Hollywood stuntman Joe Watts critically injured on ‘Fast and Furious’ set speaks of miraculous recovery

A Hollywood stuntman left with a broken skull and brain damage after falling 25 feet on the “Fast and Furious” set has spoken for the first time about his miraculous recovery.

Joe Watts, 37, has an envious roll of blockbuster credits and was at the top of his profession when five million viewers watched him take the place of Alfie Moon and be thrown down the stairs by Kat in an Eastenders Christmas special. 

But less than a year later, his life had been transformed forever when an incident on the set of “Fast and Furious” left him fighting for his life.

He suffered catastrophic injuries when a stunt went wrong during filming at the Warner Bros studio in England in 2019, resulting in him landing headfirst on hard concrete.

Watts spent five days in an induced coma, a further month recovering at the Major Trauma Centre at Royal London Hospital and six weeks of rehabilitation at The Wellington Hospital.

But Watts, who was not expected to survive the incident, has since spent years trying to walk, talk and live independently again.

And he has now shared his long journey to recovery after being able to deliver an emotional speech at his wedding to long-term partner Tilly Powell.

Watts was speaking out to support a charity Day One Trauma Support that helps others with life-changing injuries.

“My accident completely ended my life in every way other than me surviving,” Watts said. “I lost everything: all skill sets, abilities, stunt career, relationships, memories and all my potential. I was a high-level gymnast and professional stuntman prior; I can’t do anything like that anymore, which is sad. It ended relationships, including with my parents who I don’t have a relationship with any more, and close friends who couldn’t be there for me. I’ve had to relearn everything from scratch: balance, communication, emotional control, independence, awareness of self, how to ride my bike, how to drive a car, how to process my fear, how to be accepted in society, etc. My life is so different now.”

Watts, from Fetcham, Surrey, had more than 40 credits to his name, including on three Star Wars films as a stormtrooper.

Watts had also boxed with Robbie Williams on a music video, appeared in Mission Impossible, Jurassic World, Mamma Mia 2, doubling for Mark Strong on Kingsman 2 and several Disney films, among others.

He has shared for the first time how much his life has changed to help Day One Trauma Support promote this year’s Major Trauma Awareness Week.

The producers of the action film were fined over $1 million after the line on his stunt vest became detached.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation into the incident found several failings by FF9 Pictures Limited – who produced the film – and the sentencing judge said he was “lucky to be alive and was “astonished” at the lack of care.

Speaking about the incident, Watts said, “I don’t have any memories of what happened. My final memory is on the Friday when we were lining up for the stunt, practicing, and rehearsing. I found out someone else was throwing me and wanted to throw me over a different shoulder. I remember highlighting to the bosses I was uncomfortable with the change in my trajectory. Unfortunately, the stunt coordinators felt it was ok. As a stunt performer it is difficult, and I didn’t want to cause issues. You are like a puppet on a string and must put your trust in everyone else. I can only highlight what I see. A film set is a very busy and stressful environment and there are so many decisions being made – I guess they just did not see my perspective.”

Watts has no memories of the incident on the Monday but has since learned what caused it. 

He said the first take went well and made it into the film but on the second one a change was made to the wiring.

As he was thrown over the balcony and somersaulted, he hit the point of tension on the wire and it detached from his stunt harness, accelerating him into the concrete below.

A later investigation revealed no system for double checking that the maillon on the stunt vest had been properly engaged and tightened or if the stunt vest had stretched between takes.

The probe also revealed that Watts’ harness had not had the required six-month inspection and production company also didn’t extend the crash matting after changes to the set and stunt sequence.

“I was very lucky to survive.,” Watts added. “Few do hitting concrete from that high at such speed. It was miraculous really. My speech and recovery only happened because I wanted it to happen. I remember coming to in hospital – my conscious mind wasn’t connected, and reality didn’t exist. Looking back, the plates were shifting into position until my cognition was switched back on. It was surreal. The difficult thing with a brain injury is I still believed I was the same person.

“I believed I could walk and run but I couldn’t balance. I had to relearn to walk again and move my legs to be able to walk in a straight line. I had been a high-level gymnast and had exceptional balance – but had lost the ability to walk down the road. I had to relearn communication. Inside it felt like I could always talk but I’ve seen videos of me in hospital and nothing was coming out. My brain was telling me I was coming across differently. I had to relearn how to ride a bike, drive a car, fly on planes, everything that I could always do. I spent six years finding out I can’t do this and then thinking how I can relearn it.”

Watts said it had been a long recovery, but he was now ready to share his story to try and inspire others.

“Part of why I want to speak on stage now is celebrating the communication skills I have relearnt and share with people what I’ve come through,” Watts claimed. “I want to motivate them and if they are going through similar then to empower them. I went through heavy depression. A lot of people told me to focus on the light at the end of the tunnel. But no matter how hard I tried I could not find the walls of the tunnels. My way of climbing out from that was finding a passion and for me it was art.

“It was a place I could step away from it all and escape. My brain injury is an invisible disability – multiple times I have been struggling outside shops and people assume I am just causing a problem. I have felt a lot of judgment throughout the recovery. Everything was within my brain. Even when I was given feedback I was doing well, it was still very hard. I still don’t feel I am who I used to be. Every year I feel even more recovered. I was angry for a long time. I struggled with my anger and emotional control and had serious depression. I found my silver lining in painting. My wife would notice I had a red mist and was getting angry, but I would have no recollection.”

Watts said a big turning point was his wedding in June 2022.

“My wife stuck by my side throughout, my parents couldn’t adapt to who I had become – they preferred who I used to be,” Watts said. “But getting married was amazing. I was surrounded by my stunt family. I had focused for a year and a half before the wedding and had it all rehearsed in my mind. There were 140 people there and I was able to stand up and speak, despite previously being too fearful to. It was a magical day. I’ve got so much gratitude now for the experience I’ve been through.

“My wife and her father are involved in the stunt industry still. At the beginning, I was hating the fact I couldn’t do it anymore and ostracized myself from the group. But I have a lot of appreciation for their constant support and a lot of gratitude for my short experience working as a professional stuntman. It is a good hook for conversation when I tell people about the films I’ve been in. I now want to spread my story further with Day One Trauma Support and feel very lucky to work with them. “I’m proud of myself for my recovery so far. It hasn’t been easy, but I’ve come so far.”

He is also among a group of major trauma survivors sharing messages of hope to inspire other people who have experienced catastrophic injuries.

FF9 Pictures Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

The company was fined over $1 million and ordered to pay nearly $20,000 in costs at Luton Magistrates’ Court.

Sentencing, district judge Talwinder Buttar stated Watts is fortunate to be alive and added she was astonished that the crash matting was not adequate.

“Mr Watts’ injuries were life-changing and he could have easily been killed,” HSE inspector Roxanne Barker said. “In stunt work, it is not about preventing a fall but minimizing the risk of an injury.”