Growing a successful Hollywood career while bolstering Edmonton’s stunt community
Age: 31
Job Title: Stunt Performer and Co-founder of The Stunt Garage
Martin Cochingco has been shot with arrows, caught in a sword fight and even had his head blown off. It’s all in a day’s work for the stunt performer, whose credits include Deadpool & Wolverine and the television series Shogun. His work on Shogun — which involved a demanding ratchet stunt using a pneumatic device that launches performers into a flip — earned him an Emmy for Outstanding Stunt Performance last year. “It was cold and muddy, and I had to do it more than 10 times,” he says, “but looking back, it was so fun and worth it.”
Cochingco started as a dancer and acrobat, competing internationally in live shows before ever stepping onto a film set. A chance connection led him to attend a stunt workshop, and from there, he began piecing together a path in a notoriously difficult-to-break-into industry. “At the start, people told me I couldn’t do it, especially being from Edmonton. That doubt pushed me, and it made every step forward mean even more.”
He’s now found purpose in mentoring the next generation of performers, opening doors that felt shut when he was starting out. At the Stunt Garage, the training facility he co-founded in Edmonton, Cochingco works with stunt professionals and crew, building skills and confidence that can carry them into the industry. Many of his facility’s members have since found work on Hollywood sets (including Shogun) or in motion capture, where performers’ movements are digitally recorded to animate computer-generated characters in films and video games. “Success for me is seeing them thrive,” he says.
Cochingco stays rooted in community, sharing Filipino cultural traditions and leading dance residencies in several First Nations communities. These, along with his stunt career, all serve the same purpose: showing what’s possible. “I want people to believe they can make it, too.”
This article appears in the November/December 2025 issue of Edify
