Eric Oram

Eric Anthony Oram (born October 13, 1968) is an American Wing Chun Kung Fu practitioner and fight choreographer who introduced a new way of filming fight scenes in the film Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows in which the actors fought with real strikes and attacks, which were then featured in slow motion at 500 frames per second in the final movie.[4] He has trained well known actors in Wing Chun such as Christian Bale[1][5] for Batman Begins,[2] Jake Gyllenhaal,[2] and in particular Robert Downey Jr. in Iron Man and Sherlock Holmes as his personal on-set consultant in numerous movies.[6] Oram has been credited for training Downey in Kung Fu since 2003[7] as a way to beat his drug addictions.[8] He wrote a moving letter to judge and California Governor Jerry Brown in support of Downey's pardon.[3]

Eric Oram
BornEric Anthony Oram
(1968-10-13) October 13, 1968
Las Vegas, Nevada
ResidenceSanta Monica, California
StyleTraditional Wing Chun (TWC) Kung Fu
Teacher(s)William Cheung
RankMaster
SpousePeggy Croghan
Notable studentsChristian Bale,[1][2] Jake Gyllenhaal,[2] Robert Downey Jr.[3]

Background
Eric Oram with his student Robert Downey Jr. with his Master William Cheung 2005.

Oram is one of the leading authorities on Wing Chun[9] kung fu. In 1980 his father Richard sent him to train under William Cheung,[10] the grandmaster of the Traditional Wing Chun lineage, who is a disciple of Ip Man.[11] He started teaching at the age of 16, and over the last 25 years he taught Wing Chun to law enforcement, professional athletes, celebrities, and the general public. He has been a fight choreographer and stuntman for major Hollywood movies for Warner Bros. Pictures and Marvel Studios.

Oram has written numerous articles, and has been featured in, Wing Chun Illustrated, American Health and Fitness, Black Belt Magazine, Inside Kung Fu Magazine, the Los Angeles Times, Men's Journal, Sports Illustrated, and Vanity Fair.[12]

He has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show[13] alongside student Robert Downey Jr., whom he has been training since 2003.[14] Oram has been instrumental[15] in helping Downey[16] overcome his drug addictions[3] through Kung Fu training, He then became Downey's personal fight consultant on over a dozen films.[6] Oram has stated in multiple interviews that the most dedicated student he has ever trained is Downey.[17]

Oram also trained Christian Bale[18] in preparation for the Batman Begins trilogy,[11] for which The Dark Knight won the 15th Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture in 2008.

Career highlights

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

The fight choreography for Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows was different from how it was traditionally done for other movies, and was met with resistance from the production side of the film. The production team felt the fighting was too fast and direct, and they could not see what was being filmed. When the footage was played at 500 frames per second, it was realised that instead of making the movements larger, they could do the opposite. The stuntman was throwing real punches at Downey and he was defending himself, which worked well on film due to the slow motion scenes in the final cut.[4]

Oram was featured in a video from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment's Stunt Schooled series, which went over a sequence that Holmes used in the film. A fan was chosen to learn the Wing Chun moves which Holmes used to take down assailants in a reenactment.[19]

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare

Oram worked with a team of 17 motion capture actors and stunt performers[20] in the video game Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, released in 2014 The game received multiple awards and nominations.[21]

Captain America: Civil War

Oram coordinated the combat scenes between Iron Man and Captain America in the movie Captain America: Civil War, in which Iron Man and Captain America enter into a conflict philosophically and physically. The fighting strategy Oram adopted for Iron Man was of "minimum force" necessary to win the fight. His goal was to make it look like Iron Man was not trying to kill or be overcome with anger, which would lead to a lack of control.[22][23] The movie was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture

Filmography
Year Title Role Type
1999-2000 Kiss Toledo Goodbye Actor TV show[24]
2009 Sherlock Holmes Fight consultant Movie[24]
2010 Iron Man 2 Fight consultant Movie[24]
2011 Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows Fight consultant Movie[24]
2013 House of Lies Actor TV show[24]
2013 Iron Man 3 Fight choreographer (stunts), Reluctant AIM Guard (actor) Movie[24]
2014 Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Motion capture actor and stunt performer Video Game[20]
2015 Chloe & Theo Sancho (actor) Movie[24]
2015 Avengers: Age of Ultron Fight choreographer (for Robert Downey Jr.; stunts) Movie[24]
2016 Captain America: Civil War Fight choreographer (for Robert Downey Jr.; stunts) Movie[24]
2016 Warner Bros: Stunt Schooled Actor Series[19]

