10 Under The Radar Talents Who Made Cinema Awesome

2. Yakima Canutt (Stuntman)

While many of the other people on this list are relatively unknown to everyone but the biggest movie fans, at least they have a chance to win Academy Awards in their chosen profession, or have the freedom to handpick their projects once they've established themselves. Not so with stuntmen, who not only have no categories to go for at any of the major awards, but also have to deal with working the most dangerous jobs on the movie, without much in the way of any kind of compensation. One of the most important figures in this unheralded profession was Yakima Canutt, whose work in Westerns, and Epics has resulted in some of the most iconic scenes in motion picture history. After appearing in nearly 50 silent films, Canutt achieved some level of fame with his groundbreaking work in John Ford's Stagecoach, where he worked and doubled for John Wayne. After years of sustaining injury after injury performing daring stunts, Canutt went on to become a second unit director, where he was responsible for some of the most famous action scenes of all-time in epics such as Spartacus and most importantly Ben-Hur, where he set-up the iconic chariot race. While Canutt did eventually win an honorary Academy Award for his efforts, he is emblematic of how stuntmen and stunt directors can have such an indelible impact on so many classic films, yet never really receive much recognition.