We’re halfway through our theme week on Surprising Olympians! Today’s surprising Olympian is Bob Anderson. You don’t know his name, but you’ve definitely seen his work.
Bob Anderson was an English Olympic fencer as well as the premier choreographer of Hollywood sword fighting! He represented Great Britain at the Helsinki 1952 Summer Olympic Games, and later served as the president of the British Academy of Fencing.
Just days before he was to compete at the Olympics, Anderson got his big break in the film industry when he was asked to be Errol Flynn’s fencing coach and stunt double opponent in the 1953 movie The Master of Ballantrae. He went to work as a stunt performer and fight choreographer for the Bond movies From Russia with Love and Casino Royale.
He was also involved in all 3 of the original Star Wars films. He was Darth Vader’s stunt double during the light saber battles in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. He compared the experience to fighting blindfolded because of the costume.
His film career spanned 50 years. He coached many actors in swordsmanship and was involved in movies like The Three Musketeers, The Princess Bride, The Mask of Zorro, and The Lord of the Rings. He said in an interview that Viggo Mortensen was the best swordsman he ever trained, on the set of Lord of the Rings.
Learn more here.