The Lapsed Fan presents Under the Cinemat. Yeah, I love to talk film. I have come here to chew bubble gum and kick as they break gold. You're going nowhere under the Cinemat, Get it out, Get it out? I pick up guns. Bad things happen to people. I don't like that. We have a movie to make. Can we
all pull together here? Make movies. Those of you who followed Under the Cinemats Carnei's are forever Journey will recall that during the episode of Skyfall, we talked about a wrestler named Tony Van Silva and that there wasn't a lot of information about him, and I had made contact with mister Van Silva and he was willing to do an interview with Jack and myself. However, we were not able to conduct the interview prior to the episode about Skyfall. But I am pleased this punch and excited to say
that we have him. Now, we have former pro wrestler stuntman and just from what I've gathered, just an extraordinary, an extraordinary talent. Tony Van Silva, How you doing man?
Yeah? Fine, thank you. Yeah, it's just a bit of a bit of a problem with Mini longs for nothing too serious, nothing for work out today. But it's our call for yet to excuse me, that's why not strue.
No problem, no problem at all. Yeah, I know I appreciate you. I know you told me you had some some hell things going on, So I can't even begin to tell you how much I appreciate you. You've given us the time today.
No, No, that's fine.
So we you know, we're primarily a pro wrestling podcast, and so I wanted to start out with that because it's very it's I found. I read that you started your pro wrestling career around the age of seventeen through the Brighton Boys Club. Is that correct?
Yeah, that's right. What happened was, I was working in this car wash, running for a job to come up, and I said to the guy listener, I'm trying to find somewhere to wrestle. The world. Is a wrestled that comes in called very luck for the dead now right, anyway, I'll make him. And eventually we wound up at the Brighton Boys Club. We used to train up where the
boxers used to train in their ring. They weren't there on a Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and by arrest called Asararti was world famous in the day, and that was nineteen sixty seven. So on December the fourteenth, nineteen sixty seven, which was my seventeenth birthday, I had my first gout. So that was the sort of.
Stuff that's that's great. Tony so Bert Aserati definitely a name that yeah, you serious, you know, wrestling historian fans will remember. So help us understand what wrestling meant in terms of what you got into. Was it she was it catch or was it a work?
What were you training to do?
Well, the actual training was progressing, you know, the progresss do not the w W, f W or what they call it. But it was based it was based in those days in this country. It was based on catch wrestling. Well, most of the moves were genuinely moves, but they weren't done properly, if you know what I mean, put them on and try and bread details answer that. But they were based on some on problem peros on catch wrestling moves.
And then because you'd get in there and you say, right, you get someone in the headlock, you might spend two rounds just doing a headlock. If you try to get out and you put them back in and the crowd of starts stamping f fee and then you change the ten bole that you're letting that go. But I don't think it went down to win in America because I liked that no no offense. I like to have lots of action going here, there and everywhere. And you've got
more acrobatic coming into the business. And it's totally changed from h in the sixties to now. And that's because that's what people want.
Yeah, the I want to ask you too, So what I'm what I what was kind of the reason I reached out to you is because I was trying to look you up and see if I could find any any any information on you for just for our research. And I couldn't find anything, like I I'm fascinated by by your entire career because I couldn't. I couldn't find anything.
Well. The thing the reason being was this, my legal name was very hard opening out. So my mother was Polish and my name was he ever rng. Okay, so someone called me, someone say so I'll start with Tony Jeromsky. And we weren't. We were sort of independent. We trained at the Boys Club. We put a show on there every month, apart from January and then someone say, hell, I know someone's got a got apartment of garden with
a show there. Then we did a gap with Social Club and we did shows all over, but we weren't part of a big organization, so you'd be are pressed to find my name anywhere, really Juronsky A R O N s Ki because I made the name up, but we weren't sort of allied to any big organizations.
Oh I love that. That's fantastic. Oh my god, that's amazing. Well, that's great. I mean that that that helps with that one that with that question. How long did you go? How long? How long did your did your wrestling career go?
Well? I nineteen sixty seven. In January seventy three, I moved from Brighton, where I was living, to London and I tried to get on with it was a big organization called Downmark. They used to be the big, big promoters in the South, and they didn't they weren't interested. So all I did was found a proper wrestling club, Olympic Freestyle Wrestling Club, and then I went I did Olympic freestyle wrestling from then on, so I didn't do
any more pro I think I did one bout. I helped someone out and that was it, but that was under the other name. So I was doing the Olympic freestyle wrestling from seventy four. I think the last competition was nineteen eighty eight, and then I just used to go along as a cat, you know, just just to trying to.
Keep it amazing. So funny enough. I mean usually these days you hear more about amateur and Olympic style wrestlers going turning pro after after their amateur record is and you did the opposite and that's amazing.
