Video: Daredevil has been praised for its grit and realism, and since it’s a show about a guy who spends at least half his time beating people up, this means the way he fights has to feel believable.
Philip Silvera, the show’s stunt coordinator and 2nd unit director, walks us through the thought and intention behind how his street fight-y style of choreography works in Daredevil‘s favour. Everything from avoiding flashy, Crouching Tiger-style moves to showing vulnerability and fatigue works to make Charlie Cox’s lawyer/part-time superhero feel like a real person. Silvera also wanted his powers to be evident in the way he fights — namely that his reactions to incoming punches and kicks aren’t telegraphed by his need to look in the direction of his assailant.
There’s an impressive amount of consideration that goes into making these fight scenes, but part of the real charm of this inside look is knowing how these sequences look before going through grading and VFX.