HH Interview
Debbie Evans Leavitt

         

 
Features

     October-December 2007

 

 

WATCH!

ABC's Good Morning America Clip

"Hollywood's Stunt Family"

 

Debbie's Achievements:

    • Inducted into the AMA       Motorcycle Hall of Fame       in 2003
    • First woman to compete       in the FIM World       Championship Trials       event
    • Top rider in Women's       World Cup Trials       competition
    • Motorcycle stunt rider in       over 200 movies and       television programs
      imdb credits
    • Winner of 4 Taurus       World Stunt Awards

www.debbieevans.com  
 

 

Photos courtesy of Debbie Evans Leavitt

 

 

 

 

 




 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An Interview with
Debbie Evans Leavitt
 
After three decades of raising the (stunt) bar, Debbie Evans Leavitt is still at the top of her game.
Her latest work doubling for Anglina Jolie in "Wanted" and performing motorcycle stunts for the TV series "Sara Conner Chronicles" is testament to her tenacity. Debbie's natural athletic ability, along with her almost super-human ability to manipulate machines, can be attributed (in part) to her heritage. You could say Debbie was born with a "wheelie gene", inherited from her famous stunt father, Dave Evans. That gene pool grew when she married Lane Leavitt - a stunt pioneer himself. Together with their children and a successful stunt production company, Stunt Rev, they live and breathe all that is extreme.
 
During a recent phone interview, Debbie schools HH on the art of Trials riding and why she thinks the female rider should try it. Debbie also shares insight on family and on staying fit as she approaches the mid-century mark.
 
 

HH: Before you became a stuntwoman, you already conquered the world of professional motorcycling, dubbed the unofficial women’s world trials champion. What exactly is this sport, and why do you think women who ride for recreation should give it a try?

Debbie: Trials riding is the “gymnastics” of motorcycling because it’s all about skill and control. In Trials you ride over nature’s obstacles - rocks, hills, water, grass – any terrain that presents a challenge. With Trials riding you gain a complete understanding of the machine as a whole: from bike controls to fine control, that is, the ability to maneuver over unforeseen situations. It really offers a perfect foundation to learn how to ride a motorcycle. The bike is smaller, usually weighing no more than 180 lbs. and unlike street riding, your feet make contact with the ground a lot. And what’s good about Trials competition is you don’t have to race anyone, you set your own personal pace and goal, which makes it that much more rewarding. If you learn how to ride Trials, there’s no doubt you will be a better, more confident street rider.

 

 HH: From all the amazing motorcycle stunts like the killer highway scene doubling for Carrie-Anne Moss in the Matrix Reloaded and the edgy trick riding performed in Torque, to some of your vintage days doubling as Linda Carter when Wonder Woman took to her bike - - you’ve performed just about every stunt imaginable on two wheels. It seems no matter what decade, you keep setting the bar higher. Have you ever mentored any other female (or male) stunt riders who strive to achieve your skill level?

Debbie: I’ve spent my lifetime building motorcycle skills that were necessary to perform these stunts. I’ve always advised others who are interested in motorcycle stunts to first and foremost have a firm grasp on bike control. Once that’s achieved then be ready to commit to countless hours of practice. Motorcycle stunts are among the most difficult and dangerous in the industry – it’s all about calculated risks, so experience is vital.  

 

HH: Your family is filled with “stunt junkies” starting with your famous dad, Dave and your sister, Donna, who also has a long list of TV and movie stunt credits to her name. Your husband Lane Leavitt is a stunt pioneer who is also a former world motorcycle champ and your son Daniel is a rising star in the junior stunt world. Has your daughter caught the adrenaline bug? Perhaps motorcycling?

Debbie: When Rebecca was six she actually competed and won in a girls-class dirt bike race. Now that she’s older, she is into many of the things preteen girls are into, but she still enjoys hopping on the back and taking family rides together – usually to our neighborhood coffee shop; we ride over a mountain to get there so it’s always an adventure.

  

I’ve always supported all of my children in whatever direction their talents lie.

Daniel is the one who inherited my “wheelie gene,” the term my dad uses which describes all of our ability to pop (and sustain) a motorcycle wheelie. He taught me when I was 12.

 

HH: You stunt, you race motorcycles, and you can also wrench your own machines?

Debbie: I worked alongside my dad in the garage growing up and rode his Honda 80. For Christmas one year he gave me a shift lever that accompanied a box of parts. Over the next four-to-five months I learned how to put it all together – changing throttle cables, spark plug wrenches, bridging gaps and changing the oil. Because of that childhood experience, I’ve been able to mechanic and make fine-tuning adjustments to my own bikes on the set.

 

HH: Approaching the mid-century mark in life, but yet you prove no signs of slowing down. How do you keep your body (and mind) fit? With a special diet and exercise? Magic?

Debbie: I attribute that energy to always having an active lifestyle. Even now with the challenges of body and mind “changes” that come with age, I keep my workout routine diverse: Taekwondo, swimming, ice hockey, trials riding and of course raising my children, which keeps my life balanced and very busy!

 

HH: In 2007 you won your 5th World Stunt Award, and you are the current American Top Ranked Rider in the FIM Women’s World Championship. What’s left for Debbie Evans?

Debbie: I still enjoy stunt work, so as long as I keep getting the offers and can perform… 

I just recently drove a Viper doubling for Angelina Jolie in the upcoming movie “Wanted” and also completed a scene for the TV series “Sara Conner Chronicles” where I had to ride horizontal to the pavement and then strategically lay down the 1987 Yamaha 1100 street bike – we had to sprinkle sand on the road to get the right timing and effect. It was intense.

I would like to help motivate and inspire others so I think possibly speaking opportunities may be in my future.

 








 

 

 































 

 

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