Uh. I did it the other way around because the reason being in Brighton there were no Olympic wrestling or amateur wrestling clubs there. Okay, so the only place you know, like London, Burningham, Manchester, those big cities they would have proper wrestling clubs, but other small places in those days didn't. I mean it's since the UFC and the popularity of catch wrestling there are more places to train. How you've
got jiu jitsu. There's about four or five jus of schools down there, and what they do is that incorporate the wrestling as well, so they'll have a wrestling goat come along because one helps the other. It to and resting and combine it well. Catch wrestling is similar because it's all submissions and locks. They don't do strangleholds. Good
helps the other. So if you're if you're in MMA and you've been arrested liking interim, no mate, it plays you to do if you can try or against submission to go with these some other side of the wrestling.
Tony, did you do any shooting in that time period or is all your wrestling work matches.
For the public?
Was the kind of come to you, Oh.
Sorry, did you do any shooting in that time period or was it all work matches?
Well, the world matches. And then then when I got into the Olympic freestyle, it was real. You know, it's shot for the move, but there was no in Olympic wrestling. There are no submissions, no move against the joint, no chokes, so it's it's either pin or with one points. Sure, so it's totally different to puch first with. But obviously if you've done wrestling and you do an Olympic and then you went into cage, it wouldn't be to transition from one to the other.
I guess I meant more. In your pro days, did you ever have a shooting match before the public or if you were in front of a crowd, it was always a work.
Oh well, now we was in front of the crowd. We didn't shoot, you know, we didn't we did. We did it for well, we did it. It's working. We weren't sort of trying to kill each other.
Yeah, we we just hear in the you know, in the ancient days. Let's say, I don't literally mean ancient, but I mean, you know, turn of the century. Every now and then, even though pro wrestlers were accustomed to working before the public to you know, maximize the drama, every now and then it became necessary perhaps to have two guys go in there and shoot to see who was superior.
That's right, yeah, yeah, that's because they get people challenging amount of the crowd and then they had to put them in their place. For me, from when I was in it, there was no shooting. There was no shooting very good.
So when you transition to the Olympic style, what was your mentality about Were you thinking of it as a career path or was this now just a way to stay in shape?
No, because every since I was a child, I've been interested in rest and I just used to love the training. To go along there and you've got there, you meet a lot of good people, have good camera artery, you can have a laugh, and you go to a competition fam where you might go at the other end of the country. You're always sort of like a team, but when you're in the map, you're on your own. So I just enjoyed the training. It was just the work ethic got enjoyed, which I still do to a degree. Well,
that's one of the reasons. And I just love the rest in that's it's like any other thing, if you know, if you like ex playing guards or smooker, you go down the park where you're resting able to go to get on the map. I enjoyed that of it, that hard work.
That's amazing. And so you said you from from uh from a child, you were you were a fan and you you really enjoyed and know that you were correct me if I'm wrong. But were you born in Hastings, East East Sussex.
Yeah, yeah, So I was born in Hatings and then parents moved to Brighton. You know, I was really you know, I don't think it was a year old because after the war it was hard to get There was a lot of displacement places bombed out, so it was hard to get, hard to get rented accommodation. But then we moved into the local council built sort of social housing.
We went to social housing which was you know, it was good about the part there and you know it was grass all around to play football or cricket or whatever. Oh yeah, it was all right.
What uh did you did you do in a lot of traveling when you were wrestler, I mean, or did you kind of stay within within your kind of area your reaching?
Well, well, what we had because we were stationed not stage bog because we used to train at the Boys Club. One of the guys used to do those put the posters up. So we had a three ton lorry. It wasn't me as it was a company. So if we wanted to move we had to move the ring. We had to get him to come along and then we've moved the ring, load it up, take it to the venue.
So all in Sussex we never went like really mean, I think the furthest we went with about twenty five to twenty six miles away because you had to get the ring there put the ring up. But we had a we had a couple of guys at him. We worked for an engineering film film and they made the ring. There was no nuts and bolts. All of us could up from start to for Fish twenty five mire My spanners, No, it was great. I think they had like pins which
started us all in and with a resting ring. What you're doing just when you've got the four sides obviously you've got the case going across well, they are fixed on the floor at the floor with the resting ring. The two center structure go across the floor and when you get a slam, it's got some give because if you've got no if you get slain, our body's flame even though you're breaking, the full shake dropped it. So
we had a ring with design like that. So if you cut eve, the fore sides are on the floor with the two across the middle off the floor about six or eight inches, so when you got the slam, had a bit of give. If you had no give, you're in something solid. It really hurts Tony.
When you were performing before. When you're performing poor crowds in England I'm curious, what did you think the mentality was of the audience. Did they really buy into what they were seeing? Were they having a laugh?
What was the well you got your die hard fans. Yeah, I believe anything right, not being disrespectful to So we used to have a guy, Nicky's name was if he touched his own sister feet, you know, to flick it. So we worked at them his blood he's bleeding. Well, you've got to believe in his blood. And then there
was another guy who used to train me. If he threw him towards the rope, he used to dive, so his head was between the middle rope and the top rope, and one arm was over the top rope and one arm was under the middle rope and he'd spring over and he'd be hang him like that by his neck in. So he did it. I didn't realize he was going to do it. So when he did it, I had to put a towel over because I was laughing. I'm trying to get them, don't get him made to turn around.
