(written from a Production point of view)
James "Jim" S. Palmer is a stuntman and stunt actor who performed utility stunts as a Kelvin crewmember in Star Trek. He filmed his scenes in a week and a half; he was picked up by Chris Hemsworth's George Kirk after he was knocked off his seat during the attack on the USS Kelvin.
Palmer has doubled for actors such as Oleg Taktarov, in 15 Minutes (2001, with Kelsey Grammer and Avery Brooks), and Sean O'Bryan in the drama Detective (2005). In 2002 he was nominated for a Taurus World Stunt Award for best fight in 15 Minutes, shared with Pete Antico and Dane Farwell. He studied stunts under Paul Stader and started his career with the Miami Vice Live Action Show at the Universal Studios in California.
He has performed stunts in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Batman Forever (1995, with René Auberjonois and Ed Begley, Jr.), Eraser (1996, starring Vanessa Williams), Mars Attacks! (1996, with stunts by Joey Box, Phil Chong, Jimmy Ortega, Brian J. Williams, Lynn Salvatori, and Dana Dru Evenson), Broken Arrow (1996, starring Christian Slater), Lost Highway (1997), Titanic (1997, with David Warner), Starship Troopers (1997, with Dina Meyer and Clancy Brown), and Batman & Robin (1997, with John Glover).
Palmer has appeared in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999), Galaxy Quest (1999, with stunts by Jennifer Caputo, Mark Wagner, and Spice Williams), Charlie's Angels (2000), the comedy Anger Management (2003), National Treasure (2004, with Christopher Plummer), War of the Worlds (2005), and J.J. Abrams' Mission: Impossible III (2007, written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman).
Beside his feature film work, Palmer also performed in a number of television series, including Martial Law (2000, with John Beck), V.I.P. (2000, with stunts by Christopher Leps and Darlene Ava Williams under stunt coordination of Jeff Cadiente), Close to Home (2007, with Cress Williams, Richard McGonagle, and C.J. Bau), and General Hospital (2008).
His other work include Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007), National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007, with Bruce Greenwood, Alicia Coppola, and Albert Hall), Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008, with Pavel Lychnikoff), and Hancock (2008, with stunts by Xuyen Valdivia, Michael Papajohn, David Mattey, Rob Mars, and Terry Jackson).
In 2008, his book Stunt Adjustment was published; it included stories from the set, images of his stunts, and memories about stunt legends. As of May 2009, Palmer is working on the second edition of his book. He also performed stunts in Angels & Demons (2009) along Star Trek stunt performers Brian Avery, Shawn Crowder, Eddie Braun, Keith Campbell, Paul Eliopoulos, Chris O'Hara, Rosine "Ace" Hatem, and Spice Williams.
External links[]
- StuntAdjustment.com – official site
- Jim Palmer at the Internet Movie Database