R. David "Dave" Smith is an American actor and stunt performer who played the Predator in the 1990 film Predator 2,[1][2] although he was not credited for the role. Other notable films Smith has appeared in include A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001).
The first one-armed Hollywood stuntman, having been born missing his left arm just below the elbow,[2] Smith portrayed the Predator after the creature's arm is sliced off by Harrigan (Danny Glover).[1][2] Aside from his acting work, he is the executive director of the non-profit organization Stunts-Ability.[2] In 1998, Smith was awarded "The Governor's Trophy", the highest honor given to a Californian with a disability, for outstanding achievement in the workplace by making a significant contribution to increase public awareness of the experience of disability, automatically inducting into the California Hall of Fame for Persons with Disabilities. Smith has also been honored with a "Cable Ace Award", "The A&E City Video Award" and two Emmy nominations for his work as the executive producer of Outlook on the Physically Challenged.[2]
Work
Predator 2
In Predator 2, Smith, who was living in San Diego at the time,[1] portrayed the Predator as it slid down the 12[2] to 13-story building[1] after Harrigan sliced its arm off with the Predator's disc weapon. During the stunt, which the crew considered "a high-risk situation", Smith did not use an airbag and the only thing keeping him from crashing to the ground was a device called a descender rig, which consisted of a thin wire.[2]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn | |
| 1989 | Fletch Lives | |
| 1990 | Predator 2 | Uncredited |
| 1991 | Showdown in Little Tokyo | With Jim Ishida |
| 1994 | T-Force | |
| 1997 | Mars | |
| 2001 | A.I. Artificial Intelligence |
Gallery
![David Smith in the Predator costume.[2]](/avp/wiki/File:David_Smith_in_Predator_costume.jpg "David Smith in Predator costume.jpg (10 KB)")