I was. But when people see that, they think, oh, he must be real. Kay wow.
I So, so there was a good degree of buy and then from the audience. It was there was you guys made it a priority to get people to believe it sounds like.
Well not only there once, even if it was well got along on which it could sound so's gone once the crowd get dying and they shout and they burn. It's like in Texas. Everyone starts shouting and screaming and then they get excited and they forget about is it really?
Is it not?
Just in the moment there they did the examined. They want to see the guy get beaten. There's a bad beat boom Bruin's pandemonium. But that's when they go away and they might be working. But I enjoyed it. That's the main thing.
What were some of the things the heels would say to the crowd in that part of the world to get them worked up. We're familiar with United States heel tactics, but what would they do in England.
Well, you didn't actually speak a lot, you just it was more justice. So because I was a baddie, I used to strutch around and if it's like the women was shouting at me, I plan a kish take it. I hadn't gone, so you'd sort of wind them up and then get bound up, and then people around them and get bound up, and then everyone I'd hate you, which is what you wanted to do. You want a reaction.
So you were a bad guy. Yeah, that's amazing.
I was, but I wasn't. I was. I wasn't bad as him doing dirty fowls. I was more aggressive. I wouldn't let get up, and I'd follow them down and I would go. I would go over the top, and my speciality was they phone me. I'd go across the room, slide out under the bottom of you stand on the outside. One full arm smash. I dropped and I'm problem with her one I just got back into the crowd. I didn't do that too many times, but one time I did it and I landed on a plastic one of
those seats and metal seats for the play. I ended smack into it. The nag's splitting out round up in a full in a full raw. I think it's happened so fast. I think, you know, I don't think I'll be doing that too often. But it was great. Get the crowds round up, oh for sure. And he did a big job.
That's that's wonderful. Did you ever run into Billy Robinson.
No, I never met Billy Robinson. I'll tell you I did meet. It was Carl Gotch.
Oh sure, did you say Pat Roach? That what I heard?
Oh, Carl Gotch.
Yeah, yeah, Carl got Because Carl Gotch came to this country and he learned Cat's catch can. He was friend with Billy Robinson and then he went to America in nineteen sixty and then he was in Japan. He was known as the god of pro wrestling because he talked. He talked the people that took sako Aba Tatch wrestling
over there, and then Billy Robinson went over there. So they were big names in the rest because he put together the nine Pank crist Instead of Pank Cristion, which is the old great name for the mids Marshals, they called it Pangchris. So I'll maybe twice over here. Very knowledgeable of the full rest pics of the wrestling, you know, the program and the and the patch wrestling, but I've never actually met Billy Robinson.
That's that reminds me too, you know. We uh, we've had we've noticed as we've been doing the James Bond films, uh and kind of finding the wrestling connections and the James Bond films. We've found out there are quite a few. There are a lot, and the majority of them have a wrestling connection. And I'm curious, did you Well, I'm gonna throw some names at you if you don't mind, and I'm gonna see, uh, if you ever crossed paths or met them or whatever. Milton Reed, who is the Mighty Chang?
Yeah? I never mentioned he was a friend of Bird, but I heard about him obviously, never meant.
How about Tiger Joe or Doug Robinson.
Doug was used to living Brian. I met him a few times, you know, I just met for someone else. But he used to run at judo and a karate school. Joe, Yeah, Doug Doromins. Yeah, that's one of the There was two brothers, Doug, Yeah, Joe and Doug, and that Joe was Yeah, Joe was the guy that had the Jim and Brian. He was the biggest a two Dougie Rominson. I will with him on a few jobs years ago. He was the judo man.
Yeah, did you and they also did was it a Cumberland Westmoreland style too? Did you ever do that?
Yeah, that's no that's all very rare to get people doing that. You know, that's more like where it comes from. It's not sort of it's sort of combined contained in the area, you know, the practis thing was more popular, that's more stylized the Cumberland in the area and most probably saying but outside.
Yeah, we were, we were pretty fascinated by just when we were reading about it or talking about it. I had never heard of it before until we started doing research on the Robinson's and I was we were both Jack and I were both kind of amazed that at this at this particular style of wrestling the Cumberland West.
Be honest with you, I've never I've never seen it, but it's I do know that looking at pictures of Jusses, what they were doing was a lot of different than than the cat could you see was a hybrid, it was a highbrid. It was started out it's a submission wrestling. So say some guys ago doing the merchant over, they go to Japan and they go to the gym. I've got a move. I show this move now inju you've got an arm bar. You know that, you obviously know, Yeah,
But in cats, I put the arm bar. Then if the guy's too strong, they just grabbed the hand and I put a wristlock on. So you've got two moves there. So they do sort of they change the moves they make them. I mean catch wrestling is really the old style, not now. The old style is really this you've got if they would if the guy was going into forwards and they were on his called the Saturday Night ride when they hooked their legs in the break him down.
