The Stunt Driver (2026) | Jay Baruchel | Ben Foster

Movie Details

Category	Details
Movie Name	The Stunt Driver
Director	Michael Dowse
Writer	Michael Dowse
Lead & Supporting Cast	Jay Baruchel, Ben Foster, Ed Helms, Laurence Leboeuf, Dan Bakkedahl, Joe Cobden, Marc Beaupré, Derek Johns, Jonathan Cherry, Michael Rogoff, Adam Capriolo, Nobuya Shimamoto, Sophie-Thérèse Stone-Richards, James Watts, Mitchell Cohen, Alexandre Bélanger, Mathias Retamal
Genre	Comedy, Drama, Action, Biography, History
Release Date / OTT Platform	September 25, 2026 / Theatrical Release
Runtime	Approximately 99 minutes
Language	English
Country	Canada / Ireland
Rating	4/5 Stars

Introduction & Overview

The Stunt Driver (2026) is a high-energy historical comedy-drama inspired by the extraordinary life and ambitions of Canadian daredevil Ken Carter. Directed and written by Michael Dowse, the film transforms one of the most audacious stunt projects of the 1970s into an entertaining story about obsession, fame, rivalry, risk and the desire to accomplish something that everyone else considers impossible.

Jay Baruchel stars as Carter, the legendary Canadian stunt driver determined to complete an enormous rocket-car jump across the St. Lawrence River, attempting to travel from Canada toward the United States. The stunt is not merely another performance for Carter. It represents the culmination of years spent chasing increasingly dangerous challenges.

The supporting cast adds considerable personality, with Ben Foster portraying legendary American daredevil Evel Knievel, while Ed Helms plays rocket-car engineer Dick Keller. Laurence Leboeuf, Dan Bakkedahl, Joe Cobden and Marc Beaupré also contribute to the film’s ensemble.

Blending comedy with genuine danger and emotional drama, The Stunt Driver presents a fascinating portrait of a man determined to make history.

Detailed Plot Summary

Set primarily in the mid-1970s, The Stunt Driver follows Ken Carter, a Canadian stunt driver who has built his reputation by performing increasingly spectacular and dangerous automotive stunts.

Carter has already spent decades developing his career, but he wants to finish it with something extraordinary. Rather than settling for another conventional stunt, he develops an almost unbelievable plan: launch a rocket-powered car across the St. Lawrence River, covering roughly a mile between Canada and the United States.

The project is enormous. It requires a massive ramp, specialized engineering, substantial financial investment and a team willing to participate in a stunt whose risks are obvious from the beginning.

Carter’s determination becomes the driving force of the story. He believes that the jump can be achieved, even as people around him question whether the plan is physically possible.

To turn his dream into reality, Carter works with Dick Keller, an engineer tasked with helping develop the rocket-powered vehicle. Their relationship becomes an important part of the film because Carter’s enormous ambition requires technical expertise that cannot simply be replaced by courage.

The project also attracts the attention of the media. Two documentary crews become interested in the preparations, turning Carter’s attempt into a larger spectacle. As cameras arrive and public interest grows, the distinction between accomplishing the stunt and creating a legendary event becomes increasingly complicated.

Another major factor is Carter’s rivalry with Evel Knievel, the internationally famous American daredevil played by Ben Foster. Knievel represents the level of fame and recognition Carter wants to challenge. Their rivalry gives the story an additional competitive dimension.

Carter is not simply trying to complete a dangerous jump. He wants to prove that he deserves to be remembered.

However, the film also explores the personal cost of such ambition. Carter must confront doubts about his own abilities, financial difficulties, professional pressures and the consequences of spending much of his life pursuing increasingly dangerous goals.

The rocket-car project therefore becomes both a physical and psychological challenge.

Without revealing the film’s major developments, the story gradually asks whether determination is enough to make an impossible dream achievable. It also examines what happens when a person’s identity becomes so closely connected to a single ambition that abandoning it feels like giving up a part of themselves.

The result is a story that combines spectacle with an unexpectedly human examination of obsession, perseverance and the complicated desire to leave a legacy.

Cast Performances & Character Breakdown

Jay Baruchel as Ken Carter

Jay Baruchel leads the film as Ken Carter, and the performance is central to the movie’s success.

Carter could easily have been portrayed as a stereotypical reckless daredevil, but Baruchel gives him more complexity. His character is funny, stubborn, passionate and frequently unreasonable, yet his determination makes it difficult to dismiss him.

Baruchel understands the comedic side of Carter’s personality while also communicating the seriousness behind his ambition. The character genuinely believes in his dream, even when the people around him have obvious reasons to doubt it.

The performance also benefits from Carter’s emotional contradictions. He wants fame, but he also wants validation. He wants to perform the biggest stunt of his career, but he is also aware that his age and physical limitations make the project increasingly difficult.

Baruchel makes these contradictions believable.

His chemistry with Ed Helms is another highlight, particularly because the two characters approach the rocket-car project from completely different perspectives. Carter thinks like a daredevil, while Keller has to think like an engineer.

Ben Foster as Evel Knievel

Ben Foster plays legendary stunt performer Evel Knievel, bringing a different energy to the movie.

Knievel is not simply included as a famous name. His presence represents the enormous shadow cast by established American stunt performers over Carter’s career.

Foster gives the character confidence and intensity. His portrayal creates an interesting contrast with Baruchel’s more eccentric Carter.

The rivalry between the two performers gives the movie a competitive edge, while also illustrating Carter’s desire to prove himself on a much larger stage.

Foster’s performance does not overwhelm the central narrative. Instead, Knievel functions as an important symbol of the fame and recognition Carter wants to achieve.

Ed Helms as Dick Keller

Ed Helms plays Dick Keller, the engineer responsible for helping Carter transform his impossible concept into a functioning rocket-powered vehicle.

Helms brings his recognizable comic timing to the role, but Keller is more than a source of jokes. He represents the practical side of the project.

Where Carter sees possibility, Keller must deal with engineering, physics and technical limitations.

That contrast creates some of the movie’s strongest comedic interactions. Their partnership also gives the story a useful balance between dream and reality.

Helms’ performance is particularly effective because he allows Keller to remain grounded without making him humorless.

Laurence Leboeuf as Gloria

Laurence Leboeuf plays Gloria, an important figure in Carter’s personal world.

Her presence helps bring emotional balance to a story that could otherwise become completely focused on machines, stunts and competition.

Leboeuf gives Gloria a grounded presence and helps reveal the human consequences of Carter’s obsession.

Through this character, the film is able to explore how one person’s ambition can affect the people around them.

Dan Bakkedahl as Bill Wilkins

Dan Bakkedahl plays Bill Wilkins, another key figure surrounding the stunt project.

Bakkedahl brings strong comic energy to the ensemble and contributes to the film’s satirical view of the business and media machinery surrounding a spectacular stunt.

Supporting Cast

The supporting cast includes Joe Cobden as Bob Fortier, Marc Beaupré as Danny Lafortune, Derek Johns as Trevor, Jonathan Cherry as Ricky, Michael Rogoff as Wayne, Adam Capriolo as a Junior ABC Executive, Nobuya Shimamoto as a Japanese Executive Producer, Sophie-Thérèse Stone-Richards as Goldie, James Watts as a crew member, Mitchell Cohen as Ari, Alexandre Bélanger as part of Ken Carter’s crew, and Mathias Retamal as Fortier’s cameraman.

These performances help build the world surrounding Carter’s ambitious project and make the stunt feel like a major media event rather than a private experiment.

Direction, Screenplay & Technical Aspects

Michael Dowse both writes and directs The Stunt Driver, giving the film a clear balance between comedy, historical drama and action.

The director does not treat Carter’s story as a conventional serious biopic. Instead, the film embraces the absurdity of the stunt while still recognizing the genuine risks involved.

That tonal balance is crucial. The rocket-car project is inherently spectacular, but the movie understands that its greatest entertainment value comes from the personalities involved.

The cinematography by Sara Mishara gives the film an expansive visual quality. The large ramp, vehicles, river and surrounding landscapes help communicate the enormous scale of Carter’s ambition.

The stunt sequences are particularly important because the entire story builds toward an event that needs to feel both exciting and dangerous. The filmmaking therefore has to make audiences understand the physical stakes without turning the movie into a simple action spectacle.

Reg Harkema handles the editing, maintaining a brisk pace throughout the approximately 99-minute runtime. The editing also helps move between Carter’s preparations, personal conflicts, media attention and interactions with his team.

The music by Cristobal Tapia de Veer adds another layer to the film’s energetic personality. The score supports both the comedic sequences and the more dramatic moments surrounding Carter’s obsession.

The film’s period setting also contributes significantly to its atmosphere. The 1970s fashion, vehicles, television culture and stunt-show environment help establish a believable historical backdrop.

Strengths & Weaknesses / Pros & Cons

Strengths

Jay Baruchel’s committed lead performance: Baruchel makes Ken Carter funny, stubborn and emotionally believable.
Entertaining true-story foundation: The real-life stunt provides an inherently fascinating premise.
Ben Foster as Evel Knievel: Foster adds charisma and competitive tension to the story.
Ed Helms’ comic timing: Helms provides much-needed humor while maintaining the technical credibility of his character.
Strong visual scale: The rocket car, enormous ramp and St. Lawrence River create memorable cinematic imagery.
Effective genre balance: Comedy, action and drama work together without allowing one element to completely dominate.
Strong period atmosphere: The 1970s setting gives the movie a distinctive visual and cultural identity.

Weaknesses

Some fictionalization: The movie dramatizes aspects of the real story, so it should not be viewed as a completely factual reconstruction.
Familiar underdog structure: The basic journey from impossible dream to ambitious attempt follows a recognizable biographical formula.
Supporting characters receive limited development: Some members of Carter’s wider circle could have benefited from more screen time.
Occasional tonal shifts: The movement between broad comedy and serious personal drama may feel uneven to some viewers.

Final Verdict & Target Audience

The Stunt Driver (2026) is an entertaining and energetic historical comedy-drama built around an extraordinary real-life ambition.

Jay Baruchel gives Ken Carter an appealing combination of humor, determination and vulnerability, while Ben Foster brings additional intensity as Evel Knievel. Ed Helms, Laurence Leboeuf and Dan Bakkedahl strengthen the ensemble and help keep the story emotionally grounded.

The movie should appeal to viewers who enjoy true-story films, stunt movies, biographical dramas, action comedies, 1970s stories and underdog adventures.

Its large-scale stunt sequences and period atmosphere make it particularly suitable for theatrical viewing, while its character-driven humor should also work well for audiences watching at home.