New Bedford Arcade Owner Is Also a Part-Time Hollywood Stuntman
If you've ever been to New Bedford's downtown area, chances are you're familiar with Play Arcade, the best bar in the area for '80s and '90s nostalgia, hands down.
However, did you know that owner Adam Katz, when he's not slinging drinks and playing Pac-Man, is a Hollywood stuntman/driver?
With the recent theatrical release of Don't Look Up – a star-studded movie filmed in Boston and in Fall River for a small scene aboard the USS Massachusetts – Katz announced that he had a recognizable role in the movie. He encouraged his friends and family on Facebook to check out the movie and said that if they look close enough, they would recognize him.
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The Many Faces and Skills of Adam Katz
Katz portrayed several low-key characters in the movie, including an FBI officer who kidnaps Jennifer Lawrence (you can see Katz remove the blindfold off of Lawrence's head in the trailer), an Air Force airman and also a rioter who gets beat up by a police officer.
"Ninety percent of the time you won't ever see me, but I was still very fortunate to be apart of this film," Katz said.
He explained that he used to work at a stunt driving school in LA called Precision Driving, a motion picture driving clinic with a good friend Jeremy Fry, who served as the stunt coordinator for Don't Look Up.
"When we began filming in Boston, all the stunt drivers and myself were the only people allowed to drive taxis and cars around the stars," he said. "It's a safety precaution in case the actors and actresses were to fall in the street or get too close to the moving vehicles. We're trained to protect them, all while driving as close as possible next to them."
Meeting the Stars on the Star-Studded Set
"I got to chat with Timothée Chalamet, Ron Pearlman, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence and Kid Cudi," Katz said. "Every single one of them were extremely nice and super professional people."
Adam Katz Has Over 20 Years of Stuntman Experience
Katz moved out to California in 1998 to train to become a stuntman and has been acting ever since.
"Every now and then I will get a call," Katz said. "I worked on four movies within the last year and this was the biggest one I was fortunate enough to be a part of. Before Don't Look Up, I was in Robert De Niro and Cuban Gooding Jr.'s Men of Honor as a stunt-double for De Niro and one of the U.S. Naval crew. Basically, anytime you saw De Niro in a dive suit, it was actually me."
Katz admitted that his career didn't really start to ramp up until he was in his 40s. Although there were times when he wanted to give up, he can now say that his work is blossoming with every opportunity that has presented itself over the past year. Before Don't Look Up, Katz was last seen on the set of Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever as a stunt artist.
Since Don't Look Up is a limited release, the film will be playing in Fall River at the Picture Show at SouthCoast Marketplace only until Christmas, but will then be available to stream on Netflix. Keep an eye out for Katz as he plans on continuing to represent the SouthCoast in future film projects and endeavors.