From Heritagefest to The Enterprise
NU native Tim Werner brings \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"The Thorn\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" to the Orpheum
Tim Werner dressed as Captain Picard sits in the captain's chair on the set of the Enterprise. Photo courtesy of Tim Werner
Poster for Tim Werner's current project "The Thorn." Photo courtesy of Tim Werner
Patrick Stewart (Left) poses with his stunt double Tim Werner (Right). Photo courtesy of Tim Werner
Tim Werner dressed as Captain Picard sits in the captain's chair on the set of the Enterprise. Photo courtesy of Tim Werner
Poster for Tim Werner's current project "The Thorn." Photo courtesy of Tim Werner
Patrick Stewart (Left) poses with his stunt double Tim Werner (Right). Photo courtesy of Tim Werner
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New Ulm native Tim "Storms" Werner is returning to Minnesota as the Stunt Coordinator for “The Thorn” which is playing at the Orpheum Theatre on October 2 and 3.
"The easiest way to describe it is ‘Cirque du Soleil’ meets ‘The Passion of the Christ,’" Werner said. "It's not like anything I've ever seen. It's a very energetic, epic-scale show."
Werner got his start as a local performer in his troupe "The Oddballs."
"Throughout high school my partner Doug Hughes and I had a troupe called 'The Oddballs,'" he said. "We would juggle, do acrobatics, unicycle and do circus things that was an easy access into stunts," Werner said.
Werner became accustomed to performing thanks to opportunities he had participating in New Ulm events such as Heritagefest and the Brown County fair.
"We were lucky enough to be around when Heritagefest brought in a bunch of specialty acts, people that we became friends with and mentored us," Werner said. "I was taught a lot of skills without even leaving town and got to be exposed to a lot of really neat skill-sets that I never would have imagined."
In addition to his time performing with "The Oddballs," Werner's involvement in gymnastics, martial arts, and theatre with the Pioneer Players, now known as the State Street Theatre Co., prepared him for his future as a stunt double.
"It made it really easy for me to fall down and not hurt myself or have reactions," Werner said.
He continued his involvement with local theatre after graduating from Mankato State University, where Werner got a degree in Classical and Musical Theatre.
"I directed plays at New Ulm High School after I graduated from college," he said.
These were some of his fondest memories because his family was involved.
"My Dad (Otto Werner) would do all the lighting and all the sound. My mom (Rosie Werner) would do all the costuming and the set painting," Werner said. "I really cherish those memories of being able to work with my family on very fun things."
Werner would also bring his family on stage during Heritagefest to be part of his act.
"That was always the way my family worked," he said.
After his time in New Ulm, Werner moved to Los Angeles where he began doing stuntwork and coordination.
"Taking falls and knowing how to control my body, I turned that into a professional career," Werner said.
One of Werner's favorite moments was when he got to train the actors in "The Matrix” for their stunts.
During this time he also got into teaching wire work, which is Werner's specialty.
"It's very mechanically oriented like gymnastics, so it was very familiar for me," Werner said.
His involvement in action films didn't stop there.
"On 'Spiderman 2' I played a doctor and got to do all my own stunts," Werner said.
He has also been the stunt double for Patrick Stewart the past decade.
"I get to be both Captain Picard and Professor X," Werner said.
Fun as it may sound, the job takes a toll on the body.
"It's a lot less glamorous than people think," Werner said. "You get hurt. I've gotten hurt. It's a lot more physical than people imagine on a daily basis."
Stuntwork requires constant effort to stay in shape and recover from injuries.
"We don't just walk on a set like you see in “The Fall Guy,” they glamorize things," Werner said. "For every minute that we get to be on a movie set, we're training for ten hours on those particular skills."
Another factor is the instability of the job.
"We're going from job to job, nothing is guaranteed. Every new movie that I do I'm looking for another job after that," he said.
Despite the struggles, Werner is incredibly thankful for what he does.
"I've been really blessed to have a lot of projects come my way."
For Werner, “The Thorn” is a culmination of his career.
"I get to put together a lot of skills that I've used both in films and live stage for fighting and people on wires, all of it comes together in this which is really neat," he said.