Don Lee has spent his career behind the scenes of moments most audiences experience as entertainment: fights, falls, explosions, fire, and controlled chaos. But behind every dangerous sequence is a deeper responsibility. Someone has to protect the people bringing that action to life.
In this episode of Why I Left, Brian Aquart sits down with Don, a stunt coordinator, fight coordinator, second unit director, and action designer whose work includes Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Transformers: Age of Extinction, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Cobra Kai, and Tulsa King. Don talks about how he fell into stunt work through martial arts, why he chose to shift from performer to coordinator, and what it cost him to start learning leadership earlier than most.
The conversation moves beyond film credits. Don reflects on ego, money, safety, team trust, visibility, and the communication required when people’s lives are on the line. He also shares how a nine-month project in India changed the way he approached leadership, slowing him down and helping him become more human in a business built on pressure.
This is a conversation about the quiet transitions that matter most. Sometimes leaving is not about walking away from the work. Sometimes it is about leaving behind the version of yourself that can no longer carry the responsibility ahead.
Enjoy!
Stay connected with Don Lee
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_L._Lee_(action_director)
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1405807/
Cobra Kai: https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/interviews/stunt-coordinator-don-lee-interview/
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