How The Fall Guy Pulled Off that Epic, Old School Lee Majors Cameo (EXCLUSIVE)

You can't make a The Fall Guy movie and not have the fall guy in it, right?

David Leitch (John Wick), director of this weekend's big screen adaptation of the classic '80s television series of the same name, whole-heartedly agrees. NBC Insider recently sat down with Leitch during the movie's press day, and he confirmed there was no way they were making this film and not extending the invitation to Lee Majors, who originated the stuntman/bounty hunter character of Colt Seavers (played by Ryan Gosling in the film), and to Heather Thomas, who played the original stuntwoman version of Jody Banks (as portrayed by Emily Blunt this time around).

The original series ran for five seasons and cemented Majors as the poster guy for grizzled stunt men everywhere. In this case, Seavers took his bumps on screen and side hustled by bringing real criminals to justice with his small band of stunt people including Thomas' Banks and his bumbling cousin Howie (Douglas Barr). 

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"Lee was really excited that it was finally getting redone," Leitch told NBC Insider of Majors' initial reaction to the The Fall Guy movie. "And then he reached out personally and we talked about what I was doing."

Leitch gave the actor an overview of the premise and was delighted with his response. "Majors said, 'Whatever you do with it, I trust you. I'm a fan of your films.' Which was humbling," Leitch said. "I was like, 'Really? Wow, that's great.' And so he was excited to come out. And we thought we would reach out to Heather as well. I think they were both excited about reuniting in this fun way."

How Lee Majors and Heather Thomas ended up in The Fall Guy movie

Lee Majors and Judith Chapman appearing in the tv show 'Fall Guy'. Photo: American Broadcasting Companies via Getty Images

In the movie's mid-credits scene, Leitch essentially uses the television formula feature of the "Previously on..." to rewind the film back a bit, and insert the unseen moment when Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor Johnson) gets revealed as the murderous bad guy in front of Jody's production crew. It's here that Lee Majors and Heather Thomas appear to bring the entitled bad boy actor to justice. 

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Leitch said initially he had several different ideas of where to place the cameos in the film. "I shot a couple alts," the director confirmed. "It's funny, I actually owe him $1,000."

The director went on to explain that he welcomed Majors on set for multiple setups, including the Sydney Harbour Bridge stunt scene, and an informal bet grew out of it. "Lee was like, 'You're going to use [the cameo] in the coda, aren't you? You're not going to use it in this scene on the bridge.' And I'm like, 'No, I'm gonna shoot the scene on the bridge. But I think it could be in both.' And he's like, 'I bet you $1,000.' So I gotta write him a check for $1,000," he laughed. "It's coming, Lee. It's coming."

Universal Pictures’ The Fall Guy is now in theaters everywhere. Grab your tickets here!