From firefighter to silver screen, Cork man Joe O'Toole gets break as stuntman

As a firefighter, who once battled blazes across Cork City, military enthusiast Joe O’Toole has never been one to shy away from danger.

The 55-year-old retiree has now found another way to channel his fearlessness after performing stunts for Hollywood biopic Jimmy, based on the life of movie star Jimmy Stewart and which is due for release this year.

The Cork man, who now lives in Tipperary, combined his love of collecting and thrill seeking for a big break that had been years in the making. He was one of some 1,000 people involved in the production, which was filmed in West Cork Studios in Skibbereen and surrounding areas. 

The filmmakers initially approached O’Toole after hearing about his collection of Second World War memorabilia. It was a bonus that he got to feature in the movie riding one of his own motorcycles — the former firefighter had experience in stunt work, making him the ideal candidate for the position. He also acted as the project’s vehicle coordinator, sourcing Second World War vehicles from across the country.

“I had the chance to do two motorcycle stunts,” he said. 

“I had to come through a gate, fly through a crossroads, and have a Jeep miss me by inches. This called for good timing and an ability to handle the Indian bike. They asked me to do it because it was my own bike so they knew I would be able to manage it. Chris Wilks did all the rest of the stunts, but it was great to have the chance to ride the bike in the movie.” 

O’Toole said he knew it would be a worthy project, given its focus on Stewart’s time as a bomber pilot during the war. “Before that, I believed that Jimmy Stewart was just an actor. After seeing the script, I realised he had this magnificent career, having flown 25 missions over Germany. He saw horrific combat and suffered for many years before PTSD was even recognised. This wasn’t just a guy I had seen in a couple of films — he was a true hero.” 

Of the actors involved, O'Toole said: “KJ Apa must have had about five or six people touching up his hair and make-up and putting blankets around him, but he’d still come down to us at night to enjoy the quiet and a bit of craic. He was a really lovely guy. 

"Neal McDonough was the same and remembered the name of every single person on set. There was a bit of hero worship there as I had loved him in Band of Brothers. They say you should never meet your heroes, but luckily he didn’t disappoint. In fact, he was one of the nicest guys you could ever meet.”

O’Toole has been amassing his collection for a number of years. It includes everything from four-wheel-drive military vehicles known as Willys Jeeps to Dodge Command Cars and a BSA M20, an iconic motorcycle used by the British armed forces.

“Most of them are originals, bar the one or two replicas made up to look like the real thing. This is so they can be driven at speed and you don’t have to risk causing damage to the real deal. The vehicles in my collection are not something you can just go out and buy. We are talking about years of connections and contacts. I’ve sourced a lot of them from Germany, Holland, and Belgium. 

"This was a cheap hobby back in the day but after the release of Saving Private Ryan in 1998 people went crazy for World War II vehicles. The price quadrupled overnight when people realised they had something very valuable. What might have cost five or six Irish thousand pounds in its day is now around €30k. This is despite the fact that these bikes are about 85 years old and there is no special technology in them. Being designed for the military they were bog standard but now they cost as much as a Ducati.” 

O’Toole said that owning vintage military vehicles had been a boyhood dream. “I’ve been collecting since the late eighties. As a young fella I was obsessed with Steve McQueen and The Great Escape so I had always wanted a green army bike. I grew up with the Commando comics which also influenced my passion. 

"If someone had told me back then I would be doing what I am today, I wouldn’t have believed them. It was a stunt co-ordinator friend in the UK who got me into the stunts later in life.” 

O’Toole pulled out all the stops to source as many vehicles as possible for the movie. "My involvement was much bigger than I had anticipated as I ended up hiring in about 23 vehicles for the show. Mostly, they wanted all the American stuff because it’s set in England and the US. Normally, I do a lot of German stuff so I have a good few motorbikes, sidecars Jeeps, trucks, uniforms, weapons for film and TV work. 

"This was a curveball for me because a lot of stuff I’m known for in the business is World War II related. This was an American film so I had to hire in a lot of stuff from Northern Ireland and England. I had good connections for the military stuff but when you are shopping outside your area of expertise, it can be challenging. 

"They wanted American cars and left-hand American drives from the forties which was a tall order as this was just four weeks before production started filming. Normally, you have six months to get it all together, so the hardest part for me was coming up with all these American civilian cars. I covered hundreds of miles trying to source what was needed. I pulled a lot of the stuff from Cork, West Cork, Wexford, and Northern Ireland. There were some local people who helped out too, including John O’Leary from Carrigaline who provided a green sports car and a taxi for a scene set in England.” 

While the film might increase the value of his vehicles, O’Toole has no plans to part with his collection.

“I think it’s terrible to see these vehicles in museums when they could be brought to shows where they bring people so much joy. My hope is that when I’m gone I can leave my collection to someone who has an interest in the vehicles and will keep using them.”