David Leitch
Leitch at the 2024 WonderCon
Born	(1975-11-16) November 16, 1975 (age 48)[1] Kohler, Wisconsin, U.S.[2]
Occupations	Filmmaker actor stunt performer stunt coordinator
Years active	1995–present
Spouse	Kelly McCormick ​ (m. 2014)​

David Leitch (/liːtʃ/;^[3] born November 16, 1975)^[1] is an American filmmaker, stunt performer, stunt coordinator, and actor. He made his directorial debut on the action film John Wick (2014) with Chad Stahelski, though only Stahelski was credited.^[4] He later also directed the films Atomic Blonde (2017), Deadpool 2 (2018), Hobbs & Shaw (2019), Bullet Train (2022), and The Fall Guy (2024).

Career

Leitch was a stunt double for Brad Pitt five times and two times for Jean-Claude Van Damme.^{[citation needed]} Leitch and his crew won two awards for The Bourne Ultimatum at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.^[5] He also shared a 2008 Taurus World Stunt Award with fellow stunt-person Kai Martin for high work.^[6]

He wrote and starred in Confessions of an Action Star, a parody of action films and the action film industry released in 2009.^[7][8]

Leitch and Chad Stahelski opened an action design production company called 87Eleven in 1997. In 2009, Stahelski and Leitch were second-unit directors and stunt co-ordinators on Ninja Assassin. The two co-directed the 2014 film John Wick,^[9] although Leitch himself was not credited as co-director. Leitch executive produced the three John Wick sequels, which Stahelski solo directed.

He moved on to direct films such as Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2 and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw with his wife and creative partner Kelly McCormick serving as a producer. In 2022, he also directed Brad Pitt in the action-thriller Bullet Train.

In September 2020, Leitch signed on to direct and produce stuntman drama The Fall Guy for Universal Pictures, with Drew Pearce writing the screenplay and Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt starring; the film, based on the 1980s television series of the same name, released in the United States on May 3, 2024.^{[10][11][12][13]}

Upcoming projects

In January 2019, Leitch signed on to direct Undying Love, based on the limited comic book series by Tomm Coker and Daniel Freedman, for Studio 8.^[14] In July 2022, it was announced Leitch would direct the television miniseries Hot Air, starring Andrew Garfield as Richard Branson, based on the book Dirty Secrets by Martyn Gregory.^[15] In November 2022, Leitch became attached to direct spy thriller Red Shirt, based on a pitch by Simon Kinberg and with Channing Tatum set to star; by the end of the month, the project was picked up by Amazon Studios.^[16][17]

Leitch was set to direct the action thriller Fast & Loose for Netflix and STXfilms, with Will Smith set to star, but by March 2022, he left the project to focus instead on The Fall Guy.^[11][18] Leitch was in discussions to direct a new Jurassic Park film^[19] scheduled for July 2, 2025,^[20][21] but left the project over creative differences.^[22][23]

Filmography

Film

Writer

• Confessions of an Action Star (2005)

Executive producer

• John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017)
• John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019)
• Kate (2021)
• John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)

Short film

2nd unit director

Acting credits

Television

Stunts

Acting credits

Video games

Awards and nominations

References