Simon Crane, a renowned British stuntman, stunt coordinator, second unit director, and film director, has been a stalwart in the stunt world for decades, leaving an indelible mark on the action film industry. His impressive resume boasts work on numerous iconic films and franchises, including several Bond films, Aliens, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Batman, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, X-Men: The Last Stand, and Men in Black³.
Notably, Crane's aerial stunt in Cliffhanger (1993) remains the most expensive ever, as certified by the Guinness Book of World Records. Sylvester Stallone himself paid a staggering $1 million out of his own pocket for Crane to perform the daring feat, sliding between two planes suspended by a cable at an altitude of 15,000 feet.
Crane's association with the Bond film series is particularly noteworthy. He began his Bond journey in A View to a Kill (1985) and later served as Timothy Dalton's stunt double in The Living Daylights (1987). Subsequently, he advanced to 2nd Unit Stunt Coordinator for Licence to Kill (1989),before being hired as Stunt Coordinator for GoldenEye (1995). Since then, he has consistently worked as a 2nd Unit Director or Stunt Coordinator on every Bond film he has been involved with.
After his stint with the Bond franchise, Crane went on to coordinate stunts for the Academy-Award winning films Titanic (1997) and Saving Private Ryan (1998). In 2014, he received a SAG Award for Outstanding Action Performance By A Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture for his work on Unbroken (2014).