They use palm stripes to the back of the head and then you know, I mean like and then standing move where the guy comes in your elbow in your face, stepped to the side, elbow goes into his temple. You grabbed the army and you do a kimo with double wristlop andy click him over. You know that you can't do that nowadays. It is too it's It was in the Olympics something about nineteen oh four, nineteen oh eight, but it was deemed too vicious because I tried palms.
Yeah, understanding Tony that you don't know a lot about those regional styles like the Cumberland style. One thing that's always fascinated me as a fan of wrestling history is is why these different styles exist and what what does it denote to say that this is a different style. Does it mean that the matches have different rules?
Well, I suppose it was just the way it evolved in that area. You know, someone said, all, he's a teacher. You went along and he taught you, and then yeah, you had shown a move, and then maybe you can improve that move. It just evolves, or it does evolved, it stays same, and if it stays the same, it doesn't last. It's I mean Cumblin and where I wouldn't know where where to go to see that. I be a place in there, But I mean catch catch wrestling, go to with him the famous gym, the snake pit
that's still going. They do courses. A friend of mine's been on the courses instructor with it. You know that's a bit more popular.
Sure. A couple more names I want to throw at you. Sonny Caldon is yeah, Sonny cold Coldez maybe.
Oh yeah, old I worked on a job with him, not with him, Sonny yeah, Oh no, he's I think he's in Canada now he's dead now, must be his eighties. Yeah, I think, I mean, yeah, I think I'm not with him, but I was on the same shows in years ago.
Because because he worked on The Man with the Golden Gun and also obviously a wrestler. How about Pat Roach.
Pat Roach, I worked for a job, not wrestling, because I did the stunt work. There was there's a series called LV Detainer, Yes, yes, Germany. Yeah, yeah, well I did the job. I was a stunt called made. There was an explosion and I sat down with part really lovely pain lovely, really nice man, genuine who talk about of wrestling and this, that and the other. And then he's gone. Now he's passed a few years ago back. But yeah, he was a good amateur boxer apparently.
Yeah I did I read that. I read that he was a boxer as well.
Yeah, yeah, I mean he was a genuine tough guy. He wasn't he wasn't believe he was. He was the real bill but lovely, lovely man.
And uh what about Andy Robbin?
No sit him on TV.
Wrestling now?
Yeah, that's he must be in his eighties. Yeah, I mean I sid him on TV when I was younger, but I never actually Matka. How about you, I know of him, you know I saw him.
How about you, Tony did you ever have to work the wrestling there.
I don't know a human. You've got to remember that their world animals don't matter how tony you think they are, they can turn.
That's smart move, smart move on your part for sure.
And if you've got a cat, if you've got a cat, it is and let me stroke. And if you're still buy, you've still got that world animal.
But so true. So where did where did the Van Silva name come from?
Well, when I got on yourself, See, my real name is a silly name. It's Carrairika and never people never pat it right and never get it right. So I thought, Tony Silver, so on inequity, you can't have the same name for someone else, even if it's your genuine name. So I thought it said three alternatives, da Silver, Silver Van and I won't use that. And that's what happens. You're from Tony Silver Toy. It's unusual, Yeah.
Because like that's that's not that was not a common name. Again, when I was trying to look up your Van Silva, I was like, I was realizing that it's not a very common name.
I was working on a job with Germany, and yeah, you do, I said, But you have a Dutch name. I said, no, it's not my real name, right that.
It's pretty amazing to me, Tony, that you know, the wrestling businesses of course replete with with fake names. Everybody's got a K fave name in wrestling, but in fact, and you had one too. I mean, that's not your real name either that you wrestled under. But the one you're known for is is the movie business made you come up with that fake name, not wrestling.
Yeah, that's right. Yeah, No another names of the rest because it was only an old brain. I've got Beyonces one time. It was just local. We did it, we enjoyed it, and we use a different name so that the text man didn't find out.
Yeah, I love that. I love that. And speaking actually so you know, I regarding kind of your part of your transition, just because you talked started talking about the stunts a little bit and equity and I emailed you about this too, that there was an article in uh nineteen eighty four in The Guardian where you were kind of having an issue with equity and because it was hard for you to become a stunt worker.
Yeah, I'll tell you what that just say it's totally distant, but in those days it was there was a little click sorts and did a lot of influence with the ex council. So if they didn't like you, you've got obstacles put in your path, and that's what happened. So I think it as alicitor I got on in the end in nineteen eighty six, but all that's done now, it's it's completely different now. The difference is a lot is a lot, is a lot better.
That's good, that's great.
I'm glad to say that.
Did so like it's kind of a did you find it to be outside of this the the equity issue? Did you find it kind of an easy transition from uh, I mean you were were you doing the Olympic style I think at that point, and then you transitioned into being a stunt worker.
