Preston Corbell: “I Did A Lot Of Dangerous Things, Smartly”

With dangerous things, come big rewards?... Wait what? The evolution of a Hollywood stuntman did not come without danger and risk, but it was also done smartly.

Stuntman Preston Corbell has been banging his body around for 2 decades on film sets. Corbell started his career in film as a teenager working mostly in bit roles and unintentionally bad commercials. By the time he could drive he was performing stunts on camera, and he was fairly good at it. Good enough to make it a 20 career with over 100 productions.

Corbell has worked on such projects as One Tree Hill, The Vampire Diaries, Eastbound and Down, Cabin Fever, along with Marvel Universe and DC Comics. He soon found a niche in film working mostly on the East Coast in North Carolina, Georgia, and New York. He has doubled for some iconic characters such as Lucas Scott (One Tree Hill), Kenny Powers (Eastbound and Down), and the Bunnyman (Cabin Fever). While stunts can be seen as dangerous, risky, and sometimes dumb they also create mental toughness.

When speaking about mental strength Corbell states “There is something about working through injuries while continuing to perform stunts. I had grit while working and silence while recovering. Being a stuntman helped me be mentally strong.” At the end of his 20-year career, there is a sense of accomplishment not just in the film industry but also academically. Corbell will graduate with a PsyD in Sports Psychology by the end of the year.

Becoming a psychologist is a huge accomplishment within itself but doing it after a full career in film is a statement. “Because of my experience of being a professional athlete for years and learning how to manage pain, I believe I can relate to other athletes on a deeper level as a sport psychologist” Corbell stated.

It has been a journey that spans over 2 decades. A lifetime that is stored on VHS, DVD and who knows maybe some of those old shows are streaming now. Risking one’s body and overcoming injuries just to entertain an audience on screen may seem unnecessarily dangerous to some, but Corbell did it smartly.

Follow Preston at the links below:

https://www.instagram.com/stunt.beast/

https://www.cameo.com/prestoncorbell

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_4HEBMZfG1iVAiuQI65Wgw

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