Stunt Coordinator Hiring for Sets: Check 3 Proofs Before Booking

Hire a roster-listed, credentialed stunt coordinator who can show verified credits and proof of insurance. Before you book a single rehearsal day, ask for three things: roster or eligibility proof, a recent credits reel, and a current insurance certificate. A coordinator who hands these over quickly is usually one who runs a disciplined department.

TL;DR:

• The union eligibility process requires 500 verified eligible work days, but roster status confirms experience, not fit for your production.
• Compare quotes only after checking whether they use daily, three day, weekly, or flat deal rates; union tables list separate baselines.
• Budget beyond the coordinator’s fee for prep and rehearsal, department crew, travel, equipment transport, and a protected contingency agreed with your line producer.
• Before interviewing, verify credits and eligibility, call at least two recent references, and collect insurance certificates; reject candidates who resist written safety plans.
• Put the stunt plan, risk assessment, rehearsal days, overtime, cancellation terms, and incident reporting in the contract, while production supplies resources and authority.

Table of Contents

• What does a stunt coordinator actually do on a production?
• Which credentials, rosters and safety standards should you check?
• What do stunt coordinators cost, and how should you budget?
• How do you vet and interview a stunt coordinator?
• What belongs in the contract and insurance paperwork?
• How do you onboard a stunt coordinator and work with them on set?
• Our perspective: a stunt booking is a safety decision first
• Book vetted stunt talent with ANT MANAGEMENT
• FAQ
• Sources

What does a stunt coordinator actually do on a production?

A stunt coordinator is the person who turns a scripted action beat into something a crew can shoot without anyone getting hurt. The role sits at the intersection of creative ambition and physical risk, and it shapes both your schedule and your liability.

• Designs each stunt, from a fight sequence to a vehicle gag, to serve the director’s vision.
• Identifies hazards and sets the controls that keep them manageable.
• Supervises stunt performers, riggers and safety crew during rehearsal and shooting.
• Liaises with production safety, the first assistant director and the insurer.

The interaction points are predictable: prep meetings, heads-of-department coordination, and safety and insurance sign-off before cameras roll. Understanding where this role fits among crew positions helps you assign scope correctly. A coordinator who plans well also protects your day count, because rehearsed stunts rarely collapse into overtime.

Which credentials, rosters and safety standards should you check?

Start with the roster. SAG-AFTRA runs a Stunt Coordinator eligibility process that requires 500 verified eligible work days, and it gives employers a rostered list for vetting candidates. Appearing on that list is not a guarantee of fit, but it is independent evidence of experience that a résumé alone cannot supply.

Safety standards matter just as much. The SGNZ health and safety guidelines spell out what a coordinator owes the set: identifying and managing risk, implementing controls, ensuring inductions happen, checking equipment compliance, overseeing the stunt department and reporting incidents. They also stress that the business running the production and the coordinator share health and safety obligations.

Ask every candidate for this document set:

• Roster or eligibility verification
• Payroll or credit evidence for claimed projects
• Relevant certificates for specialist work such as rigging or driving
• Two or three references from recent productions
• Records of health and safety inductions they have delivered

Pro Tip: Call one reference and ask what happened when a stunt plan had to change on the day. The answer reveals more than the reel.

What do stunt coordinators cost, and how should you budget?

Use union wage tables as your baseline, even on a non-union shoot, because they give bids a common yardstick. The 2026–30 SAG-AFTRA wage tables list daily, 3-day and weekly rates for stunt coordinators and stunt personnel, along with separate flat deal and weekly figures.

The 2026–30 SAG-AFTRA wage tables set separate daily, 3-day and weekly baselines, plus flat deal figures, so check which structure a quote assumes before comparing bids.

A flat deal bundles a set number of hours into one price, while daily and weekly pay count time more granularly. Comparing a flat-deal bid against a daily one without checking the assumptions is how budgets drift.

Build the full picture, not just the coordinator’s fee:

• Prep days and rehearsal days, which are often cut first and regretted later
• Stunt department crew, including performers, riggers and safety personnel
• Travel, accommodation and equipment transport
• A contingency line for specialized effects or remote-location logistics

Set the contingency as a percentage agreed with your line producer at the start, and treat it as protected money, not a slush fund for overruns elsewhere.

