Bold claim: the real stars of 2026’s buzziest film aren’t just the leads—they’re the people behind the scenes who make the magic look effortless. And this is where the story gets truly fascinating.
Wuthering Heights, Emerald Fennell’s bold take on Emily Brontë, may have split audiences and critics, but one thing is clear: it sparked a lively, sometimes heated, conversation across reviews, opinion pieces, and social feeds. A single image—Heathcliff’s broad, scarred back bathed in candlelight during a private moment—became a flashpoint, fueling debates about performance, symbolism, and the film’s radical choices. Viewers fixated on Jacob Elordi’s tortured anti-hero opposite Margot Robbie’s Cathy, dissecting every inch of the screen for meaning.
What many viewers didn’t realize is that the on-screen intensity owed a lot to the film’s body doubles—unsung professionals who helped bring Fennell’s vision to life. BBC Newsbeat spoke with these performers to uncover how the look and feel of the production came together.
Bo Ponomari, a Ukrainian actor who also worked with Pedro Pascal in Kingsman: The Golden Circle, is one standout example. In a memorable audition question, he was asked, “Do you have a hairy back?”—and still earned the role as Elordi’s stand-in. Although he’s nine inches shorter than the towering star, producers found his physique sufficiently close. Ponomari recalls spending about an hour in makeup applying prosthetic scars to his back and notes that Fennell carefully verified their alignment with Elordi’s appearance. On set, his duties included testing camera angles, refining lighting, and offering alternative shots when Elordi was engaged elsewhere. He’s clear, though, that the final cut may blend multiple inputs: sometimes the audience sees Elordi, other times a stunt double or body double contributes to a given shot.
Why are doubles necessary? Ponomari explains the shoot is usually split into a first unit and a second unit. The first unit handles the actor’s most important scenes—dialogue, close-ups, and emotional beats—while the second unit handles stunts and material that don’t require the principal actor present. That division is where body doubles, hand doubles, and back doubles excel: they keep production on schedule and control costs.
Of course, not every actor wants to perform every moment in front of the camera. Some decline for personal or religious reasons, which is perfectly valid. In those cases, a dedicated team of doubles steps in to fill the gaps, ensuring the project can proceed smoothly.
Another surprising facet is Lucy London, 25, who doubled for a 14-year-old during filming because child-work rules restrict how long young performers can work and because London’s height (about 5 feet) suits the role. She stood in for a young Cathy alongside actress Charlotte Mellington. For London, stepping into a child’s role offered a refreshing contrast to adult self-consciousness and the pressures of performance. She describes the experience as liberating: adults often overthink how they come across, whereas children aren’t burdened by that scrutiny.
Stunt work also plays a central role in safeguarding actors during risky moments. Nikita Mitchell, a British stunt performer who previously worked with Robbie on Barbie, explains that doubles can train for weeks or months with stars to replicate movements precisely. Mitchell notes Robbie’s courage in performing many stunts herself, while doubles still step in for specific moments to ensure safety—such as a cliff-edge sequence or a collision with a tree. In one scene, Mitchell even took a fall herself from a wall when Cathy is spotted roaming a mansion’s grounds, a fall measured at eight to ten feet (2.4–3 meters). Mitchell has traveled far in her career, including 150-foot cliff drops on wires, so such stunts are within her wheelhouse.
Both Ponomari and Mitchell highlight a common truth: audiences rarely notice the work of doubles unless a shot makes the final cut. Yet their contributions are paid per day and remain an essential, if sometimes invisible, part of filmmaking.
If you’re curious to hear more about the behind-the-scenes craft and the people who make cinematic visions possible, you can listen to Newsbeat coverage at the links provided by BBC Radio One.
Would you like to see a short behind-the-scenes featurette that highlights how doubles choreograph movements to match the principal actor’s performance, or do you prefer a deeper dive into specific stunts and safety procedures used on Wuthering Heights?
