Allan Graf
Allan Graf | |
|---|---|
| Born | Allan Lee Graf December 16, 1949 Wichita, Kansas, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Southern California |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, Stunt coordinator, Film director |
| Years active | 1976–current |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) |
Allan Lee Graf (born December 16, 1949) is an American athlete, actor,
A high school
Early life and education
Allan Lee Graf was raised in
Are the 1972 Trojans the greatest team of all time? How can you ask me that? I'm biased. I want to say this, if you ask guys who played in the pros; Batman Woods, Charles Anthony, any of those guys . . . Sam Cunningham will tell you the best team he ever played for was the '72 Trojans.
— Allan Graf, 2009, quoted by Steven Travers, [1]
Heavily recruited by
Career
Football
Unpicked in the
Film
While still playing for the Portland Storm, Graf had taken side work with
...Walter Hill gave me my opportunity to direct second unit on Johnny Handsome. I have been with Walter over 20 years. I worked with him on the pilot of Deadwood.
— Allan Graf, March 20, 2005, [5]
Frequent collaborations with director Walter Hill gave Graf the experience and confidence to do more than just stunt work; in 1989 he was asked by Hill not only to coordinate stunts for his new film Johnny Handsome, but also to direct the film's second unit, a first for Graf.[5]
Graf's stunt coordination received much attention in Walter Hill's 1990 film Another 48 Hrs., after he performed a "cannon-roll" using a school bus at speed, lifting the bus 17 feet (5.2 m) in the air with dynamite, and rolling it down the highway for 285 feet (87 m).[6]
Sports films
Graf's special connection with sports has led him to be one of Hollywood's most capable and experienced football stunt coordinators. Starting with Gus, Graf has performed or coordinated stunts in over a dozen football-related films. For Friday Night Lights Graf personally interviewed over 900 candidates for a forty-man roster, including doubles for the actors involved. After deciding on talent, Graf put together a playbook and started the roster running plays, gradually working the actors into the practices. "My rule of thumb is we never hit an actor. We can't afford anyone to get hurt. When we did Any Given Sunday, we could do some controlled stuff, but it is very limited how much you can do."[5] Graf is often called "Coach" on set. Referring to 2000's The Replacements reporter Liz Segal said, "Staging plays for Howard Deutch’s comedy about replacement players during the 1987 NFL strike gave Graf his biggest thrill ever. To get that real pro-football feel, some sequences had to be filmed during a Baltimore Ravens’ halftime."[7]
Different directors want different things. The one thing I was happy about with Pete Berg with Friday Night Lights is that he wanted reality. That's what I really like. I like to make it very violent and very real. When I did Jerry Maguire, Cameron Crowe wanted it to look exactly like Monday Night Football and we did it just like that.
— Allan Graf, March 20, 2005[5]
As the result of his experience coordinating stunts on sports movies, Graf has developed a regular "team" of stuntmen he can call on to get just the right look for the film. Graf's knowledge of the history of the game makes him especially useful. "for The Express: The Ernie Davis Story, based on Syracuse's Ernie Davis in 1961 becoming the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy, [Graf] needed smaller players – and ones who could adopt that era's playing styles."[6]
Second Unit Director
Graf has directed the second unit of photography on many sports-related motion pictures where his stunt coordination made him a key decision maker, but he has also directed second unit in many mainstream comedies, starting with
Personal life
Graf and wife Betty have three children, all USC alums or students: Derek, Nicole and Kevin.[2] Graf's sons have played football as legacies at USC: Derek Graf played center and right offensive tackle for the 2002 squad,[9] and Kevin Graf started at right offensive tackle for 37 games before graduation.[10]
References
- ^ ISBN 978-1600782114.
- ^ a b Paskwietz, Garry (November 21, 2002). "Q & A with Allan Graf". Scout.com. SCPlaybook.com and Scout.com. Archived from the original on February 2, 2013. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
- ^ "Best college football teams of all time". ESPN Page 2. ESPN.com. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
- ^ Daniels, Christine (January 28, 2008). "GOLD STANDARDS / 1972 USC TROJANS". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
- ^ a b c d e King, Susan (March 20, 2005). "It's little wonder that he's a man of action". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
- ^ a b Hiestand, Michael (October 9, 2008). "Ex-USC lineman makes different kind of game film". USA Today. Gannett. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
- ^ Liz, Segal (Winter 2002). "Lights, Camera, Scrimmage". Trojan Family Magazine. University of Southern California. Archived from the original on 30 May 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
- ^ Block, Tom (Fall 2006). "The Face on the Barroom Floor". The High Hat. Archived from the original on 1 May 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
- ^ "Derek Graf". USCTrojans.com. CBS Interactive. 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
- ^ "Kevin Graf". USCTrojans.com. CBS Interactive. 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
External links
- Allan Graf at IMDb