Eric Jacobus

Jacobus is a stuntman, martial artist, and actor based in California. Jacobus began his film career in his hometown of Redding, CA in 2001 with the formation of The Stunt People. Originally a gymnast and weightlifter, Jacobus enlisted the help of local martial artists and gymnasts to create short action comedies. When Jacobus moved to San Francisco to attend SFSU for cinema in 2002, he began formal martial arts training under Andy Leung, who became a Stunt People member. As Jacobus brought on more talents, The Stunt People expanded to a team of 30+ members. Their 2002 hit film Teamwork 2 caught the eye of producer Jeff Centauri. Through Centauri, Jacobus and his team connected with filmmaker Stephen Reedy and began production of Reedy's short film Undercut in 2004, which combined the team's collective gymnastics, martial arts, and stunt expertise with Reedy's run-n-gun filmmaking style and humor. The film would be runner-up for the 2006 MTV Movie Awards. Centauri's DVD also brought producers Ro Sahebi and Cliff Tang in contact with Jacobus, and they offered a budget to produce Jacobus's feature film debut, Contour, which garnered numerous awards and put The Stunt People on the map upon its release in 2006. Jacobus tackled his second feature film effort Death Grip in 2011, using both crowd-funding and private equity. The film was distributed worldwide and got noticed by veteran stuntman and producer Clayton Barber. Barber and Jacobus developed an American martial arts film brand with their first short film Rope A Dope, which was an instant hit. Barber used the film to secure a role for Jacobus in ABCs of Death 2 in the segment "A Is For Amateur". The team then produced Rope A Dope 2, a bigger and bolder example of what the team could do on a small budget. Jacobus and Barber are developing more short films. Jacobus continues to work full-time as an actor, stuntman, and stunt coordinator throughout California.