If you’ve seen the new blockbuster hit movie “Ride Along,” then you’ve seen the work of Columbus native and stuntman Justin Evans. If you haven’t yet seen the action flick, you’ve probably seen other examples of Evans’ work without even realizing it. From billboards to commercials, the 29-year-old is quickly becoming a rising star. The road to stardom first began at New Hope High School when Evans discovered his love of dance.
“My first artistic expression was dancing with Dance Xpress in high school,” he said.
Before he knew it, Evans was hooked. His love of dance pushed him to work harder and try to achieve difficult moves like a double back flip. He took a few classes locally but wanted more.
“I took a couple of classes and even started teaching them, but I always wanted to do a double back flip,” he said.
To expand his knowledge, Evans left Columbus during his senior year of high school and headed for Atlanta, saying, “Atlanta seemed like a great place for me to go.”
Once in Atlanta, Evans joined a company called Total Dance, where he spent countless hours learning all types of dance. However, that double back flip was still on his mind.
“When I first got to Atlanta, I left in the 12th grade so of course I did school, but I joined this group called Total Dance. I learned each form of dance and spent hours doing ballet, jazz and modern dance, and I realized that’s not really what I said I wanted to do. I came to do gymnastics.”
So, in addition to dancing, Evans entered the world of gymnastics. He quickly found his niche and, within months, was competing on a national level.
“I won the state and regional championship in Georgia,” Evans said. “Then I went to nationals.”
While competing at nationals, where he came in 13th, Evans got the break that would change his career. A company from Michigan noticed his moves and invited him to come train with them. He packed up and moved to Michigan without a second thought. Once there, Evans was coached by US National coach Peter Roberts.
A new level
While the intensive eight-hour day training was tough, it pushed Evans farther than he ever thought possible.
“I learned a lot more skills there than when I was in Georgia,” he said. “I think when I did gymnastics and I moved, it taught me doubles, it taught me how to fall, air awareness, it taught me a lot. It also taught me about pushing through pain. Everybody is walking around with injuries when you’re at that level. You just keep moving. It taught me a tolerance and to be consistent and just push through.”
Evans then moved back to Atlanta with the hope of securing work as a gymnast, but since he was known for his dance skills, commercial work was difficult to find.
“It was really hard, as far as expenses go, to make it myself and keep it up,” he said. “I found myself at a place where I knew I was a good dancer, so I asked, do I want to keep doing something that’s going to pay out of my pocket? With gymnastics, you pay your own way there. I was looking at the long run and all of my friends that I first came up here with and thought, ‘I can start dancing and make money while I learn.'”
Suddenly, all of his hard work started to pay off. Evans booked an international campaign with Coca-Cola and then performed with Cirque du Soliel. His reputation as a tumbler was beginning to spread around Atlanta and Evans joined an agency that quickly booked him for a role with “The Three Stooges” and then a stint with DC Comics. That’s when he met a stuntman who told him about a role in “Ride Along.”
“I’d never done stunt work in my life,” said Evans, who earned the position of stunt double for actor-comedian Kevin Hart in the cop-buddy movie. “For me, it was an all brand new experience, but because I had danced for so long, I could mimic movement and what they wanted me to do.”
From falling through the air to jumping on moving trains, Evans’ stunt work gives him a rush of adrenaline, he said.
“It’s something that I love to do. I have a fear that comes over me, and I push through that. It’s also a conquering feeling and a victorious feeling,” he continued. “Even in times when it could be scary, I enjoy the adrenaline rush. Even sometimes I’m shocked at the movement that comes out of me. It can be subtle things, but it has so much energy to it, it just holds your attention. That type of feeling is the reason why I continue.”
“Ride Along,” rated PG-13, was released Jan. 17 and was No. 1 at the box office in its first two weekends in U.S. theaters. It is currently showing at Malco Theatre in Columbus and Hollywood Premier Cinema in Starkville. It stars Hart, Ice Cube, Laurence Fishburne and John Leguizamo, among others.
Every little thing
Evans said without dancing, his career in stunt work may never have happened.
“Every little thing that I did kind of played a part in what I’m able to do and led me to stunt work. I feel blessed in the way that it happened and how it’s going.”
Evans said there are moments where it hits him that he’s living his dream. One of those moments came when Kevin Hart approached him and thanked him for his hard work.
“When Kevin Hart came to me, and honestly, I didn’t know how he felt about me, but when he said he couldn’t have done it without me and I did a great job and I made him look good, that was cool.”
Evans said there have been talks about a sequel to the “Ride Along” movie, and he hopes to do stunts for that as well. In the meantime, his options are open, he said.
“As far as life, I have a couple of stunt gigs coming up that I have booked, and as far as acting, I’m going to be auditioning pretty soon so we’ll see where things go with that,” he said. “And I’m always going to continue to dance.”
He added, “I guess there’s always something going on.”
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Sarah Fowler covered crime, education and community related events for The Dispatch.
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