Well, a lot of the stunt work is is you know fit things, but when you're done pro wrestling, you know how to sell a fight, you know how to fall, and then you just got to adapt it to working in front of the camera because obviously that's totally different. But when you're in when you're when you're when you're in front of the public, it's no second take. You've got to get it right at the first time in front of the camera. Oh, can we do it again? Can we do it from a different angle?
To do this?
Can you do that? So that aspect of it is different, but the actual, the actual progressing experience. And I boxed when I was younger at school. That come into play with the fighting. I know how to move, I need to throw a punch. I know to get thrown. I know how to throw. So then you just transition. Then you do a bit of driving work. Someone shows you how to do certain maneuvers if if I've got the timing, and you don't see them privately, so you sort of
learn as you go. It's no sort of from stunt school where you go and you qualify, you come out and go your stunt. Then you just ifs on now, but you actually have six qualifications to show that you were physically that you know you're physically okay to do the work. So you might do horse riding, which is fantastic the source of jobs. I used to horse ride. I never had a horse job that I wasn't known as a horseman. Then you've got driving, you've got balls,
bites and anything in between. You know, some of these jobs, you might be running along the wall and jumping off six foot No big deals there. Anyone can do that. But when you do it ten or fifteen times, you've got a chance of explaining your ankle, doing your knee and your hip.
Oh sure, you have to.
You have to sort of be physically fit and agile athletic. Bill helps of course.
Yeah, even a lapsed fan wrestling podcast with Jack and for an SEO and JP Sorrow.
Fan Wrestling podcast.
Tony, did you get hurt on any of the Bond films doing any stunts?
Not seriously big bangs and crashes. And you know something, you put your pads on. Sometimes we've got different kinds of page. I've got We've got a really sick, bulky page that if you had a big costume money. And then if I'm wearing a suit, I've got pads cool and inch thick. That's sort you put it on. You can a lot of pads take this thing out of it. You still get the impact. If you keep laying it down bang over the course of the day, you're going
to feel that. You know, it shakes you up. Anything that shakes your body up's.
No, good for you.
But I've never had a serious injury. I've had a lot of bangs and bruises and twists, normal stuff. You know that as you get a few a sort of lone the mat, resting or boxing, but not serious.
Did you get any any Did you have any serious injuries while you were wrestling?
No, only the normal someone sticks head into your buts you I'm not on purpose, but not to look on purpose. You know in your competition someone fish someone fish upping me once and the rest of the see it, which is very unusual. But when you've got two bodies cliding together at full pace, you're going to get some injuries. You're going to get some bruises. But nothing again, fortunately nothing just I think I did my neck a nick injury. That's I think for about thirty five years. The six
thirty great down was knocked out. But to get it put in so and then you've got every wrestler I know it's been rested, has got its own problem.
Me you mean getting batter always the knees.
There's probably not and your bat and I mean I've got I've had loads of injuries, but because I think exact taking all the sacraments. You can't get rid of them, but you can contain them.
Tony, tell us the story of how you went out for Bond in the first place. How did you how did you get aware of the role, and how did it all go?
Sorry, so again i'll just misstad.
Sure, take us through how you got on Bond in the first place.
All right, start for Well, what happened was I was dubbling albut finny I needed someone with someone sort of old, I suppose, and this son called and Major called me down and he said, look, I'll put you forward as the double. But the director wants to have a look at you. So I went down there and I met At. I said, I won't win him on another job. At dabbed him on large iob I said, ohow's the game go blah blah, which is used to mind from this
director for the earlier. So the director came into the great room or this man, so he wasn't going to refuse him. He said, turn around, you're.
About five.
I've got the job. And then he had a beard in it. So they had to have a beard made for me, which was no. Eight hundred pounds this bid because and this is going back about ten years a little one, our little same costumity. But because when I was introduced him and I said, how do you wish me to just he said, I'll call me Albert. So he wasn't up himself. He was a real down to a man and he was one of the top back to it at one time. You know, he was a
tough man, but he was like he couldn't help. But like he's a really nice, junuine guy, really good experience.
He seems like an honestly, you know, even and all the things that I've that I've ever seen, number finding and he always seems like he seems like someone I just i'd want to just sit and talk with. He seems really nice and and like you said, down to earth.
I mean it's pretty if we say you came on blah blah blah, he talked to you. He wouldn't say oh okay. And nucle because as his father was a book maker, and when his father was a book maker, it was very egal paced to a bit of running. And one of the guys here, the dresser who was dressing both of us, he said he worked in Ireland with him and he paid for everyone got a coach and paid for everyone to go to the races, paid for everything for a day hunters, worked for a lot
of hunters, but a lovely, lovely man. Then.
So during because you were doubling Albert Finney, you were probably were you were on set obviously with with Judy Dench and Daniel Craig as well. And yes, I can't think of his name, the villain too, it was character's name was silver, so it doesn't. But what was it like working with all you know, Albert Finiham and all of this other incredible talent.
