Sondra Hernandez Staff writer August 24, 2024

A 2009 Willis High School grad who discovered his love for acting on Montgomery County stages is now a part of a popular Netflix reboot this summer. 

Tyler Tackett served as a stunt double for the actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt who plays Detective Bobby Abbott in Netflix’s “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F” released July 3. Tackett’s work is featured in some of the crash and fall scenes in the film. 

The movie is the fourth installment in the “Beverly Hills Cop” film series that dates back to 1984. The series stars Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley, with Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Paul Reiser and Bronson Pinchot.

Tackett, 33, has lived in Los Angeles for the past 13 years working as an actor, writer, stunt man and stunt coordinator. 

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Early inspiration

Tackett’s path to Hollywood began to take root in Montgomery County when he was a toddler. His mom, Jennifer Scott, said he loved all kinds of movies and would act out the scenes for family members. 

“He had movies he liked and watched them over and over and over again,” she said. “He could memorize every line. You could just tell that this was going to be his thing.” 

Tackett grew up in the Willis and Conroe areas playing sports, participating in martial arts, watching as many movies as he could and spending time with his family and friends. He is especially close to his grandparents. 

An injury in high school football led him to pursue other electives and he explored Willis high’s theater program then led by Davey Vela, who taught in Willis ISD for 37 years. 

“Being in theater was as close to being in movies as I could be,” Tackett said. 

California dreaming 

Tackett spent a big part of his senior year at Willis High working on an independent zombie movie filmed in Montgomery County. He said it never came out but it got him into the Texas circuit of independent films. 

At age 20, with encouragement from his best friend Carme Pitrello who was already living in Los Angeles, Tackett loaded up his Chevy Cobalt and drove to California. 

“Being that young and coming from a small town, to have the guts and the drive and the confidence in yourself, not knowing what’s going to happen, that child did it and I am so extremely proud of the man he has become,” Scott said. 

‘Fight and fall down guy’

Tackett said he got into the stunt community when he landed a role for a live-action adaptation of “Dragon Ball Z.”

Because of the action-heavy nature, all who had been cast were stunt performers except him. Producers were going to get a stunt double for him, but he instead decided to train to be a stunt performer. 

“Somewhere along the way I became the fight and fall down guy,” he said. Most of his stunts have been fights and fight choreography. 

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Working on ‘Beverly Hills Cop’

“Beverly Hills Cop” features Tackett’s first car crash work. He had the stunt resumé and his physical features fit similarities to Gordon-Levitt. 

In the scene, Eddie Murphy’s character is driving on Rodeo Drive and a flower van filled with cartel members pulls up next to him. Abbott, played by Gordon-Levitt, is following behind Murphy and pulls around and crashes into the van. In reality it was Tackett driving the car. 

“It was surreal. We were on Rodeo Drive and as soon as they called action, I had to hit the pedal straight to the floor swerve out and t-bone the flower truck. I wasn’t going super fast, but what was dangerous and sketchy about it is there was another stunt performer from the van who falls on the hood of the car,” he said. Tackett said he had to hit the same exact spot every time to avoid injuring the other performer.  

He’s also in a scene where Murphy, Reinhold and Gordon-Levitt are driving a stolen box truck around town and the truck crashes. 

He was able to spend time with the actors on set and called Gordon-Levitt a solid, stand-up professional. “He’s a real salt of the earth type of guy,” Tackett said. 

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