What happened to Joe Watts? Fast and Furious stuntman injured on set speaks out amid recovery

Joe Watts, a former professional stuntman with credits in numerous Hollywood blockbusters, suffered a major head injury. He has now spoken publicly for the first time about his recovery, according to the New York Post. During filming of Justin Lin’s Fast & Furious 9: Fast Saga in July 2019, the 37-year-old, Joe Watts, fell 25 ft onto concrete. The movie, featuring most of the original cast, led to him sustaining a severe head injury, the BBC reported.

At the time, Joe Watts suffered a broken skull while filming a staged fight scene at Warner Bros. Studios in Leavesden, Hertfordshire, England. The BBC reported that he fell from a balcony after his safety line detached during the sequence. FF9 Pictures, a subsidiary of Universal Pictures that produced Fast & Furious 9, was fined by Luton Magistrates' Court.

As per the New York Post, Joe Watts, who was in an induced coma for five days following his injury, was admitted to the Royal London Hospital, where he recovered at the Major Trauma Center for a month. Later, he was taken to the Wellington Hospital, where he underwent six weeks of rehabilitation. Although the head injury was severe, Joe Watts eventually recovered and spent years relearning how to speak and walk.

Years later, Joe Watts spoke publicly for the first time, sharing the story of his recovery. He did so to support Day One Trauma Support, a UK charity aiding individuals and families affected by serious trauma. Joe Watts said:

"My accident completely ended my life in every way other than me surviving. I lost everything: all skill sets, abilities, stunt career, relationships, memories and all my potential. I was a high-level gymnast and professional stuntman prior; I can’t do anything like that anymore, which is sad. It ended relationships, including with my parents who I don’t have a relationship with any more, and close friends who couldn’t be there for me. I’ve had to relearn everything from scratch: balance, communication, emotional control, independence, awareness of self, how to ride my bike, how to drive a car, how to process my fear, how to be accepted in society, etc. My life is so different now."

Joe Watts, who has worked as a stuntman in over 40 movies, including Jurassic World, multiple Disney films, Mission Impossible, Mamma Mia 2, Kingsman 2, and many more, said regarding his accident:

"I don’t have any memories of what happened. My final memory is on the Friday when we were lining up for the stunt, practicing, and rehearsing. I found out someone else was throwing me and wanted to throw me over a different shoulder. I remember highlighting to the bosses I was uncomfortable with the change in my trajectory. Unfortunately, the stunt coordinators felt it was ok. As a stunt performer it is difficult, and I didn’t want to cause issues. You are like a puppet on a string and must put your trust in everyone else. I can only highlight what I see. A film set is a very busy and stressful environment and there are so many decisions being made – I guess they just did not see my perspective."

Joe Watts stated that he "was very lucky to be alive"

Former professional stuntman Joe Watts, following his serious head injury on the set of Fast & Furious 9, revealed that he was lucky just to be alive. While opening up about his 2019 accident and sharing the story of his journey to recovery, he said:

“I was very lucky to survive. Few do hitting concrete from that high at such speed. It was miraculous really. My speech and recovery only happened because I wanted it to happen. I remember coming to in hospital – my conscious mind wasn’t connected, and reality didn’t exist. Looking back, the plates were shifting into position until my cognition was switched back on. It was surreal. The difficult thing with a brain injury is I still believed I was the same person."

He went on to say:

"I believed I could walk and run but I couldn’t balance. I had to relearn to walk again and move my legs to be able to walk in a straight line. I had been a high-level gymnast and had exceptional balance – but had lost the ability to walk down the road. I had to relearn communication. Inside it felt like I could always talk but I’ve seen videos of me in hospital and nothing was coming out. My brain was telling me I was coming across differently. I had to relearn how to ride a bike, drive a car, fly on planes, everything that I could always do. I spent six years finding out I can’t do this and then thinking how I can relearn it."

Joe Watts, who shared his recovery story to inspire other people who went through a similar experience, said:

"Part of why I want to speak on stage now is celebrating the communication skills I have relearnt and share with people what I’ve come through. I want to motivate them and if they are going through similar then to empower them. I went through heavy depression. A lot of people told me to focus on the light at the end of the tunnel. But no matter how hard I tried I could not find the walls of the tunnels. My way of climbing out from that was finding a passion and for me it was art."

He continued:

"It was a place I could step away from it all and escape. My brain injury is an invisible disability – multiple times I have been struggling outside shops and people assume I am just causing a problem. I have felt a lot of judgment throughout the recovery. Everything was within my brain. Even when I was given feedback I was doing well, it was still very hard. I still don’t feel I am who I used to be. Every year I feel even more recovered. I was angry for a long time. I struggled with my anger and emotional control and had serious depression. I found my silver lining in painting. My wife would notice I had a red mist and was getting angry, but I would have no recollection.”

Joe Watts also talked about his marriage to Tilly Powell, describing it as a big turning point. He said:

"My wife stuck by my side throughout, my parents couldn’t adapt to who I had become – they preferred who I used to be. But getting married was amazing. I was surrounded by my stunt family. I had focused for a year and a half before the wedding and had it all rehearsed in my mind. There were 140 people there and I was able to stand up and speak, despite previously being too fearful to. It was a magical day. I’ve got so much gratitude now for the experience I’ve been through."

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Joe Watts further added:

"My wife and her father are involved in the stunt industry still. At the beginning, I was hating the fact I couldn’t do it anymore and ostracized myself from the group. But I have a lot of appreciation for their constant support and a lot of gratitude for my short experience working as a professional stuntman. It is a good hook for conversation when I tell people about the films I’ve been in. I now want to spread my story further with Day One Trauma Support and feel very lucky to work with them. “I’m proud of myself for my recovery so far. It hasn’t been easy, but I’ve come so far."

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