Episodes

Originally from New Orleans, Andy Young is a Film & TV editor based in Los Angeles who specializes in comedy. He has experience in both animation & live-action projects working for studios like Warner Bros, Netflix, and HBO. His work has premiered at major film festivals like SXSW, won Webby Awards, and earned +850 million views online. As a writer for Moviemaker Magazine, Andy has interviewed such filmmakers as The Duplass Brothers, Richard Linklater, Edgar Wright, Frank Oz, James Gunn, Joseph ...

Steve and Paul sit down with Cinder Chou (Writer/Director) and Kerry Lacy (actor) about their feature film Artist Unknown. Cinder Chou is a Taiwanese American writer, director, and producer originally from the oft-maligned state of New Jersey and currently resides in Brooklyn. An early love for comic books turned into a passion for visual storytelling. Her work explores themes of otherness through a comedic and surreal style. Cinder’s early career as a production coordinator (The Big Sick, Jack...

Jasper Joyner is a Michigan-born stunt performer who has shared the screen with action legends such as Scott Atkins and Ray Park. Since 2014, Jasper has been Michael Jai White’s stunt double, working on such productions as Accident Man (2018), Never Back Down: No Surrender (2016), As Good As Dead (2022), The Commando (2022), Falcon Rising (2014), Chain of Command (2015), and more. Jasper, Paul, and Steve break down some of his most epic fight scenes, delve into some of the challenges of working ...

Our first Star Trek episode! Sonequa Martin-Green's fight double Sherry Rene, beams up to the Fights With Friends studio to chat with us redshirts! Our interview with Sherry Rene begins with a breakdown of the ‘Burnham vs Burnham’ fight from season 5, episode 4 of Star Trek Discovery. Star Trek has a long history of characters having to face themselves on different timelines and parallel universes when faced with mimicking entities and other anomalies of space and time. Michael Burnham, captain...

Steve and Paul share stories from their lives as stunt performers and discuss some insights regarding shooting fights for fun, training and on professional jobs. They dive deep into the development of the ‘Kenton vs Anton’ fight from Season 1, episode 2 of Alex Garland’s DEVS (2020), where Steve stunt doubled Zach Grenier. Beyond simply fight building they talk about training and doubling actors, hustling for work, injuries, rigging and their attempt to shoot a shot-for-shot remake of the epic ‘...

David S. Tuttman is a Cinematographer and Director whose works include The Endgame (Director), Prodigal Son (Director), Damages (Director), The Following (Cinematographer), Blindspot (Director of Photography), Law & Order (Director of Photography) and Wu-Tang: An American Saga (Director of Photography). We begin our discussion with a breakdown of the epic homage to John Woo’s The Killer (1989) in episode 7 of the 2nd season of Wu-Tang: An American Saga. Our discussion then takes us through the i...

American Werewolf in London (1981) and Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001) are two iconic films that have some surprising threads of connective tissue between them and other classic movies. Paul and Steve show their film fanboy sides as they dissect these classics, play six degrees of separation between the films, reveal lesser-known easter eggs, and play with actual props from the film. Grab a beer, sit back, and nerd out! MENTIONS American Werewolf in London trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

Jay Adams is Detroit area stunt performer who has appeared on Ray Donovan, The Outsiders, Banshee and many more productions. In 2014, after a serious injury, he left his career as a professional wrestler and moved into the film industry. Our discussion begins with an epic fight on the Dream On episode of Ray Donovan (S6 Ep9) and progresses into his career, making it in the stunt business, challenges of working in film and some future productions we will see him in! Jay R Adams (Stunt Performer)...

Doc Duhame is a stunt performer, actor, and stunt coordinator of seasons 6 & 7 of Ray Donovan and the Ray Donovan Movie. Our discussion begins with a deep dive into coordinating fights on Ray Donovan and branches off into discussing the industry and his long career. Originally from Long Island, New York, Doc moved to Los Angeles in 1979 to pursue a career in Television and Film. Three months later he was performing stunts at the Western Stunt Show at Universal Studios and being ushered into the ...

Hugh Fitzgerald is a Los Angeles-based actor, writer, BJJ Black Belt, and fight trainer at the legendary 87 Eleven Action Design and 87 North. Nearly 20 years ago, a struggling New York-based theater actor, Hugh, had a chance meeting with David Mamet that would literally change his life. That meeting opened doors he never could have imagined and paved the way for a transformative career in the film industry. His foray into this world was Mamet’s love story to BJJ and the Martial Arts—Redbelt—whi...

Calvin Ahn is a New York-based actor and stunt performer who has appeared in Fallout, Wu-Tang: An American Saga, Lovecraft Country, The Defenders, John Wick Chapter 2, and in one of the most noted shows in the martial arts space, Cobra Kai – as Chozen’s stunt double for the epic re-match with Daniel LaRusso! We begin this episode of Fights With Friends by breaking down this fight scene with Calvin and springboarding into a fascinating discussion about stunts, his career, and his life as a perfor...

In this episode of Fights with Friends, Paul and Steve take a deep dive into writing action with Joshua Todd James. Joshua is a screenwriter, playwright, novelist, lifelong martial artist, and BJJ Black Belt behind JCVD’s Pound of Flesh (2015) and the upcoming Hulu feature Take Cover (2024), starring Scott Atkins. Our discussion begins with a breakdown of the bible fight from Pound of Flesh and springboards into Joshua’s career, the writing process, the importance of story and authenticity when ...

Steve and Paul are joined by Becca GT, a professional stunt performer who has doubled Natasha Lyonne on Orange is the New Black, Russian Doll, and most recently, Poker Face. This episode centers on the epic retirement home fight from Season 1, Episode 5 Poker Face, and takes a deep dive into Becca’s career beginning 20 years ago driving at the legendary Chitwood traveling thrill show. GUEST Becca GT (Stunt Double) – Poker Face, Episode 105 ‘Time of the Monkey’ IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/n...

Lifelong martial artists, stunt performers, and filmmakers Paul Varacchi and Stephen Koepfer introduce themselves and give a taste of what’s in store on their new podcast, ‘Fights With Friends’ – premiering soon with a 26 bi-weekly episode season! Choke Artist: https://vimeo.com/94755803 Choke Artist Behind the Fight: https://youtu.be/UoszFNvwxJI?si=9-DJms28LFcMbyTv NY Mixed Martial Arts Documentary: https://vimeo.com/213540327 E-mail us at fightingwithfriends@gmail.com FIGHTS WITH FRIENDS Pat...