Petra Sprecher › Stunts
“She wanted bigger, better, higher, more!”
While on tour with Cirque du Soleil in Chicago, Petra came across a magazine featuring African-American stuntwomen in Hollywood and she instantly knew: “That’s what I’m doing next!” She moved to Los Angeles in 1999 and started to pursue a career in stunts. The first film was Minority Report and she was flying from a giant 400-foot long and 50-foot high truss which was set up on the backlot of the Warner Brothers studios.
Petra’s start in Hollywood
“It was extremely exciting to be on set every day and to get to work with Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg!” And it was all thanks to stunt coordinator and Second Unit Director Brian Smrz, who knew Petra was the right person for the job! She was in! More big budget films were on the horizon.
A stint in Men in Black II was up next. In The Time Machine, with Guy Pearce, Petra books her first stunt role, portraying the character Eloi and has to fight the menacing Morlocks, but ultimately gets captured and dragged through the crust of the earth – via quicksand.
In Scary Movie 3, Petra was flown in to Vancouver to stunt double Queen Latifah in a spoof of the character Neo from The Matrix. Next was Pirates of the Caribbeans: The Curse of the Black Pearl, that was filmed on the island of St.Vincent, where Petra does the stunts for Zoë Saldana and also plays the role of the Villager Woman and fights off a drunken Pirate.
Aeon Flux was shot in Berlin and in addition to stunt doubling Sophie Okonedo and Caroline Chikezie, Petra also was hand-picked as Charlize Theron’s trainings partner to work on flexibility and cirque-style fight choreography. Then came Hancock, played by Will Smith, directed by Peter Berg, where Petra is stunt doubling the character Hottie. When the date is not going according to Hancock’s wishes, he jolts her over the bed and solid into the wall by virtue of his super-powers.
In 2009, Petra was double nominated by the Taurus World Stunt Awards for Best High Work and Best Overall Stunt By A Woman as Rosario Dawson’s stunt double on Eagle Eye. Furthermore she also has received a Stuntwoman of the Year nomination by the Celebrity and Stuntwomen’s Awards Diamond in the Raw. The Oscar nominated Flight with Denzel Washington and Roland Emmerich’s Independence Day: Resurgence are additional highlights in Petra’s movie career along with several hit television shows. Please refer to her IMDb page to view the latest résume.
See Petra In Action
Car Hit On “Feed The Beast”
Fight Scene On “Castle”
Stunt Demo-Reel
Leona Lewis Music Video “Thunder”
Official Trailer of “Mercenaries”
Mercenaries, a mock buster of The Expendables 3, featuring Zoë Bell,
Kristanna Loken, Brigitte Nielsen, and Vivica A. Fox, who Petra is stunt doubling for.
“Eagle Eye” Rehearsal Footage
Highlights !!!
2024
- Cascacdeuses/Stuntwomen in 🗽NEW YORK CITY!!! — At the Winter Film Awards! Saturday, Feb. 24th, 5:30PM @ LOOK CINEMAS, Theater 5, 657 W 57TH Street, New York, NY 10019
2023
- Swiss Film Prize 2023 — WINNER!!! 💎 Quartz for Best Documentary! “Cascadeuses” / “Stuntwomen”, Geneva, March 24th, 2023
2022
- Zürich Film Festival — WINNER!!! 🏆 Golden Eye Award in the Focus competition! World Première of Swiss Documentary “Cascadeuses / Stuntwomen” Saturday, September, 24th, 2022. Lead roles: Virginie Arnaud, Petra Sprecher, Estelle Piget. Director: Elena Avdija
- Westworld — Role: Olympiad writer, Season 4, episode 7, air date August 7, 2022
- Paradise — Role: Terrorist, German Netflix film, TBA, Director: Boris Kunz
- Pussy Island — Directorial debut of Zoë Kravitz, Stunt double
2021
- Loki (Marvel Studios TV series) — Stunt Actor
- Saweetie’s Music video Fast (Motion) — Saweetie’s MMA Opponent
2020
- Star Trek: Picard — Stunt Actor as Aeriel, Synthetic Race
- Lovecraft Country — Stunt Actor as Amazonian Warrior Woman
- Tyler Perry’s Grace — Stunt-double for Phylicia Rashad
2019
- The World’s Best is a one-of-a-kind talent global competition series featuring elite acts from around the world. Petra is selected as an international judge, representing Switzerland. The show celebrates talent on a global scale and features acts from every genre imaginable, competing for a $1 million prize. The acts not only have to impress the all-star line-up of American judges Drew Barrymore, RuPaul Charles and Faith Hill, but they will also need to break through the “Wall of the World,” featuring more than 50 renowned experts from 38 different countries. Hosted by Emmy Award winner James Corden. The series, from two of the most prolific unscripted producers in television, Mike Darnell (“American Idol”) and Mark Burnett (SURVIVOR, “The Voice”), premieres immediately following SUPER BOWL LIII on Sunday, Feb. 3 on CBS. The second episode will air on Wednesday, Feb. 6 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.
- Ad Astra (Meaning: To the Stars) is an upcoming American epic science fiction thriller. The film will star Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, Donald Sutherland and Jamie Kennedy. I’m doing Zero G Stunts on an amazing set, working with a stunning group
- To Tell The Truth — Character / Speaking Role
2018
- Aeschbacher! — Late-night show with our Swiss version of David Letterman! 15-minute live sit-down interview on National Swiss TV SRF 1
- Tyler Perry’s The Haves and the Havenots! — Bye, bye! Going over the balcony!
2017
- Dixie Ultra plate commercial! — Shot in Kansas. Acting role: Aerial Waitress. Petra serves three courses of food to high-altitude restaurants guests, all while walking on a thin tightrope, 40 feet in the air. 1-hr long live-stream for Facebook with multiple cameras
- The House! — A comedy with Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler, directed by Andrew Jay Cohen. Petra is tumbling down the stairs as Mariah Carey! …NEWS: Mariah’s part was cut! …there goes my stunt as well
- Jean-Claude Van Johnson! — Stunt doubling for Phylicia Rashad
2016
- Rana Pasta National TV Commercial! — Petra is playing the Prison Guard and is tackling an inmate while he is eating pasta with a fork, an illegal weapon
- Lethal Weapon! — Petra is a guest at high-end party in the Hollywood Hills (actually, at Britney Spear’s former mansion) diving out the way during a major shoot-out scene
- Incarnate! — A thriller feature with Aaron Eckhart in the lead role – Petra is playing the part of Homeless Woman
“Hanging-in-there”
with fellow stuntmen during a filming break…
CINEFEX Magazine
“An alleyway façade had to be built on the Warner Brothers backlot to house flying rigs and a five-story street set. Above it, riggers constructed a 400-feet long and 50-feet high steel frame used as a giant flying truss, capable of independently flying up to eight people at a time.”
Stunt Coordinating
Here on the rooftop, I’m stunt coordinating Swiss singer TinkaBell’s music video for MTV Switzerland: