One of the most high-stakes stunts in Red Notice involves Dwayne Johnson’s character, John Hartley, running across a wooden bridge perched hundreds of feet above an icy, unforgiving landscape as he and Ryan Reynolds [as Nolan Booth] escape a Siberian prison fortress. As Johnson hits the halfway point to safety, the bridge starts to explode, launching him into the air as an inferno propels shards of debris all around him. At least, that’s what you see on screen. In reality, the man risking being blown to pieces is Tanoai Reed, Johnson’s stunt double of 20 years. Shattered glass, break-neck falls and jumping out of windows — all are just part of the job for Reed, who performs many of the seemingly impossible feats that have turned Johnson into an A-list Hollywood action star. But their relationship isn’t just professional: Reed and Johnson are also cousins, which may explain the resemblance — and their shared love of donuts.

You’ve been working with Dwayne Johnson since The Scorpion King. How did that happen?

I first got into stunts on a movie called Waterworld, with Kevin Costner, back in 1994. Six years later, I ran into some guys who were working on The Scorpion King, and they were looking for a stunt double [for Dwayne Johnson]. They asked me to come into the production office and try the costume on, and the wardrobe fit perfect. So, they asked me if I could start the next day. Literally, right place, right time.

Before that moment, had you ever been told that you looked like The Rock?

I was told it a lot! Before we actually met, I was him for Halloween — about a year before. It was surreal that a year later I’m working with him.

Is it true that you two are cousins?

Yeah, [but] we found out later! I knew we were related somewhere down the line because I have uncles with the same last name. His mom knew my dad — that generation knew each other, but we never met until the set of Scorpion King. A lot of people assume that he was like, “Oh, I have a cousin that looks like me, bring him on.” But I was already doing stunt work before he was in the ring, I think. I started in ’94. He started wrestling in ’96, ’97.

What made you want to work in stunts?

I was playing football at the University of Hawaii, [where] I was on a full scholarship. My dad is a teamster. He was working on Waterworld over summer break, and he asked me if I wanted to make some cash. He got me a job as a laborer, sweeping up after the construction crew who were building the sets. I met the stunt guys who came from Los Angeles, we became friends, and we started hanging out on the weekend and after work, and they decided to throw me a bone. Like, “Yeah, let’s get you in the movie for a scene.” It wasn’t supposed to be the whole movie. [But] when they watched the playback, I was a lot bigger and I stuck out, so, they came back and said, “We can use you for the rest of the movie, for continuity.” I was getting paid to ride jet skis and shoot guns and play. I go, “This is the greatest job ever!” So, I gave up my senior year of college and pursued [a career in] the industry.

Do you ever get injured doing this job?

I have. I’ve been doing this for 26 years, and I’ve been with Dwayne for 20 years. I’ve had several injuries: a broken heel, torn shoulder, fractured ankle, almost lost my arm. It’s part of the job. You try to prevent it, but the element of danger is there, and that’s why we do what we do. Sometimes I come out of a movie unscathed, sometimes I’m just busted up.

As a former wrestler, your cousin has more stunt training than most actors. How much does he do versus what you take on?

We always try to get the actor to do what he can. In the fight scenes, he’ll do all that. But if he gets hurt, we have to put a halt on production. So any crashing, falling, big bumps that he could tweak something on is me. The fight scene, we’ll choreograph it, we’ll show it to him. Because he came from the wrestling world, he’s so good at choreography and remembering moves. He does a lot of his own action. He does a lot more than most people.

What would you say was the most challenging stunt in Red Notice?

There was one where I was hanging from the rooftop and I swung over to a ladder that was against the wall, and I had to kick off the wall, and the ladder pivoted over and then I had to jump off the ladder and onto a bridge. That was like the mousetrap game, but I was the ball. 

What about that huge explosion?

I was on a wire, and they pulled me out of the explosion. We have the special effects guy on a button that ignites the explosion, and at the beginning of the shot, I’m standing over, like, 70 gallons of gasoline in buckets, and all these pieces of wood, like shrapnel, because they want the explosion to send pieces of wood flying. And if he had sneezed and hit the button on accident, you probably only would have found my teeth. There was so much gasoline. It was timed out to when my right foot hit a certain plank on the bridge, then they hit the button. I did it in one take.

Fear is obviously part of the job, but is there anything you won’t do?

I haven’t turned down a stunt yet. If there is something I don’t think I’m ready for, I’ll train myself to get ready for it, so I feel comfortable. I haven’t skydived yet, and there was a scene in one of the movies we did where [Dwayne’s character] jumps out of a plane. We had a professional skydiver do that scene, instead of me. Because even if I was to get certified, it would take forever to be certified as a [stunt] double jumper. Mostly, though, I’ve just trained myself and perfected my craft to the point where if there is a certain stunt I’m doing, I’m ready on the day, confident and that’s it. But fear is important. Fear keeps you aware, it keeps you alive.

You’ve been doing this for 26 years. How long do you think you’ll be able to continue, given how physically demanding the job can be?

As long as I can. As Dwayne ages, his characters will age with him, and the characters won’t be doing all these crazy stunts. But I’ll be 48 in February. In my head, I’m like 30... but there’s going to be a time when I’ll have to step back. I’d like to get into producing later on, and find some other ventures.

How would you describe your relationship with Dwayne?

He’s like a brother to me. There’s a lot of love between us, a lot of respect. He’s always been so kind. We’ve been through a lot together. There’s loyalty and trust.

What’s something not a lot of people know about him?

He’s a badass on the screen, but he’s a softie in real life. He has the biggest heart. He loves people. Most people think that actors from Hollywood have an ego. In Hawaii we call it “high maka maka stuck up. But Dwayne is the opposite. He’s so genuine. I’m lucky to be working with him.

I read that you share a love of donuts, and he sends you good ones he finds. 

Yeah! He shipped some donuts from Boston out to Hawaii once because we couldn’t get them. Donuts and pizza, those are our two cheat foods.

Do people ever mistake you for him on the street?

It happened in Budapest. I got chased down by somebody. I was on a bicycle, and my wife told me, “You better turn around and acknowledge them because they’re gonna think that you’re Dwayne and you’re just ignoring them.” I don’t want to give him a bad name! So, I turn around and say, “Listen. I’m his cousin, I’m his stunt double, we look alike.” And the guy would not believe me. He was like, “Oh yeah, sure, whatever.” I showed him my driver’s license, and he looks at it and goes, “Ah, very tricky. You’ve got a fake ID to trick people.” He would not take no for an answer.

Your wife, Suzanne Reed, works in stunts, too, right?

Yeah, her first job was [also] The Scorpion King.

Do you ever get to work together?

We did onThe Rundown. She was doubling Rosario Dawson, so she was doubling the lead actress, and I was doubling the lead actor. Now that our son is in college, she’s been traveling with me to different locations, and she’s been working on the shows that I’ve been on. So, she did Red Notice. Because of the COVID bubble, they had a core group of stunt people that they could recycle throughout the movie, because they didn’t want to bring people in and out of the bubble. She was one of them.

Is there still a stunt that you’re still waiting to cross off your bucket list?

I’ve never flipped a car. We came close to it [in Red Notice], but they ended up pulling [the car] in without a driver because it was so dangerous. I’m glad, because when it flipped over, the roof collapsed in. That could have been me.