Yeah, well, Judy Games is a very nice lady because I could sort of standing veil that well, she was old in my arm and walk and then then one of the stunts being the masks lovely, lovely girl. She was dubbling Judy Gas. But I worked with her on another job. It's called carrying Us to Down Jared was one of those jobs she was in incided, But you know,
I spoke to her. She's really really used Elsworth. Doniel Pray, I worked with him in the program in ninety four, called out fan and I know, oh yeah, sure yeah, And I said, you know and sort of looked a bit sheep said the wrong. From there, it was a bit a loof good. And you've got to remember he was like the star. He's got the whole film. He's carrying the whole film and his shoulders, you know, so
he can't he's concentrating. I mean we were on the set in pie We'll do it a sky for that was inside and I walked into the rig and he was there and he was practicing. Looks his right for that, and he just kept practicing. He got it right. He was on his own because no one knows, just needing it. I was in there, I was watching him. So he was dedicated, very dedicated to the job. He went training and he went in the way. He got a totally different lifestyle than what he was used to before it
got gone film. Yeah, yeah, yeah, he was.
He was.
I mean, he was all right. He speak alone that but I wasn't in the physician to have a long conversations with him because there wasn't the time. But was on with him all the time. You know, we had the chat laugh. Yeah, it's really it's a good check.
How many how many days did you work on Skyfall?
Oh? I know, I can't remember because I might do two days one week and three days next week, and then I'll be old, you know I can. I'll be honest with you, I can. I can't can't remember how many days because I sort of go there. I just think, right, I made today and do what I do today. I don't sort of keeping account of bit, you know, I mean, I suppose I could do it. I looked up I found I don't really, I don't really know what to be honest with.
Did you go to the Royal premiere, Tony, And No, we don't there.
What they do is they normally have cars to prove showing on a Sunday morning somewhere, and then the actual premiere. You don't get to that, and there's some sort of features those. But I didn't have to get to this. I didn't actually get to the showing a tool. I don't think, yeah, yeah, I didn't actually get.
We we weren't really acquainted with Royal premieres and and and but we you know, they're all they're all over YouTube, and so we've we've watched uh many of them as we've been chronicling the James Bond films, and I mean, it seems like it's a just uh, just a big event for any time a big movie comes out. I mean, how often do they hold the Royal premieres? Is it for every movie that's made that releases in in the UK? Or is it just kind of safe that ones.
They have a premiere for most most films a role premiere most probably I want to to it depends how big the film is and as I can get together along, But I mean we get film is over time, it's not the the role premiere. Maybe one or two of.
Tony being in the States, we hear and read about. You know, how much of a point of national pride Bond is in the UK? I wonder, as a lifelong britt yourself, can you help us understand, like, is Bond really as much of a cultural force as it seems to be? Where where does Bond sit in British identity? I guess is what I'm asking.
Well, I'll don't know about now, but when it came out, the society has changed because there's lots more different to cultures involved nowadays, I think on the whole, people still consider it a British symbol. You know that because of the publicity, even though the film's made by On which is American. He's got the studio in pine Wood change
Bond stage. It's Yeah, I think I think if you if you ask a lot of people, they say, oh, yeah, it's definitely it's it's an English thing, but it's not obviously. But yeah, I think I think there's still good feelings about it because when the Bond film comes out, there's always a big splash in the papers and is he going to do this?
Is he going to do?
Have you got someone else? Do they love all that? Because what they do they put these roomor down, Oh is going to be the next Bond?
So then.
Science that's going to be the Bond. Well, I don't know. I haven't been approached. So they're getting all this free publisher team possibly rumors about so the name and the name is kept in the public. Arema if you like? You know, you don't. As soon as there's a Bond film coming out of let's say they're going to make another one soon, Oh, we're considered so and so for the part, Oh, we haven't been a process. But what
about scientis make a big Bond? You get all this conversation about he's going to be the Bond and it's costing them nothing. They get know three divers, So it's totally true.
It's totally true. You I imagine were you a Bond film from the very beginning, like from what were you would have been thirteen when or twelve when the first one came out.
Yeah, yeah, I always speak to watch. I read the actual fact, I was to read the I used to read the books. Sometimes you get if you read the book and then make the film from the book, you get more information from your book than you did the film. This is a cot the way around. It's just like it's just like watching the film but reading it. So I always made a point of reading if I can the book, and then you get more I get more idea of what is because sometimes you watch it, you know,
because you don't like when you're involved in stands. When I look at the film ex action, I'm looking at the action and I'm all being it's in the plot. So then because I look at what one day, that's good. So my concentration is not on the plot. It's just how I do the actually, But then I'll watch it again and I think, oh, we've got the plot now.
Tony, we got to put you on the spot, who's your favorite Bond? Who did it best?
I would say I'd say Seng Yep, Yeah, I.
Mean it's hard. It's hard. It's hard to debate that. I mean, I guess you could say whoever is like whenever you watch it the first time, but it's hard to debate after you watch Sean Connery in the role to uh, to say anyone's better.
Roger Moore was good, but he took us a totally different.
Yeah, carry did you ever work with Roger Moore?
