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If you are among the throngs of people who will be tuning in on Aug. 27 to watch the 58th Annual Emmy Awards, pay close attention because an award may be handed to Jeff Cadiente of Saugus who, after more than two decades in the industry, has received his first nomination for Outstanding Stunt Coordination of Fox Television Series 24 for the Episode 9-10 p.m. "I am very honored," Cadiente said, adding that he feels privileged to be working on 24 and attributes the standards of excellence on the set to Kiefer Sutherland. "Stunts are a big part of the TV magic and I enjoy being part of a team that recognizes the importance of stunts." "It is such an honor, I couldn’t be more proud of my husband at than in this moment," said his wife, Terry Cadiente, who is highly regarded stuntwoman in her own right and holds world records for jet ski racing on behalf of Kawasaki. "I met him when I came back from working on Titanic," Terry Cadiente said. "I always like to say my ship came in," she joked. The film Titanic was Terry Cadiente’s second film as a stunt woman. Her first was, "Dante’s Peak," where she doubled for Linda Hamilton, which also featured the stuntman she would one day meet and marry — Jeff Cadiente. Interestingly enough, since they worked in different locations during the film’s production, they did not meet until well after the Dante’s Peak had wrapped. "A typical day at the office for me is to read the script, break it down, submit budget, location scout, concept meeting, production meeting, work on set 12-14 hours a day choreographing and rehearsing stunt sequences," said Cadiente. If that sounds like more than many of us can imagining accomplishing in several days, there’s more — if Cadiente finds on any given day that he needs an extra stunt person and no one is available, he uses the one he knows best — himself. "I am a second generation stunt man," Cadiente said. "My father David Cadiente, left some remarkable footsteps to follow. I come from a legacy of entertainment performers, it has been a natural progression into my unfolding career." Aside for Cadiente’s already red hot career has a stunt coordinator, he also a member of the an elite Hollywood group, Stunts Unlimited, a member of the Directors Guild for his work as 2nd Unit Director with many credits, and he is a stunt double for actor Lou Diamond Phillips. Terri Cadiente has had her own extraordinary life and her autobiography, "Strong Woman Hiding," will be published next year. She is very active in the community and is a member of the Soroptimists and is the founder of The Ragdoll Restoration Foundation. Does Terri Cadiente worry while her husband is at work? "No, you just can’t worry, if I worried I couldn’t make it through the day," Terri Cadiente said. "I trust that Jeff knows what he is doing, the stunt industry is a small collective group of people, everyone knows everyone else’s skills and they would never put anybody in a stunt that they were not prepared for. I think people have the idea that stunt people are daredevils and that is simply not true they are elite athletes. A stunt person is a unique blend of athleticism and art." "The career is a stressful one in that the majority of time in stunt work there is an element of danger present or we wouldn’t be there," Cadiente said. "Having said that, there are days you are less stressed than others but on the average it is stressful. I love what I do, and that creates room to dance inside the tension and fear. Both are present, however, I do not allow my joy and fulfillment to be interrupted while performing." Why does performing and coordinating stunts make Cadiente happy? "I would have to say because it is in me to do. I think typically, what people do well is something that comes from a natural and purposed place," he said. " 24 is a lot of fun because I am the stunt coordinator so I get to tell everyone else which stunts to do. I choreograph the stunts because we often have to change some of the action to fit what works for the show. Every single show is loaded with action, it is fast and all the stunts are real," Cadiente said. "The audience is never cheated, the explosions are real and nothing is ever over the top, it always about what Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland’s character) would really do, and that creates challenges." When asked to select his favorite movie in his repertoire, Cadiente said that, "The Crow," starring the late Brandon Lee, is the most memorable. "That movie was a stuntman’s dream, there a little bit of everything," Cadiente said. "I got to slide cars, jump cars, do major fight sequences including martial arts, gymnastics and high falls." In fact, The Crow, was Cadiente’s first "high" fall; he was asked to jump from a building 70 feet high, crash through a break away billboard sign, and land on an air bag. How does a stuntman rehearse for such a feat? "There isn’t a rehearsal, you just do it. I did go and jump off a ladder by myself first, just to see what being in the air would be like. And what goes through a stuntman’s mind when standing at the edge of a building? "Absolute concentration and landing on my back," Cadiente said. "You have to land on your back if you are falling flat or you can really hurt yourself. You have to hold the position and then at the last minute turn your body to land on your back. It was freezing cold that night so I added some warm air to the air bag to keep make softer." On a more somber note, The Crow is a significant movie for Cadiente because his best friend, Brandon Lee, was accidentally killed by a prop gun just one week prior the end of the film’s production. Cadiente was also Lee’s personal stunt double. "Part of me wanted nothing to do with the film after that," said Cadiente who was present at the time of the accident. "I almost quit the business, he was my best friend, we had so much in common. I had to ask myself a lot questions after that, knowing that my own life is on the line quite a bit in this business. But they were not going to finish the film unless I completed it by doubling for Brandon. I wore a mask of Brandon’s face. I didn’t want to see the film not be completed because of me, then that would really have meant that Brandon died for nothing, and I wanted to honor all of his hard work." The Cadientes moved to Saugus from the San Fernando Valley one year ago. "We moved to this area for the schools. We have been very welcomed to this area and enjoy the friendliness of the community," Cadiente said. "We have two daughters, Jasmine, 8 and Jolie’, 6. To me these are the best ages so far," said Terri Cadiente. So what kind of a movie does a professional stuntman like to watch after a days work? No chick flicks, just more action, right? "Actually, I am a romantic comedy type of person and ‘When Harry Met Sally,’ is my favorite movie," Cadiente said.
Cadiente receives his Emmy nomination from Governors Ted Barba and Nancy
Thurston of The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. |