Motor1.com meets one of the top stunt drivers in the world.
It’s a dream job: spinning, jumping, jumping and crashing cars on sets of the most prestigious TV and film productions. Chris Morena is the man who has achieved that dream.
Morena’s credits include the fourth Transformers movie and the final episode of the hit TV show Breaking Bad. But it was as one of the most respected stunt drivers in the world that the New York native made his mark. After starting his career in the 1990s in Connecticut, Morena was part of the touring Hollywood Stunt Show, which was supported by Toyota and Ford.
Morena recalls that she worked for nine seasons at Toyota and Ford and worked literally from the ground up. I washed cars and then I began doing more difficult stunts. Five years later, I took up driving and crashed cars. It was a seasonal job. We would go to American state and county fairs and put on a 90-minute show. In the off-season, I made movies
Morena, who had spent nine years on the road, was hired by Disney to work for the Lights, Motors, Action… Extreme Stunt Show! was a live show that took place at Walt Disney World, Florida. It showed how car chases were constructed for blockbuster movies.
He said that while traveling with the stunt team, my boss would get a trade paper called Amusement business. In the back, I read about Walt Disney’s plans to revamp the backstage tram tour and create a car stunt show. “That was something that I knew I had no choice but to learn about.”
“I sent them my resume, and they called me inviting me to audition. After my first audition, I was again invited to take a driving test. A few months later, I received a call inviting to train and open the show. Training began in October 2004. It was great, as I had just completed the touring season and was ready to take on a new challenge.
Morena stayed at Motors, Action for eleven years – the entire show’s run – and was a key part of a team that reached well over 50,000,000 people in its lifetime. It was a unique show with its cars. They were not Opel Corsas of the early 2000s. Instead, they were custom-built spaceframe chassis with fiberglass bodies. The Suzuki Hayabusa motorbike engine powered the transmission. It was mated with four gears in front and four in reverse. It took just two seconds to go from 0-60 mph (096 km/h) and the maximum speed was 70 mph (113 km/h).
He returned to New York after the show was closed for renovation in 2016 and began touring again until his next big call.
This happened mid-2017, when Morena flew from the UK to audition to the new Fast & Furious world tour. The show recreates the iconic automotive film franchise live in front audiences around the globe. After beating more than 2000 applicants, he was selected to join the 11-strong driving crew for the show which opens later in the month.
Morena stated that the worldwide tour speaks volumes about what franchising is. “Rowly French, the show’s creative director, is a creative genius for taking movies and running with them in a live show. I applaud him for the four-years of agonising ups. Now he’s seeing his creation come alive and it’s exciting to be one of the 11 drivers.
He’s been doing stunt driving for a long time, but Morena was impressed by the show’s scale, which requires 44 trucks to transport it from one arena to the next.
The load-out is a spectacle. Everybody’s doing their thing and there are a lot of local guys coming into, ripping down trusses. It’s complicated; the lights, flooring, walls and machines – the cars will be the difficult part,” he joked.
The team, which includes Morena and professional racers, drifters, defensive driving experts, has spent a lot of time training for the show. The drivers practiced with a fleet Lexus IS200s as well as an EP3 Honda Civic Type Rs before they were allowed to drive the show cars. They practiced every sequence of the show several times before they were allowed to drive the show cars.
He revealed that “We all walk each sequence honestly 20,000 steps per day and the majority of our walking comes from six scenes.” “We all know the right car position. Each driver can fill in for another driver or later, but it takes weeks to dial in.
“Everybody knew how to throw in 90s or 180s. But we had to do it in an arena. It is up to us to make it work. Blocking was the most difficult part. It took some time to learn where to go and when to get there when there were four cars in an arena. It takes so much focus, there are many things going on. Although it is fun to hit your marks and do well, you can still hit something quickly.
Fast & Furious features 42 cars, but Morena must have a favorite. The LS3-powered “Ramp Car”, which was featured in Fast & Furious6, is his favorite. However, it comes with its own unique set of challenges.
He said, “The fact it has the rear-steer is sweet, but it can be difficult to make a decision with so many cars.” We’re using the original one. There are two of them. However, it requires both hands to steer the rear axle. A joystick and a wheel can be dangerous if you turn the wrong direction. It can do a 180 very quickly, so it took practice and focus before I went out there.
Fast & Furious is Morena’s favorite show, so there are plenty of muscle cars to enjoy, giving him a taste of home. The Chargers are amazing! He said that he loves it because it is left-hand drive.
Morena is able to concentrate on driving because he’s just one of a handful of drivers. However, he’s also one of a large army of 116 people who keep the show on the road.
He said, “These cars, these cars are show cars, we must make these things last.” I laughed because stunt driving is not the ultimate movie job. It’s just something that they get, and it hardly works. The handbrakes might not work. You need to be half of a mechanic on set, but we have a team with mechanics so it’s great having that support.
Fast & Furious will tour the globe for five years. This means that Morena won’t be able to see the silver screen for the next five years. But is he disappointed? It’s not too surprising. “I come from a live-show background and while it’s great to be a stuntman, the real thrill comes when you have a live audience. You’re also under greater pressure to perform the stunts correctly when working for Michael Bay. With smartphones, cameras and YouTube social media, it’s easy to make mistakes.