Photo courtesy of Matt Leonard

When an NFL player’s career ends, it’s assumed he’ll kick his feet up and let his body do a bit of healing.

Then there’s former Jacksonville Jaguars defensive tackle Matt Leonard, who upon hanging up his cleats, traded in one set of pads for another. You see, Leonard is a full-fledged stuntman and stunt coordinator in Hollywood.

Rather than keeping his work gear in a locker these days, he keeps his apparel in a black duffle bag that can easily be transported from set to set. Rather than getting drilled by offensive linemen, he gets hit by moving cars. Rather than a coach lighting a fire under his ass, a stunt coordinator will actually light his rear on fire.

Since retiring from pro football in 2005, the 37-year-old California native and Stanford alum has performed stunts in movies like “The Avengers,” “Iron Man” and “Guardians of the Galaxy.”

Matt Leonard going after Peyton Manning. Photo courtesy of Matt Leonard

His father, Terry Leonard, is a legend in the stunt industry who, in his younger years, doubled for Harrison Ford in “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and set a high-fall record, plunging 80 feet into cardboard boxes in the 1970 flick “Cover Me Babe.” With time and experience, he became a highly-regarded coordinator and second-unit director, adding credits like “Tombstone,” “The Fugitive,” and “Fast & Furious” to his name.

Make no mistake, however. Matt Leonard didn’t get into the business because he was inspired by his father.

“It’s hard to be inspired by someone who doesn’t want you to do it,” he said. “My dad never wanted me to be in the industry. The big problem my dad had with it is it destroys families because you’re away from home so much.”

A Bad Stuntman?

Leonard’s path into the stunt industry actually started with his then-single mother, Teri. She was a natural athlete and world-class barrel racer in rodeos, which led her to meeting Terry.

“My dad did team ropes, and that’s how their relationship started,” Leonard said. “They got married when I was about 10 and my father adopted me and my brother.”

Terry convinced his wife that she could make a good living doing horse gags in movies.

“That’s how she got her start. From there, she developed into doing stuff like doubling Charlize Theron in “Mighty Joe Young,” Leonard said.

Meanwhile, Leonard thought his dad needed some major work at the craft.

“Growing up, I always thought my dad was the worst stuntman of all-time,” Leonard said. “He’s such an epic stuntman, so all of his stories always ended up with him getting injured. He would say, ‘I went over here and I broke my back, I went over here and I hit my head and I was paralyzed for two days.’ He had all these stories, and I thought, you must be awful. Low and behold, it was not because he was bad; it was because he was so good, and he was the only one who really tried that stuff.”

Leonard on the set of “Year One.” Photo courtesy of Matt Leonard

Leonard considered his parents’ profession completely normal. How else would you view it when that’s all you know?

“It was no different than anyone else’s childhood,” he explained. “Unfortunately, my dad would leave for giant chunks of time, though. Back in the day, some movies would go a year long and he would be out of the country, or in a different state. We were in baseball and school and couldn’t really leave, so basically, we didn’t really see him much while we were growing up.”

When Leonard was in sixth-grade, he made a brief appearance in “Tombstone” as a child running through a village. That enabled him to eventually get his Screen Actors Guild card and join the union.

However, Leonard’s childhood wasn’t filled with auditions and camera time. It was filled with sports.

“I played all sports growing up, but I excelled at the ones that require strong, powerful moves,” he said. “I still have the school record for fouling out the fastest in basketball.”

With football being his bread and butter, he earned a scholarship to Stanford, where he studied economics and suited up for the Cardinals on Saturdays.

A Fleeting NFL Career

Leonard was projected to be a second or third round draft pick, but a back injury causing him to miss half his junior season derailed his NFL plans.

Recognizing that his football career wouldn’t last forever, he interned at Morgan Stanley while working on his college credits.

Despite two ruptured discs, he returned to the gridiron for his senior season. After stringing together four solid years of college football, the Jaguars expressed interest in Leonard. He signed on as an undrafted free agent with high hopes of making the 53-man roster.

With hard work and talent, he made the team, but during off season training, his back took another blow.

Leonard (left) doubling Vincent D’Onofrio on the set of “Daredevil.” Photo courtesy of Matt Leonard

“For three months, I couldn’t stand up straight,” Leonard said. “I had ruptured another disc, and my back was crooked because it would spasm so much. The team doctor said, ‘I hate to say this because you’re a young man, but you’re never going to play football again. If you keep playing, you’re going to be paralyzed.'”

So, after two season, Leonard called it quits. He dropped from 325 pounds to 280 pounds which provided major relief to his back.

Getting In

Weighing his career options, he  decided to start working in the transportation department for movies. He manned equipment trucks and picture cars.

Meanwhile, his brother, Malosi, was also in the industry. He, too, was a standout athlete who worked as a substitute teacher coming out of college before stepping foot into the movie-making business.

“In no other careers at this point can you still be an athlete,” Leonard said. “I was in the same boat as my brother. I wasn’t done being an athlete yet. My back was feeling great, and I still wanted to compete and use my athletic abilities.”

Malosi was a second-unit coordinator for “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift” and invited his brother, who was helping the crew build cars at the time, to do stunts.

“I kind of got in that way,” Leonard said.

His first stunt performance was on “The Young and the Restless.”

“I showed up and had to take a punch,” he said. “There was about five pages of dialogue for me. I didn’t know how to act at that point, so that was absolutely terrifying having to talk on camera.”

But, one role led to another, and Leonard eventually started getting stunt work consistently.

“Stunts is a long road. My father is one of the greatest in the industry and I have a name, and I was broke for the first three years I was in this industry,” he said. “It’s a very long road and you have to stay with it.”

The Stunt-dad

If you’re wondering whether Leonard’s time as a professional athlete is a huge asset to his current career, the answer is a resounding ‘Yes.’

“Physically, because I got to train my whole life, in any situation, I can get knocked to the ground and my body will just automatically adjust to not kill itself,” he said. “From a mental aspect, it’s so much easier for me. Many guys will be over in the corner freaking out before a stunt, trying to psyche themselves up because they’ve never been in a situation where there’s adrenaline pumping and their mind has to stay together. It’s the opposite for me, being a former athlete, and being in front of 100,000 people screaming at you. This is nothing. What I’m doing today, this doesn’t even register as far as pressure goes.”

Leonard on the “Fantastic Four” set. Photo courtesy of Matt Leonard

As for his time at Stanford? That’s a major benefit in the industry, too.

“The most important thing to make a good stuntman is intelligence,” Leonard said. “If you’re not smart, you’re going to get somebody else killed; not just yourself.”

In hindsight, losing football was probably the best thing that ever happened to Leonard. Sure, he found an alternative outlet for his athletic abilities, and connected with his family’s line of work, but ultimately, his new path led to the most important thing — starting his own family.

He met his wife, Sabrina, also a stunt performer, and together, they have two sons.

“I do see this as a lifelong career. I love it,” Leonard said. “It’s so much fun and the best part about it is there’s zero monotony. But, my number one priority is my family and it will always be that way.”

And that is music to his dad’s ears.