearTitleRoleNotes1978M*A*S*HPrivate1978The Lord of the RingsCharacter actorVoice role1982Mae WestTV movie1984CourageWest1985Misfits of SciencePoliceman1985AirwolfHaverTV series1987Lethal WeaponBus DriverUncredited1987Santa BarbaraBounty HunterTV series1989Dead BangSergeant Kimble1990Perfect StrangersVideo VendorTV series1991Terminator 2: Judgment DayPoliceman in GarageUncredited1992Lethal Weapon 3Bomb Scene CopUncredited1992Star Trek: The Next GenerationGlinn CorakTV series1993Star Trek: Deep Space NineBajoran Security DeputyTV series1993Point of No ReturnCop1998Deep ImpactSecret Service AgentUncredited1999Universal SoldierBig BikerUncredited2003CSI: MiamiJeff MacherTV series2006The Shaggy DogBus Driver2012ManiacOld Man2019Lucy in the SkySan Diego Cop2022Boo, Bitch1 episode, TV MiniSeries
References