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The thrills and spills of Hollywood's smallest stuntman

At just 125cm tall Kiran Shah holds the title of Hollywood's smallest stuntman. From Mordor to the Forest Moon of Endor, he's been at the heart of moviemaking for fifty years.

Kiran Shah was a film-obsessed boy in Kenya, but at just 125cm tall it wasn't always clear how he'd make his way in Hollywood. Born to an Indian family in Nairobi before moving to London, Kiran discovered stunt work almost by accident and quickly realised that his size wasn't a limitation but a superpower.

Over the years, that realisation led him to some of cinema's biggest productions: from Star Wars, Harry Potter, Titanic, The Lord of the Rings, to Superman and The Chronicles of Narnia. Along the way, he earned a unique claim to fame as the world's smallest stuntman-often quite literally thrown into the action.

His talents found him inside creature suits for several Star Wars films, performing physical gags, taking falls, and learning the unglamorous realities of stunt work. But his stature at the heart of Hollywood for the past 50 years is extraordinary-a career he's built by embracing the unexpected-and landing on his feet.

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Presenter: Mobeen Azhar

Get in touch: [email protected] or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707

(Photo: From left: Kiran Shah with Elijah Wood as his scale double on the set of The Fellowship of the Ring, dressed as an Ewok and in costume as Superman. Credit: Composite: BBC; Courtesy of Kiran Shah. )

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41 minutes

Broadcasts

  • Tue 16 Dec 202512:06GMT
  • Tue 16 Dec 202518:06GMT
  • Tue 16 Dec 202523:06GMT
  • Wed 17 Dec 202503:06GMT

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