Falling off buildings isn’t a big deal for Adam Collins. Nor is getting hit by speeding vehicles. The former Royal Marines commando-turned-actor is also a stuntman in Hollywood. “Sometimes it involves running with my body on fire,” laughs Adam. In my films, I use as much live practical effects as possible. When something is real, it works well. Hollywood tends to use too many visual effects and it ruins it all,” he adds.

Adam was in Chennai over the weekend for the launch of the new Page 3 Salon and Makeover Studio in Adyar. “This is my third trip to India though. In around 2012, I visited Mangaluru. I was with the Royal Marines and was deploying from the port there. And I’ve also been to Mumbai,” he says. Right from childhood, there were two things that he really wanted to do: one, join the Royal Marines and two, become an actor. After six years of being a commando, he joined the world of films in 2013.

“I first acted in Batman Begins, playing one of the ninjas in the league of shadows,” says the UK-based actor. He then started stunt training and in 2016, qualified for the British stunt register. “And after that I got to work in Justice League and Transformers,” he says. He recalls a scene from Transformers, where an explosion takes place and he is flung 20 feet into the air and then hits the ground. “That bit when you’re smashed to the bottom, hurts,” he grins, adding, “Similarly, for scenes where I am hit by a car moving at 20mph, it’s the landing that actually hurts.”

Adam’s work list features popular movies and television shows such as Kingsman 2, Dunkirk, Spider-Man: Far From Home, The Rook... and fantasy fiction such as Game of Thrones, Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, and Maleficient. Adam has just wrapped up shooting for Outlawed, a movie he also directed. He’s now writing his next film titled The Increment. In addition to the shooting and demanding action stunts, Adam also has a strict workout regimen. “It’s six days a week, a lot of weight training and an hour’s cardio,” he says. As for his diet, “You got to keep the chicken, tuna, steak and vegetables coming,” he laughs.