Books
  • Oram, Eric (2011). Modern Wing Chun Kung Fu: A Guide to Practical Combat and Self-Defense. Black Belt Communications, Incorporated. ISBN 9780897502030[12]
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References
  1. Goldsmith, Brian (6 April 2012). "50 Celebrities Who Train a Form of Martial Arts". Bleacher Report (online). Bleacher Report. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  2. Steinberg, Don (25 November 2011). "Hollywood's New Kick". The Wall Street Journal (online). Copyright ©2017 Dow Jones & Company. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  3. "ROBERT DOWNEY JR. Martial Arts Master Says KUNG FU A KEY TO SOBRIETY". TMZ (online). © 2016 EHM PRODUCTIONS, INC. HPMG NEWS. 25 December 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  4. Lilleor, Eric (2012). "Eric Oram The Man Behind The Iron Mask". Wing Chun Illustrated (Print Issue No. 6, 2012). Mui Fa Publishing Ltd. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
  5. "THE ULTIMATE LIST: CELEBRITY BLACK BELTS & MARTIAL ARTISTS". martialartsactionmovies.com. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  6. King, Garry (30 September 2016). "Celebrity Martial Artists – Kung Fu Edition". Last Fighter Standing (Online). Last Fighter Standing. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
  7. Kurchak, Sarah (8 February 2016). "How Wing Chun helped Robert Downey Jr. battle addiction". Fightland Vice media (online). Vice Media Inc. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  8. Priyadarshi, Mohit (25 December 2015). "ROBERT DOWNEY JR. BEAT DRUG ADDICTION WITH KUNG FU". The Inquisitr News (online). THE INQUISITR NEWS. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  9. Maddison, Paddy (1 March 2017). "How Robert Downey Jr Stopped Taking Drugs and Started Kicking Ass". The Lad Bible (Online). TheLADbible Group Ltd 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  10. Oram, Eric (May 2010). "Critical distance". Black Belt Magazine (Print Issue cover story). Active Interest Media. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  11. "Kung Fu Masters and Celebrity Students". Gamer Guide to Kung Fu (Online). Mark Media Corp. 24 June 2015. Archived from the original on 8 January 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  12. Oram, Eric (1 December 2011). Modern Wing Chun Kung Fu: A Guide to Practical Combat and Self-Defense. Google Books. Black Belt Communications Inc. ISBN 9780897502030. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
  13. Oprah, Winfrey. "The Comeback Kid". oprah.com. HARPO PRODUCTIONS, INC. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  14. Dehority, Sam (August 2012). "HOLMES IMPROVEMENT". Men's Fitness Magazine (online and print). Odysseus Publishing. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  15. Palmquist, Chris (30 December 2015). "Downey attributes Wing Chun training for overcoming drug addiction". Official MMA Database (Online). the Mixed Martial Arts llc. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
  16. Rodrick, Stephen (17 October 2012). "Robert Downey Jr.'s Cosmic Punishment". Men's journal (online). Men's Journal. Archived from the original on 30 June 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  17. Barna, Maxwell (2015). "8 Celebrities You Didn't Know Could Kick Your Ass". Cool Material (Online). DARTBOARD MEDIA, LLC. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
  18. Thomas, Melissa (1 April 2016). "Kicking A** Off Screen: 16 Actors You (Probably) Didn't Know Trained In Martial Arts". Movie Pilot (Online). Creators Media, Inc. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
  19. Stephenson, K.L. (12 October 2016). "Sherlock Holmes' wing chun stunts reenacted by fan". Official MMA Database (Online). the Mixed Martial Arts llc. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  20. "Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Credits" (PDF). callofduty. Crye Precision. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  21. "Best Graphics - Technology". au.ign.com. Ziff Davis. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  22. Burlingame, Russ (10 March 2015). "Robert Downey Jr.'s Fight Coordinator Eric Oram On The Unique Challenges of Captain America: Civil War". ComicBook.com (online). Copyright 2015-2016 ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on 21 June 2017. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  23. "Captain America Civil War Red carpet London Premiere". London film premieres (online). 10 March 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  24. "Eric Oram Filmography". Hollywood.com. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
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