Interview with Trinity

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A TNAWRESTLING.COM INTERVIEW WITH TRINITY

 

Kevin Nash isn’t the only TNA superstar involved in a major Hollywood production with “The Longest Yard”, as Trinity has been filming Steven Spielberg’s upcoming “War of the Worlds” blockbuster in upstate New York. Outside of TNA Wrestling, the TNA Knockout is a veteran stunt person who has appeared in movies such as Daredevil, Spiderman 2, Stuart Little 2, Anaconda and television shows like Law & Order, OZ and Third Watch. In this TNAwrestling.com exclusive interview conducted by Bill Banks, Trinity talks “War of the Worlds”, life on set, being set on fire and so much more!

 

BB: Who is in “War of the Worlds” and when does it come out?

 

TRINITY: It’s a Steven Spielberg movie that stars Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning. I know there are some other big names in it, but as a stunt person you are professional around everyone no matter how big they are. I got to work with Cruise and Fanning a lot. It’s supposed to hit theaters next July 4th as the big holiday weekend movie – it’s going to be big.

 

BB: How did you get hooked up with the stunt job?

 

TRINITY: Well, I’ve been doing stunt work for about ten years now, so anytime a stunt job comes through the New York area I usually get called in to work on it. In addition to filming in upstate New York, they also did shooting in California and Virginia. This was a pretty big stunt movie, so they brought in other stunt professionals and coordinators from England, Australia and other countries. It was a very mixed stunt crew from all over the world, so it was a blast to work War of the Worlds and I got to meet a lot of new people in the stunt industry.

 

BB: Was all of your stunt work shots filmed in upstate New York?

 

TRINITY: I shot in New York and Virginia, so I didn’t do any of the shoots in California.

 

BB: What is your job during the shoots? How closely did you work with Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning?

 

TRINITY: A lot of the scenes we shot in New York were just mass hysteria, with people running from the alien invaders. Tons of crowd scenes with chaos breaking out. Tom Cruise is the main character and Dakota Fanning portrays his daughter, and in one particular scene they’re trying to escape the aliens through these crowds – we’re talking scenes with like 2,000 extras. During this running scene through complete chaos, it was my job to protect Tom Cruise. In other words, I stayed near him at all times during the scene to make sure he wasn’t hurt or trampled by the extras. It sounds funny, but it’s dangerous work during so much chaos. Other scenes I filmed involved me jumping off a boat and a fight in a military installation.

 

BB: Let’s talk about life on the set – what’s it like? How many hours are you there and what do you do during the downtime?

 

TRINITY: I’m on the set way up in the boonies in upstate New York. On one of our days off I got to go skydiving and that was awesome. There’s so much downtime. The schedule is always very inconsistent because there’s so much work and preparation that go into each shot. We have “call times” so we are expected to be on set at a certain time each day. But a lot of the time is for the production people to set up cameras and special effects and such, so we sit around a lot. But, the set they had for on War of the Worlds was awesome. In the beginning, the movie people asked us (the stunt people) where we wanted to “set up shop”. Did we want trailers? Did we want a big conference room they had? We were actually joking around and told them we wanted a big screen television and a stereo and a couch. So we show up the next day and the room was completely decked out, so we got hooked up big time.

 

BB: As far as seniority among stunt people you worked with, where do you rank?

 

TRINITY: In stunt work, the core is made up of families that have been around for years upon years. Their sons, daughters and siblings all have ins, so it’s a lot about seniority and family. Then there’s a “second circle” of veterans like me and others who have been doing it for a decade or so, then an outer circle of newcomers – kind of like wrestling where you have guys come in who think they can do it right away and want to do all the “cool” shots. I like to think I’m a veteran and I’m well respected and considered one of the top female stunt people in New York. California is another story. There are tons of stunt people on the west coast, obviously because lot of the work is there. There are not many stunt women in New York, so I’m right at the top. As far as rank among stunt people, it depends on what your specialty is. Some stunt people work with fire while others mainly do vehicle stunts. But I made it a point to learn a little bit of everything so I’m skilled in all areas. I don’t specialize is anything particular, but I’ve done burning, car crashes, high falls from buildings, helicopter repelling, martial arts, etc. I cover all the areas.

