Grant Page dead: Mad Max stuntman dies aged 85 in car accident in Australia

Grant Page, a stuntman who appeared in the Mad Max franchise, has died aged 85 in a car accident. According to Daily Mail Australia, Page was driving alone near his home on the coast of New South Wales in Australia on Thursday (March 14) when he hit a tree.

Paying tribute, his son Leroy Page called his father a "legend". He added: "He died in very high spirits and he was very motivated. He was very happy."

Page was also involved in the production of several notable films such as the sequel to Mad Mex, Furiosa, The Man From Hong Kong, and Mad Dog Morgan. In the movie Roadgames, he portrayed a character known for his lethal tendencies, a role that earned praise from Quentin Tarantino, who regarded it as one of his personal favourites.

Tarantino also commended Page in the documentary Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation!, which centred on Australian cinema.

Page maintained a longstanding collaboration with director Brian Trenchard-Smith, contributing to various projects including The Stuntmen, King Fu Killers, and The Man From Hong Kong. In these films, Page showcased his martial arts skills using props such as knives and cleavers.

Filmmaker Brian Trenchard-Smith posted a tribute to his friend, described as "charismatic", "charming", and "witty". Writing on his website, he said: "Grant Page was Australia’s pioneer stunt performer and my friend for fifty-two years. I will miss him terribly. He was an inspiring man, who lived uncompromisingly... He had courage and daring, tempered by a realistic attitude about the risks of his profession in the era before computer generated stunts.

"As a stunt coordinator and second unit director, he was a charismatic team leader. All those who knew Grant had their spirits lifted by the force of his inimitable personality and “can-do” attitude to the challenges of his work. He was charming, witty and had a forceful intellect. But above all, Grant had a generous life-affirming spirit."

He said Page's work on George Miller’s Mad Max firmly established his international reputation for death-defying images, and showed the world that the fledgling Australian film industry could deliver Hollywood level action and mayhem. In the film, Page hit a caravan with a car.

Trenchard-Smith added: "Such eye-popping stunts were a major contribution to the development of our film industry, and got Australian genre films international respect. Our world will not be the same without him in it."

Page trained with the special forces unit Commandos before starting his film career. It was there that he learned useful skills like rappelling and parachuting, which came in handy on set. His daring acts won him fame, such as "the transfer," in which he swerved between speeding cars with ease, and spectacular cliff dives while engulfed in flames. With more experience under his belt, Page became a stunt coordinator in 2020, working on films such as The Legend of the Five.

Page left behind his four sons - Gulliver, who has been a stuntman on X Men: Origins and Suicide Squad, fellow stunt performer Leroy, Adrian and Jeremy.