How She Got There: Cheryl Duncan, Stuntwoman and Nutritionist

Name: Cheryl Wheeler Duncan
Age: 51
Job Title and Description: Professional Stuntwoman and Certified Nutritionist
College/Major:

• Two years of studying Physical Education at Pensacola Junior College
• Two semesters of studying Creative Writing at UCLA
• In the middle of school I was pursuing stunt work and got a 4-month job doubling Brooke Shields on Brenda Starr in 1985, so I stopped school and my career took off. I never went back to traditional college. 
• Earned a certification in nutrition from the National Institute of Nutritional Education (NINE) in Aurora, Colorado in 1996, after becoming deeply interested in natural health and nutrition

Website: www.cherylwheelerduncan.com
Twitter Handle: @cherylwd
 
Her Campus: What does your current job entail? Is there such a thing as a typical day?
Cheryl Wheeler Duncan: I juggle many different jobs as a part-time mom, professional stuntwoman and also co-owner of a growing natural juice and supplement company, Genesis Today.  I’m currently up for a job where I’d be both the actress and the stunts, so I’m in contact with the stunt coordinator, making sure that I’ve sent him all he needs.  To prepare for that role, I’m also in the process of checking out my stunt gear and making sure I have plenty of nomex (fire-proof clothing) to wear under the normal wardrobe for this upcoming job. 
 
HC: What was your first entry-level job in your field and how did you get it?
CD: My first entry-level job in the stunt and entertainment industry was on a low budget feature film called “The Nightstalker.”  It wasn’t a big hit, rather one of those bad slasher movies you see at 3:00 a.m. on HBO. 
I used to work for Pritikin Longevity Center in the Pacific Palisades in the Los Angeles area in the 1980s.  I was a personal trainer as well as a martial arts instructor to make some money as I was trying to break into the movie industry.  Many entertainment people worked out there, and a Director of Photography named Don Burgess asked me if I would be interested in meeting the director of a film he was working on to read for a martial arts part that he thought I would be perfect for. The rest is history!
 
HC: What is one thing you wish you knew about your industry when you first started out that you know now?
CD: Nothing really. The entertainment/stunt industry is very competitive and I knew this going in. I had to learn how to have thick skin and not to take everything so personally when it came to getting jobs and going on casting calls.  Many times I was passed over in favor of another, and if you’re not secure about yourself it can really undermine your confidence.  I learned early on in my career to keep my chin up and keep moving onward and upward.

HC: Who is one person who changed your professional life for the better?
CD: I had a mentor in the stunt industry named Mic Rodgers.  He was older than me and, at the time, was Mel Gibson’s stunt double.  He was in a premier stunt group called “Stunts Unlimited” and was also a “big time” stunt coordinator and 2nd unit director.  He took me under his wing after working with me a few times on various movies and seeing firsthand my focus and talent. He put me in some very tough and challenging spots over the years including complicated and dangerous stunt driving, high falls involving intricate timing, working with explosives, and taking care of A-List actresses from start to finish.  To this day, I think of him with utmost respect and graciously tribute him with much of my success in the entertainment industry. 
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HC: What words of wisdom do you find most valuable?
CD: The two below quotes signify what is important to me in life—never giving up and always believing in yourself or a cause. Live your life with no regrets because you tried as hard as you could to succeed in what you believed in.

“Perseverance is failing 19 times and succeeding the 20th. You find yourself gettin’ up one more time than ya get knocked down in life.” – John Wayne

“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”– Teddy Roosevelt

HC: What is one mistake you made along the way and what did you learn from it?
CD: The biggest and costliest mistake I ever made in my stunt career was not listening to my intuition. I was critically injured on the movie “Back to the Future Part II” because I ignored my inner voice and tried to be seen as the “tough, go for it” type of stunt girl that could tackle any job. 
The stunt sequence was not set up properly and I knew it, yet several factors, including being the only woman in a sequence with three men, and my ego, prevented me from standing up and questioning how the stunt was being rigged and set up.  Ironically, I was the only stunt person hurt in the sequence.  I was released at the wrong time off of a cable and plummeted 20 feet to the concrete, breaking numerous bones, requiring five reconstructive surgeries to my face and arm.  Don’t disregard your gut instinct—always listen to your inner voice. 
 
HC: How did you go from being a stuntwoman to a certified nutritionist?
CD: After my accident on “Back to the Future Part II,” I had five reconstructive surgeries to my face and my arm. All of the trauma, anesthesia, and painkillers had overwhelmed my body and I was left exhausted and without an immune system. Every time someone coughed around me, I’d end up with a cold. I felt horrible and knew I couldn’t continue living like this.
After getting a recommendation, I visited Dr. Lindsey Duncan, a naturopathic doctor. He put me on a program to flush my liver and rid my body of all of the toxins that had built up after all of my surgeries. I immediately began to notice the change in my body and felt my energy and immune system return. The program he put me on completely changed my life.
After experiencing such powerful healing that used nature’s best medicines, I knew I had to help others in the same way and I set off to learn as much as I could about nutrition and its ability to heal the body. So, I studied to become a certified nutritionist to I could help others the same way he helped me. Almost twenty years later, that doctor and I are married and have two beautiful daughters!

HC: What is the best part of your job?
CD: When I am doing stunt work, then the best part of my job is that each job is different. Each movie is new and each stunt is challenging, and it is never boring.  I also have the incredible opportunity to meet and stunt double for famous actresses and celebrities, as well as working with talented directors and producers.
The best part of being a certified nutritionist is to truly make a difference in someone’s quality of life and state of health.  There is nothing more gratifying than to work with someone nutritionally and make giant strides and changes in how the person looks, feels and functions on a daily basis.  I believe that helping people is truly what life is all about.  We are here to help each other as much as we can and to grow and evolve as individuals.
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HC: What do you look for when considering hiring someone?
CD: Honesty and integrity.  A person interested in being healthy and living a healthy lifestyle.  I’m drawn to people that stand for something, believe in themselves, and evoke confidence.  I respect people that have fire and drive, but this must be tempered with compassion and kindness.  [I look for] a well-rounded person that is strong and secure, knows what he or she is talking about, has common sense and a good spirit.

HC: What advice would you give to a 20-something with similar aspirations?
For someone who is pursuing stunt work:  Believe in yourself.  Educate yourself and be prepared. Do your homework, know your topics, buy the gear that you need to stay safe and keep others (your actresses) safe.  Don’t ever make the mistake of getting too full of yourself.  Always be a team player and offer to help others.  Always go that extra mile to stand out from the pack.  Be special without being conceited or narcissistic.  Hone your stunt skills and be your best physically.  Endurance and training are often the factors that separate the women from the girls.

For someone who is pursuing natural health and nutrition: Educate yourself. There are no short cuts to understanding human physiology.  Hone your skills by apprenticing with an experienced nutritionist and naturopathic doctor.  Book learned nutritional knowledge is very different from sitting in front of live people and dealing with personalities and individual habits.  Understanding people from a mental and emotional viewpoint is crucial to your success as a practitioner and plays a key role in putting together an effective nutritional program.

• how she got there