 

 

BB: Have you ever been injured during your stunt work?

 

TRINITY: Stunt work is very safe believe it or not. It is hard to get injured. I used to get injured when I would be training for a job, but when you get to the set it’s another story because they take so many precautions. There are a lot of safety measures in place, because it is a job and millions of dollars are going into the project. If someone gets hurt on a set, it costs a lot of money to correct it. Any downtime costs money. They want everyone to be safe and they want it all to go smoothly and on budget. Stunt people aren’t just crazy and willing to kill themselves. We consider ourselves skilled professionals and we want longevity in a business just like anyone else.

 

BB: Out of all the stunt jobs you’ve had in ten years, what’s been your favorite or most memorable scene?

 

TRINITY: Good question. I’ve loved all the jobs I’ve worked, so it’s hard to pick out one. I remember that I was really excited to do my first fire burn where my entire body was engulfed in flames. That was so exhilarating for me. A lot of stunt people will do car crashes and jump off buildings, but not many allow themselves to be set on fire. There’s a skill and technique to it, and you’ve always got to be aware of the safety precautions in case something goes wrong. Overall, I will say my most enjoyable experiences in stunt work have been working with all the different crews and stunt people in my career. We are a family and we really look out for each other. When we get on a set, we’re our own little clique. It’s a lot of fun and it’s not as competitive as other jobs. A lot of stunt people specialize in a certain area, so we all get along. As far as a particular scene, I’m not sure I have a favorite moment just yet. There’s so much more I want to do in stunt work. One thing I’m proud of is I got where I’m at in stunt work because of my skills, not because who I know or any “casting couches”. Some people get into stunt work by sleeping around or knowing someone, but when it all boils down to it you still have to do the job and do it well. That’s what I’m most proud of – I got myself to this point and no one else.

 

BB: So what is your “dream scene”, or what stunt would you most like to perform someday?

 

TRINITY: I definitely want to pipe ramp a car in a scene (where a car is flipped over while driving). If I don’t get to do it in a movie I’ll probably just set it up myself somewhere and do it (laughs). For example, I’ve always wanted to do a helicopter repel in a movie but haven’t gotten the chance to do that yet. So I rented a helicopter and a pilot one day and got space above an airport. I had some stunt coordinators come down and we rigged up the helicopter so I could repel at 500 feet. Like I said if I can’t do it in a movie, I’ll set it up myself and pay someone to help me do it. I get jealous a lot when I watch “Fear Factor” because they do a lot of cool stunts on there that I would love to do on screen, but I’m not allowed to be on Fear Factor (laughs). I also have horses I ride a lot but I haven’t gotten the chance to do any stunts with a horse. One of the big things in stunt work and what a lot of stunt people strive for is to get hired by a big actor or actress to serve as their full-time body double. But it’s very hard to get a spot like that, especially for women. A lot more male actors are in action movies. It is guaranteed work and you get the good money, but it’s hard to get.

 

BB: Last question – between TNA, your stunt work, movies, you’re also trying to sell your home in Nashville to move back to New York…where does Trinity find her own time?

 

TRINITY: My whole thing in life is do only do what I love, and I love wrestling and stunt work. Before, during and after college I had regular jobs and was able to make enough of a nest egg to be able to do the things I love. Wrestling and stunt work are what I love and I want to do more of it. When I have downtime, I’m usually practicing or training or at the gym staying in shape. When I move back to New York, I’m going to set up my wrestling ring in my backyard again and train. From time to time when I’m bored I’ll go rent a car and practice spinning out on the road. That IS what I love. I also ride my horse to relax and I play with my dog. I like having my time hectic and busy. I don’t want downtime and I hate being bored. Stunt work and wrestling is my fun time.

 

BB: Thanks for the interview Trinity! Good luck with “War of the Worlds”

 

TRINITY: No problem – I’ll see everyone at Destination X!

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That was actually pretty interesting.

 

No big surprise that they avoided the fact that TNA fired her briefly because of War of the Worlds, though.