xXx
xXx (pronounced “Triple Ex”) was an action adventure spy flick starring Vin Diesel, as an extreme sports enthusiast who gets dragged into spying for the National Security Agency. It opened to mixed reviews, but performed respectably well at the box office, grossing $277 million worldwide. However, production was marred by the accidental death of respected stuntman Harry O’Connor, to whose memory the movie was dedicated.
O’Connor was a retired US Navy SEAL who launched a second career as a film and TV aerial stunt coordinator. Over the years, he developed a solid reputation in his new profession, and became well known in the industry as a highly sought after stuntman and sky diver. His body of work included stunt appearances and stunt coordination in blockbusters such as Airforce One, The Perfect Storm, and Charlie’s Angels.
With that background, coupled with a similar body type to Vin Diesel’s, O’Connor was at the top of the list when xXx’s production team sought a stuntman body double for their film’s star. The movie was heavy on action sequences, and O’Connor was signed on and sent to Prague, in the Czech Republic, to perform and supervise a series of complex and exacting stunts.
As production neared completion, O’Connor set out to perform a particularly exacting stunt, which entailed him parasailing along the Vltava River, while being dragged by a speedboat at a high velocity towards Prague’s Palacky Bridge. As the stunt was designed, he would end up parasailing under the bridge, with inches to spare, then release himself from the parachute to land on a submarine on the other side of the bridge.
However, something went wrong, and O’Connor ended up getting slammed at high speed into a bridge pillar. He was killed instantly. Ironically, the tragedy occurred while filming a second take of the stunt. O’Connor had already performed a first take earlier, which went flawlessly and was captured on film. However, he was in a perfectionist mood that day, and thought that it might be improved even further with one more take. He was mistaken, and the movie ended up using film from the earlier, successful take.
