Zoë Bell is a New Zealand stuntwoman and actress, born on November 17, 1978, in Waiheke Island, New Zealand. She gained prominence for her work as a stunt double for actresses such as Lucy Lawless (Xena: Warrior Princess) and Uma Thurman (Kill Bill). Bell is known for her expertise in martial arts and wire work.
In addition to her stunt work, Zoë Bell has transitioned into acting and has appeared in various films. She notably played herself in the Quentin Tarantino film “Death Proof” (2007), where she also performed her own stunts. She has continued to work in both the stunt and acting fields, earning recognition for her contributions to the film industry.
Zoe Bell Quotes
1. “I’m a poster child for feminism whether I like it or not, but I was resistant to the part of me that was a woman.”
— Zoe Bell
2. “Feeling fear is a good sign that your survival instincts are intact. You need to appreciate the dangers to stay safe.”
— Zoe Bell
3. “Actually my relationships with my girlfriends have become that much deeper and more profound, because I’m like, huh, yeah, I don’t have to judge you, or you judge me. It was a lot of – I didn’t want to be that crazy girlfriend.”
— Zoe Bell
4. “Being a stunt girl is very much my comfort zone, so I had to remove the comfort zone to step fully into the slightly scarier zone. Also, just being perceived as an actor by the outside world, rather than as the stunt girl who does dialogue, has been a part of the challenge in front of me.”
— Zoe Bell
5. “Whatever my job description consists of, becomes my job. Maybe it’s just the way I tackle work, in general.”
— Zoe Bell
6. “What really sells a fight, and any kind of action, is the performance of it. If someone is uncomfortable or uncertain about doing action because they’re too concerned about their safety or about being right, it pulls them out of being that character, in that situation.”
— Zoe Bell
7. “I like the debate, but I don’t really like the fight. I don’t like being in the ring. I’m not competitive.”
— Zoe Bell
8. “I think because I am a physical person, and because my way of expressing and performing and storytelling or explaining has always been with my body, if I can combine the two I find it really liberating.”
— Zoe Bell
9. “In my career as a double, a lot of my job is to not just do the fights to make them look cool, but also to appear as the same person as the actor I am playing.”
— Zoe Bell
10. “I love acting. And if there’s a niche that needs filling, I’m happy to get in there and try to fill it.”
— Zoe Bell
11. “I’m certainly not on a mission to be taken seriously as a dramatic actress, any more than I am just to be able to get roles that are exciting and satisfying to me. If that means action, then that means action.”
— Zoe Bell
12. “I would find it more difficult if somebody else was doing the action.”
— Zoe Bell
13. “I had to paint the picture that I was never scared, otherwise I couldn’t do my job. But now, as an actor, I’m literally paid to look emotionally accessible.”
— Zoe Bell
14. “Having been a stunt girl for so long, a big part of my job was to not just make the other person look as cool as they could, but also to act as a support. My job was to make them as safe as they could be, so that they could be as explosive and as emotionally engaged as they could be.”
— Zoe Bell
15. “When being a stunt double, my job has always a supportive role, which is interesting, really. Part of what I really like about it is making a situation where people can just come out of their shell and be super bad-ass. That’s exciting!”
— Zoe Bell
16. “The thing that I come across is that people think that I might actually be super aggressive, want-to-fight type in real life. The irony is that that’s just not true, at all.”
— Zoe Bell
17. “I’ve always appreciated great acting performances, but I’ve even learned to appreciate not so great ones ’cause it’s hard.”
— Zoe Bell
18. “The physical element of a role is something I’m super familiar with, and I love it. I’ve definitely made the transition into acting over doubling, just because I needed to make it clear to myself, so that I fully committed.”
— Zoe Bell
19. “I love the idea of doing comedy, whether it’s action comedy or just straight comedy. It’s such a big, new world for me that I’m starting to realize that any character that I relate to, in any way, shape or form, or that I have any appreciation for, given enough preparation, I can find that person.”
— Zoe Bell
20. “There is an art to acting, and there are techniques that are acquired. You can be as emotional as you’d like, as a person, but figuring out ways that you can bring specific emotions at specific times and have them be true, and relating to someone as someone that they’re not, is a lot.”
— Zoe Bell
21. “My job has always been to not only make my character look like a badass but to also make the actor I am fighting opposite to be the character they need to be too.”
— Zoe Bell
22. “When my physicality is involved, it’s kind of my comfort zone, so I find it much easier to access emotions.”
— Zoe Bell
23. “I’m completely at ease on a set. I’m pretty comfortable most places, but hitting the mark and knowing set etiquette and understanding cameras and lenses are second nature. It’s a language I’ve spoken for years.”
— Zoe Bell
