Bronwin
October

Action camera operator, previs artist, fight choreographer, filmmaker and stunt performer. Over a decade designing fights, doubling leads and shooting the action from inside it.

Discipline: Stunt Performance · Camera Operator

Based: Cape Town, South Africa

Portfolio: bronwinoctober.com

The record

Bronwin was born and raised in Cape Town, in the suburb of Elsies River. From his teenage years he had a burning desire to become a filmmaker, but the dream seemed far from reality. He grew up in a volatile environment and dealt with the hardships that came with living in the Cape Flats. He persisted through his circumstances, his passion for creativity serving as fuel to never give up.

He began in the film industry as a background artist. That led to an acting course, which opened doors to featured roles and introduced him to the world of stunts. His peers noticed his passion for action and invited him to stunt seminars. Through two years of hard work and immense training he was recognised for his skill, and finally became a stuntman.

In 2012 he was discovered by Pyranah Stunts while working on Black Sails, and was eventually given the opportunity to perform as lead double on Commando 2. That initiated his career in Bollywood. Over the years he has doubled for Shah Rukh Khan, John Abraham, Kamal Hassan, Ranbir Kapoor, Ranveer Singh, Emraan Hashmi, Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar, Vidyut Jammwal and Mahesh Babu.

He cultivated his skills from the ground up, mastering the art of designing fights, weapon work and close combat. Assisting with fight design meant studying the actors he doubled for and tailoring movement to their strengths. That understanding of how an authentic fight is built became the foundation for the next step, as assistant fight choreographer and then as fight choreographer in his own right.

The same trajectory took him behind the camera. He ventured into filming, directing and producing his own short films, sharpening both the creative and the technical sides of the craft, and was given the opportunity to step behind the camera as an action camera operator.

With over a decade of experience, an affinity for stunts coupled with an unwavering passion for filmmaking makes him a rare kind of asset. He understands every element that contributes to a fight sequence, because he has worked in all of them. He remains committed to pushing his boundaries and staying receptive to fresh techniques, in continual pursuit of learning and refinement.