Walker Babington, a multifaceted artist, actor, and stunt performer, embarked on his film career as a stunt performer to infuse a new level of dynamism into his performance art. After training with the United Stuntmen's Association in 2012, he developed a profound appreciation for the artistry of the stunt craft and soon found himself driving a getaway van in a Nike advertisement, fighting on Steven Spielberg's battlefield, and stunt-doubling Oscar-winner Sam Rockwell.
After years of honing his stunt skills, he transitioned to an acting career, playing a role and performing his own stunts opposite Chris Pratt in Antoine Fuqua's 2016 remake of The Magnificent Seven. Over the next decade, Walker simultaneously pursued his artistic, acting, and stunt careers.
Notably, Babington often portrays unsavory characters on the large and small screen, utilizing his stunt abilities to ensure their demise. He strives to portray these characters as grounded and despicable as possible, relishing the moment of justice when he gets to act out their downfall.
As an actor, he has shared the screen with notable actors such as Will Smith, Holly Hunter, and Giancarlo Esposito, while his stunt career has seen his characters dispatched by actors like Pierce Brosnan, Michael B. Jordan, and Taron Egerton.
In his artistic pursuits, Walker creates large-scale, dreamlike, folk-art sculptures, paints with sunlight and flamethrowers, and produces "creatively destructive" portraiture by exploiting the inherent deteriorative properties of his medium. His work has been showcased in galleries, museums, and arts spaces across the US, Central America, India, and the EU, with his large-scale pieces featured in sculpture gardens and music & arts festivals like Bonnaroo and Burning Man.
In a remarkable display of his work's fusion with his stunt skills, Walker once set his entire body on fire in the streets of New Orleans, creating a "Fire Angel" on a panel of reclaimed wood. He resides in New Orleans with his wife, director and screenwriter Shana Betz, where he uses his unconventional woodworking skills to craft fantastical Mardi Gras floats for their daughter.
