DEAN DELANEY: ONE MAN AND HIS DOG

kindly reprinted with permission from Starz In Their Eyez magazine

Dean always knew he wanted to be a stuntman. "As a tiny baby I used to jump out of my cot and roll across the floor, just to scare my parents," he recalls. "I can see my Mom & Dad's faces now - a strange mixture of fear, and relief, and pride, and, of course anger. The thrill of those early experiences has never left me."

Anger played a big part in Dean's early childhood. He doesn't refer to his natural parents much - he has done his best to wipe them out of his life, changing his name by deed poll at the age of 18, and blocking all attempts made to reunite him and them.

"Too much was said. And done, " says Dean. "Too many harsh words. Too many harsh deeds. There are some things you can never forgive."

Delaney refers obliquely to a difficult and unhappy childhood; the original 9-stone weakling, he was bullied mercilessly by his classmates, the abuse meted out at school matching that he faced at home. In desperation, he sent off for a home workout kit, bulked up "almost overnight - but it was a lot of work" and the rest, as we know, is celluloid history. These days his physique is in hot demand, particularly in those sorts of movies when it's not what you say that matters, it's what you do. What you do with guns. With sharks. With rabid tigers. With 1000 tonnes of Semtex. With a runaway juggernaut careening along at 80mph through a city street. With a fast-ticking nuclear warhead.

Though you will be familiar with Dean's body, you may not be so familiar with his face. For now. He has spent the last five years acting as stunt double for the top names in the biz. As Dean puts it "a lot of those actors can't even get down the steps of their trailer without tripping. They need someone with lightning reflexes and muscles of iron to make them look good onscreen. And that's me." However, Dean and his management company, Exploding Guys Ltd, have decided that it's time for him to get his share of the limelight. For the first time he will be putting a face to THAT body, and playing a have-a-go-hero who saves the day. He hopes this will catapult him to international stardom. "If Steve [Seagal] can do it, so can I."

As we go to meet him on the set of "Repulse Revenge", the tale of a homicidal maniac who holds an entire beach full of swimmers and sunbathers to hostage one Sunday afternoon, he is calm and relaxed, despite spending his morning being doused in petrol, set alight, and hurled from a helicopter into the sea. He has an hour's break before being rammed into the business end of an underground cannon, and shot upwards through ten feet of sand, appearing at the surprised feet of the homicidal killer as part of the film's all action, hi-octane climax. Sounds tough? It's all in a day's work for our Dean. "Either you can do it or you can't. And I can. I've got a special, God-given gift for this sort of thing. It's easy for me, as natural as holding a little baby. It would be hard for you, I can see that, so you think it's difficult. Whereas, for me, it's easy. But I couldn't do what you do. I can't write newspaper stories. For me, this is easy, that's hard, so I do this. I can't see myself doing anything else. Except maybe running a restaurant."

Whilst he may find his stunts easy, Dean has found his personal life very difficult over recent months. His much publicised split with singer/model/actress Bathsheba Deneuve generated a lot of tabloid column inches. It all began when a paparazzi photographer captured the pair's fisticuffs in Felix's. The picture made front pages across the territory. "I didn't break her nose" maintains Dean. "That photo was faked, I swear. The blood on her face and dress was from where she had fallen over earlier. Drunk. She blamed me, of course she did. She always did." Dean claims to have no memory whatsoever of the ensuing high speed chase back to Robinson Road, where he allegedly pursued Deneuve back to her apartment, battered down the door, and dangled her out of the window by her ankles for 45 minutes until the police managed to calm him down. "It's just a blur," he says." One long, blurry blur. I was tired, I was an emotional and spiritual wreck. I was not in touch with any aspect of my selfhood. I was not responsible for my actions - no man should be after that what that woman did. But I can't talk about it now. I am the subject of a court order. Besides, all that negativity and malevolence is behind me now. I don't want to talk about it. It interferes with the freeflow of my chakras. The future is bright. The future is mine. The future is bright. The future is mine."

With this, Dean lapses into a meditational trance for a few minutes ("I'm a deeply spiritual man") which is only broken when Porky the Pitbull bounds up the beach and sinks his teeth into our photographer's leg. Dean's eyes light up at the sight of his beloved pet, and man and dog indulge in a spot of playful wrestling in the sand. The bond of affection between the two is obviously deep and long-lasting. When Delaney's attention finally returns to us, he explains why. "Porky is the one solid relationship I have in my life right now. Perhaps it's the only solid relationship I have had, will ever have. It may sound strange, but Porky has taught me how to love. He's the most loyal, true, unquestioning companion a guy could have. He's utterly honest. He doesn't lie to me. He doesn't disappear for hours on end with no explanation as to his whereabouts. He doesn't read my private diary. He doesn't tap my phone. He doesn't hire a private detective to follow me day & night. He is never ever going to hire a lawyer. He loves me. And I love him. It's as simple as that. Without Porky my life wouldn't be worth living."

Dean buries his face in Porky's rough fur, but not before we see the tears welling up in his eyes. "Life is hard," he continues. "But Porky makes it that bit easier for me."

A runner arrives. "Mr Delaney, they're ready for you now." Tenderly, Dean releases Porky, and stands up.

"Gotta go," he says. "Be seeing you."

With that, he strides away across the beach, Porky at his heels, towards the waiting cannon that will fire him upwards on a vertical trajectory. Let's hope this new movie provides a similar launching pad for what, pundits say, is going to be a stellar career.

Repulse Revenge will be released in December. See press for details.