Tony Hawk reflects on short-lived career as David Spade's stunt double

Tony Hawk was recently a guest on David Spade and Dana Carvey's podcast, Fly On The Wall, and told the story of how he was "fired" as David Spade's stunt double for...being too tall.

I guess the height difference between Tony, (who stands tall at 6'3"), and Spade (5'7") became an apparent issue while filming for the 1987 film, Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol.

Reflecting on it all, Tony said, "I went through a growth spurt, from the time we tried out [for the movie] to the time we got there, and so for the first week, they were like, 'I think that guy is too tall, and I remember the director saying 'y'know, he's a pretty good skater but he's a bad stunt double!' and so then Stacy [Peralta, second unit director for skateboarding] kept telling me like 'Stay low. Stay low!' And I go... I was trying, and then they just quietly sent me home. Basically, I got fired."

Despite the firing, Tony and David's friendship stemmed from their time on set together, and in the end Tony still snagged some screen time (mainly because the other stunt double was regular-footed, as opposed to Tony and Spade's character who rode goofy-footed, with their right foot forward).

At the end of the day, Tony's short-lived Hollywood career is just another fascinating chapter in the life of the skateboarding legend.

Listen to the full episode here!

Post / Dana Carvey

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