Photo: image edited by autoevolution
BBC Top Gear's The Stig is one of the most mysterious characters in show business, but there have been two occasions when the secrecy surrounding his real identity was maybe a bit too much to bare.
The first time that happened was back in the “Black Stig” era of Top Gear when his identity was exposed by a British newspaper. A few months later, racing driver Perry McCarthy confirmed that he was, indeed, the man with the black Simpson helmet and racing attire.
The so-called White Stig replaced him for 12 successful seasons after the Top Gear crew decided to kill off the original character by launching him from an aircraft carrier in a spectacular fashion. Unfortunately for the mystique surrounding the character, the White Stig also blew his cover right after the 15th Top Gear season, when following a legal dispute it was revealed that he was played by racing driver and stuntman Ben Collins.
Enough abut the Stig's history, though, because the present one could become even more entertaining. According to Gareth Edwards, the director of the Star Wars spin-off Rogue One, a former Stig could play none other than a Stormtrooper in the upcoming movie.
In an interview with Time Out London, Edwards said he was informed during the film's shoot that one of the stuntmen playing a white-helmeted Stormtrooper is the same person that plays the Stig.
While the interview doesn't make it entirely certain if he was talking about Ben Collins or one of its successors, we took it upon ourselves to do a bit of digging and… we might have accidentally found out the current Stig's true identity.
As it happens, the Rogue One's official cast only lists a stuntman playing a Stormtrooper, and his name is… drum rolls… Luke Hampton, who is also a body double for Tom Hardy in the upcoming TV series Taboo.
We could be completely wrong on this one, so take this information with a large spoon of salt, and we apologize to Mr. Hampton if this puts him in a strange spot. It's also possible that he is not the current Stig and it's in fact, Ben Collins who plays the Stormtrooper in Rogue One, especially since Collins has collaborated as a stuntman in movies as well. The problem is that he's listed as a crew member in those movies, while in Rogue One, he isn't.
Either way, the irony of the white helmet is strong with this one.
The so-called White Stig replaced him for 12 successful seasons after the Top Gear crew decided to kill off the original character by launching him from an aircraft carrier in a spectacular fashion. Unfortunately for the mystique surrounding the character, the White Stig also blew his cover right after the 15th Top Gear season, when following a legal dispute it was revealed that he was played by racing driver and stuntman Ben Collins.
Enough abut the Stig's history, though, because the present one could become even more entertaining. According to Gareth Edwards, the director of the Star Wars spin-off Rogue One, a former Stig could play none other than a Stormtrooper in the upcoming movie.
In an interview with Time Out London, Edwards said he was informed during the film's shoot that one of the stuntmen playing a white-helmeted Stormtrooper is the same person that plays the Stig.
While the interview doesn't make it entirely certain if he was talking about Ben Collins or one of its successors, we took it upon ourselves to do a bit of digging and… we might have accidentally found out the current Stig's true identity.
As it happens, the Rogue One's official cast only lists a stuntman playing a Stormtrooper, and his name is… drum rolls… Luke Hampton, who is also a body double for Tom Hardy in the upcoming TV series Taboo.
We could be completely wrong on this one, so take this information with a large spoon of salt, and we apologize to Mr. Hampton if this puts him in a strange spot. It's also possible that he is not the current Stig and it's in fact, Ben Collins who plays the Stormtrooper in Rogue One, especially since Collins has collaborated as a stuntman in movies as well. The problem is that he's listed as a crew member in those movies, while in Rogue One, he isn't.
Either way, the irony of the white helmet is strong with this one.
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