Obviously you didn't try. Now I don't think. Now I've got I've heard a lot of good stories about it. Now you really know, Yeah, he seems it's literally that didn't route. And then then you had there was an
English actor Tractic Blacks who did it. But they don't stick in your mind in my mind anyway, you know, if he's say Bond automatically, Connor Pierce pos and I with Peers posing before on the Jackie chan film with that Cold follow, I think it was called that was he was a rappy man, really nice guy.
Yeah, he seems like a two and I would I would believe that, yeah.
Really nice man. Because we were on the set of moment. Still he's good enough for him. Others amans people. You had this pathetic knowledge only changed the chase Peters with Anna bad it's still it's still. Yeah, this is how well he said. You want to find that a fact? I won't, don't even have to ask. We were really really lovely man. But if you're talking about buns and comply comes to.
One, oh for sure I would agree. So I read to your your first movie as a stunt performer. Was it is it true that it was Tim Burton's Batman?
Yes?
It was?
Yes? I do you think that's wrong? I think I did a couple of small ones before that. Maybe then I'm blee, But yes.
What what were you? What was? What were you? Who you stunt? H? Who are you doubling? In Batman?
I was just almost been dubbling almost equal you to st go there on a fool over there, that sort of job.
As we've talked about wrestlers that have done stunt work, one one giant that comes up who seems to be have been involved in like seventy films, is is Judo Gan LaBelle. Did you know Jeane at all?
Well? I don't know if I know Robin and he was a stratied wrestler. You know he's stead he's got a school. I think he trained Wander Rols. She trained for him. There was another car with a Middle Eastern name, was like a first Yeah, Carl Carl Parisian. You probably think, yeah cars. There's another one. I can't think of his name.
Ye know, he's in actual fact, Carl Gotch. He knew Carl Gotch, Judo junior car and h I think he mentioned Carl got a few times because he was he was something else that cold, I'll tell you as a wrestler. But yeah, she don't be a girl. Yes, I've definitely been in on the on the YouTube and about him. So he was a genuine, genuinely like.
Last last question from me to you, Tony, do you get the chance to watch pro wrestling as it is today and what do you think about the way it is now compared to your day?
Well, I've watched it. The other night I came across it. I was down for I can't watch this plug.
It used to be better, right Tony.
Well, it's my opinion, but that's only me. I mean if you, if you if you just started watching the last five years, you would say this is great because you haven't got anything to compare it with. But when you go back, h it's totally different. Whether that's star then would suit now that fish is going cycle, don't they? But because the people have been educated to watch the restling as it is now, there flying around and all the gimmicks and all the dead boss and all the
rest of the numbers, that's what they said. That's to them. That is so you seldom go back thirty years. I'd say it's think this is nothing enough resting to do. I can't watch it. I just now, I'll whats you? Yeah, turn it off. There's no story used to get a good guy in the bag. But you take the story right on the baddie. I take seven percent on the bad. He needs to come back the crowd. Then go back telling the story. You get the crowded dogs in the story.
To me, there doesn't seem to be they're not telling a story, they're just it's just an acabatic to me anyway. That's you know, they are planting air fling. It's great, doesn't be wrong. What they do is fantastic, But in in showing or telling the story, he doesn't tell a story. You must have a load of acrobats flying around, juggers and whatever. It's not for me, I call it.
I call it flippy floppy wrestling. Yeah, I'm with you on that. I mean, I prefer it to be a little more of a straight fight and kind of you know, athletic and you know, using holds and moves and stuff. But we always argue on our show that you need to feel like somebody's trying to win, not trying to put on a good show.
Yeah. Well that's that's what I'm getting through about the story. You've got the bad guy, he's passing a good guy up all with what he's doing with and then then then they make a comeback. Then the crack are mad, and then he gets a full or pin and then the bad guy pubjects to it, and then he's stumping around a room of people are bullying and shaking ef. People get involved in it, you know that they become part, everything becomes together. They will be coomped, part of arrested
because they want that man to win. They want to see him get beat, don't want the other guy to win. And the shoe stop bull from And I got a White Stork. He sounds. So he comes to and I get and the two about it is of it's real, which is what you're.
Doing, right, of course, that's that's kind of the whole. The whole idea is you want it to seem like it's a real fight.
It's people people who have a good noight out pass. It's gotten much risk in for a lot of these people still get involved because once everyone starts burning and starting, they join in. So now they're becoming involved when they don't think they would be. So yeah, well that small deal of any Well, then everyone's different.
I wanted to ask you, uh also, you know you obviously we said you've been involved with the Bond franchise. You've been involved with numerous crazy big movie franchises. Uh, you're according to IMDb, you've been in is it three three Marvel movie, Captain America, The Dark World?
Yeah? What, Yeah, Captain America was it was, Yeah, that's a while. Pirates of the Caribbean.
Parts of the Caribbean too, amazing.
Yeah, the one where were filmed in Greenwich is a naval college there and it was filmed in film there. Johnny really nice guy and apparently there was a school and they wrote to the camp Hill.