How do you vet and interview a stunt coordinator?

Verification comes before conversation. Work through these steps in order:

1. Request the credits reel and cross-check two or three titles against public crew listings.
2. Ask for roster or eligibility proof and payroll verification of claimed days.
3. Collect reference contacts and call at least two.
4. Obtain insurance certificates before the interview, not after.
5. Hold the interview with your first assistant director and production safety lead in the room.

In the interview, probe for specifics. Ask how they set risk controls for a stunt like yours, what a past incident taught them, how they structure rehearsals, and which riggers and medics they trust. Ask them to walk you through their emergency procedure for your location. Our producer-facing requirements checklist covers the verification side in more depth.

Treat these as red flags:

• Documentation that is missing or keeps arriving “next week”
• A vague or evasive account of past incidents
• Reluctance to share a written safety plan
• Inability to name the department contacts they rely on

A coordinator who cannot explain their controls in plain words probably has not thought them through.

What belongs in the contract and insurance paperwork?

Confirm insurance first, and confirm it in writing before rehearsal begins:

• General liability coverage
• Stunt-specific endorsements where your policy requires them
• Workers’ compensation or the local equivalent

Then write the scope into the agreement. The contract should name the stunt plan and risk assessment as deliverables, fix the number of rehearsal days, state overtime and cancellation terms, and require prompt incident reporting. A coordinator who resists putting the safety plan in the deliverables is signaling something.

The legal logic is shared responsibility. The SGNZ guidance makes clear that the production and the coordinator carry health and safety duties together, so the contract should mirror that: the coordinator delivers the controls and inductions, and production provides the resources, access and authority to enforce them. A well-drafted agreement removes ambiguity on the day, when ambiguity is most expensive.

How do you onboard a stunt coordinator and work with them on set?

Bring the coordinator in early. A workable timeline looks like this:

• Creative meeting in pre-production, with the director and production designer
• Site walk to assess surfaces, access and emergency routes
• Rehearsal schedule agreed with department heads
• Equipment checks completed before any camera rehearsal

On the day, run a safety induction for everyone involved, deliver a pre-stunt briefing, rehearse with the performer and safety crew, and document the sign-offs. Sound preparation also pays off when something goes wrong, as our piece on on-set crisis management shows. If you are still building your prep calendar, a pre-production checklist helps place these steps.

Pro Tip: Name one point of contact for all department updates and keep a running incident log. Schedule a short debrief after each stunt day to capture what to change.

Our perspective: a stunt booking is a safety decision first

Most productions treat stunt hiring as a casting exercise, and we think that is the wrong frame. The performer’s talent matters, but the coordinator’s discipline decides whether a stunt day ends in applause or an incident report. At ANT MANAGEMENT we curate stunt talent and support productions with coordination and logistics, always in service of your own health and safety requirements. If you want a shortlist built around your genre and scale, ask us for a consultation.

— ANT

Book vetted stunt talent with ANT MANAGEMENT

Our team curates talent and handles coordination across international markets, helping you move from brief to shortlist.

• Request stunt talent through our stunts booking page
• Ask for a coordination consultation and a shortlist
• Get a quote tied to your schedule and scale

Contact us today and tell us what your stunt sequence needs.

FAQ

How much does a stunt coordinator cost per day?

Rates depend on the deal structure, so start with the union baseline. The SAG-AFTRA wage tables list daily, 3-day and weekly figures you can use as a benchmark. Add prep, rehearsal and contingency on top.

How do you verify a stunt coordinator’s experience?

Ask for roster or eligibility proof, a credits reel, payroll evidence and references. SAG-AFTRA maintains a rostered list that employers can check. Call at least two references from recent productions.

What should a stunt coordinator contract include?

It should state the scope of services, including a written stunt plan and risk assessment. It should also set rehearsal days, overtime and cancellation terms, and incident reporting duties. Insurance certificates should be in hand before rehearsal.

When should you hire a stunt coordinator?

Hire during pre-production, before schedules and budgets lock. Early involvement lets the coordinator shape rehearsal time, site choices and safety resources. Late hires tend to compress rehearsal, which raises risk.

Sources

• Stunt Coordinator Eligibility Process
• 2026-30 SAG-AFTRA Agreement Wage Tables
• SGNZ Health and Safety Guidelines

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