Patrick Swayze Survived Multiple Near-Death Moments on the Set of This Movie

In the 1991 action movie Point Break, Keanu Reeves plays a young FBI agent named Johnny Utah. He goes undercover to catch a group of surfers who are robbing banks. These robbers are called the “Dead Presidents” because they wear masks of former presidents like Reagan and Nixon during their heists. The movie is famous for its fast stunts, over-the-top dialogue, and amazing surfing scenes that still look great today.

Making the movie, however, was much more dangerous than it seemed on screen, especially for Patrick Swayze. In a DVD bonus feature, Swayze talked about how he almost died multiple times while filming some of the toughest scenes. Even though he had a stunt double for the hardest stunts, he still chose to do many of them himself to keep the action looking real.

Swayze said that he had to fight with the insurance companies just to be allowed to do the skydiving scenes, but those jumps were never the real danger. “The air was fine,” he explained, “the real danger was the water and the huge waves.” He admitted he nearly died six to ten times and often felt like he might not make it through the toughest moments.

At one point, he even injured a bone in his chest because he was riding waves that were way too big. They tried to fix his surfboard and wetsuit to protect him, but every wave still slammed into him hard.

Despite all the danger, Swayze’s courage is one of the reasons the movie still feels so intense. The final scene of Point Break even shows his character facing the biggest wave of the year, a fitting tribute to his fearlessness and commitment to the role.

As for Keanu Reeves, he’s still busy with new projects. He recently appeared at an Apple TV event to promote his upcoming dark comedy Outcome, directed by Jonah Hill and co-starring Cameron Diaz. In the movie, which comes out April 10, Reeves plays a Hollywood actor named Reef Hawk who is being blackmailed and has to fix mistakes from his past.

Fans of Reeves’ action work also have a lot to look forward to. Later this year, he returns to the John Wick universe in the spin-off Ballerina, which stars Ana de Armas, and he also voices Shadow in Sonic the Hedgehog 3.

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