He went.
He went along to the school, justice the bar the kids. May you know, I mean he didn't just he made sure he had also get all the pirate stuff when he went to the school, and I was going mad for him.
He made that.
You know it's good really but yeah it was a good film. So many big films though, you're just but my point of view, I'm just like I'm just another number. They're running around them whatever it is. Because I like to work on small productions where I've got to be able to say my character what it's going to do? The dites, what do you think? They say? Well, what I can do this is that you become more involved. Is this your part of the actual job, not just someone who's run over it and run over it if
it's nothing wrong with it. But from a point of view, have been involved. I like to be involved because some coordinating I get involved. Sometimes they ask you and you tell them and they don't want to know. They think something. I well, oh yeah, I'll stick. Okay, I'm not going to argue do it your life, but I can't offer them my advice. That's why I'm now or to offer them advice and then do the job. They don't want to take my advice, then it is what it is.
It doesn't turn out good. It's not my fault.
Therefore, do you do you have a favorite uh production, the favorite movie, TV series that you u that you worked on.
I'm trying to think now, I'm just think of one of the I think I enjoyed them all. Done more than that, but I've never not I've never not to do. Are I wish I've never done? Sometimes you get someone in like the directors of an idiot, but not often, well you know, they say, can't we do that? So I don't want to do that? Thing said, oh there was one, I'll give it a commercial, and I to go on there. I had to go on a bit of a control towards this blinder. Can you get me?
I'm not going to get the d I can so long or I can only go the I can only go ten took back, and today I can't. I said, I can only go at the end. Well, I can't down further. He couldn't see the logical it. We'll wasting moutonn here. But in all the jobs, I've enjoyed them all that job in the in Morocco, and anyway, it was it was a prank show Middle Eastern. Oh, it was mad that Samary. It's the biggest showing in the East.
And they were in his hotel and uh, they get they got the brist to this room, kind of falls up the thirty four thirty six and then he comes running in just as there's a fire. You've got kind of diying up the stairs and smoke. They get him on the roof and then the helicopter comes. He wears the lay coop to us and it's a big panic and he takes his with me. I want to kick it and bade him up. Oh it's bad, it's absolutely It wasn't bad because there was a there was another
tower block opposite them, between towers. Though they don't say I'm too anyway, Originally they were going to put a zipline across, put one of the zip on to get them to the other hotel and then make the zipline snaps of the angling. Can't do that. Yeah, No, I mean they're mad because the year before they said, oh look he'd invite due to him the films being in the desert. So they go in the car and the two cars put up. Guys come up with the classics Master.
They've got one of the floor. They're going to shoot them and it comes it's me. It's a plank.
I said, oh my god, it was.
It was a bad three weeks. But because it literally they've got math concept for times we would picking up eleven show they've just got well, we never got anything short. So I've always sad the way for it was a great job because we looked at in the hotel. We're working in the outel on the roof, so we didn't have to go traveling. It's a really good job. That's one of my favorite jobs for being out there weird but enjoyed.
Great. Yeah. My last question for you, sir, Yes, can we will we ever see Tony Van Silva back of the wrestling ring.
It's not as a pro now, no, not. I don't want to be the referee. I was, you know, I did the referee job one night and I think it's about six sums and I was sick. You don't run back in a sixth early and I was working. It's
a worth doing the referee. So as I don't even want to be a referee, now now there's no I just couldn't do what they do now classic injuries and you know I've still go down the jill and think back work and I'll get back into the oldum not okay, do a little bit of that wound at a bit better, but actual progress in no way. You couldn't find me enough.
I just love it.
I just I could do it. I've got no desire, let's put that.
Yeah, and I can understand that you're not going to do any flipping flopping around in the ring. No desire to do that.
Yeah, well yeah I could. I'd have to do it. I'd have to make it look like I'd have to give me best to make it look like well to do that nonsenseff, I can't put a clown out.
Amazing, well, Tony, thank you so much for letting us talk with you and sharing about your work experience. Thank you as a wrestler, as some of your background and as a stunt performer. This has been really uh informative and exciting and I can't thank you enough.
Oh, thank you very much for inviting on there. It's very kindly And if you need any more information, just let us know and I'll see what I can dig up. If I can dig it up, I will, so I think anything sort of we got to ask me. All you want people more explanation of you know, just email me.
I appreciate that.
Sometimes it will be starting with time, you know what I mean, it's been quite a few weeks now. But as I say, I don't I thought today then at least you know something or something there. And because you sent me all those questions, which is good gaming idea, but of just doing this off the cup, I don't
know it's some scripted you know. I think I'll go answer that rather just you ask me the question and I'll just answer it because when it's comes out as it is, not as it might someone else might want it to do. Anyway, I'll thank you very much for p interviewing me. It's been very kindly. Thank you very much for talk.
Hey, thank you again, and we'll be in touch soon for sure.
Now you will, yeah, lovely, Thank you very much, Take you ja, take care.
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