William Spencer isn’t your average stuntman. Growing up with a passion for extreme sports, William embraced his love of skateboarding when he was just a teenager. But his relentless drive and creative spirit wouldn’t let him stop there. His talent and fearlessness soon led him to the bright lights of Hollywood, where he’s performed jaw-dropping stunts in major blockbusters, from The Amazing Spider-Man series to Maze Runner to Cobra Kai.

But for William, this is just the beginning.

Host of the podcast Team Ignition Show, Leticia Bufoni, recently got together with William for an in-depth chat about his career, passions, and plans for the future.

Background: From Skateboarding to Stunt Work

From Colorado by way of Texas, William started skateboarding as a teen — but according to him, he was hardly a natural.

“When I zoom out on my life, I think [I could have gone more into things like] martial arts, which [I’m] much better at. Like, kicks, making those nice shapes, sparring — I’m just better at that stuff. But because it came easier…it didn’t keep me focused,” he explains. “Whereas skateboarding drove me nuts because I was so bad at it.”

He remembers watching kids younger than him hitting skate feats he couldn’t even manage yet. The frustration he felt at that was his driving force.

“It would make me mad, so every day I would try that stuff [and get better],” he said.

Another lifelong passion for William? Movies.

“I always loved movies…[things like] Mission Impossible movies or Jackie Chan,” he’s said.

It was in watching these films (and the mind-blowing stunts in them) that William first started toying with the idea of a stunt career.

“People were like, ‘Maybe you can do stunts, it seems like your skateboarding is a little stunty.’ I kind of passed over it the first couple of times I got comments about it, then I started thinking about it and realized I didn’t have a better plan than that,” he explained.

Armed with skill and hope, William soon packed his bags and moved to LA. For the first while, he lived in his car, trying to make ends meet before eventually scoring his first live show. Since then, he’s spent nearly 20 years tirelessly learning everything he could about stunts — and he’s never looked back.

Career: The Stuntman Behind the Iconic Mask

Though he had previously appeared in films like Project X and The Kids Are All Right, William’s big career break came in 2012. It was then that he was cast as Peter Parker’s stunt double in The Amazing Spider-Man series.

The craziest part? This career high almost didn’t happen for William…because he missed his initial audition.

“[The casting team] called me, and they were like, ‘Hey man, are you coming in today? …Today’s the audition.’ [I] totally missed the audition,” he recalls. “[I was] super bummed.”

A few weeks later, Andrew Garfield was cast in the role of Peter Parker. As fate would have it, Andrew wanted to incorporate one cool character trait: skateboarding.

“[Andrew] said, ‘I used to skateboard as a kid…I just want [Peter Parker] to cruise around Manhattan.’ He scours the internet…finds my videos…and says, ‘How about this guy?’ And [one of the filmmakers] was like, ‘That guy missed the audition,’” William says, laughing at the memory. 

The team finally got to see William’s skills in action, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Despite his years of experience, William said that some of the film’s stunts tested the limits of his bravery. By the time he returned for the sequel in 2014, there wasn’t much that could faze him.

“I got to do some stuff I consider super-scary. Stunt-wise, they had me jump off a six-story building at Sony,” he said. “There was a lot of stuff like that where, by the second [movie], it felt like more standard fare.”

And then there was this:

Despite some close calls, in the years since, William’s stunt career hasn’t slowed down in the slightest. He’s appeared in many more Hollywood hit movies and shows like Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, Cobra Kai, and Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Newest Projects: Beyond the Blockbusters

More recently, William worked as a stuntman on The Walking Dead’s spin-off series, Fear the Walking Dead. He appeared in three seasons of the show from 2018-2023. He’s also set to appear in another spin-off, The Walking Dead: Dead City, in 2025.

When he’s not performing high-stakes stunts for A-list actors, William can be found pursuing passion projects of all sorts. From short fan films in the style of Edward Scissorhands to action comedy skits to independent skating movies, nothing is off-limits when it comes to William’s creative activities. Features of his independent projects can generally be found on his Instagram and/or YouTube channel.

“Most of my money just goes back into making stuff,” he says. “I just like movies so much that I’m always putting money back into [creative projects].”

One of William’s biggest hopes is to revive a series of shorts he produced and starred in years ago called Two Bellmen. Created in collaboration with luxury hotel brand JW Marriott, the series follows two fictional characters, Gage and Christian, played by William and fellow stuntman Caine Sinclair. Together, they save the day through a combination of parkour, dance, and martial arts. William’s hope is to translate the series into a full-length film and release it in theaters.

Fun Facts About William Spencer

• One of William’s stunt idols is Jackie Chan.
• William’s nickname is “Skate Ninja” — he’s even got a merch line based on it.
• William has collaborated with several creators on his YouTube channel, including Substance Over Hype, Richie Jackson, and The Berrics.
• William has appeared on various daytime TV programs, including Good Morning America and Wheel of Fortune.
  

Keep Up With William Spencer

It’s safe to say William’s journey so far has been nothing short of extraordinary. From performing next-level stunts in Hollywood blockbusters to pursuing indie passion projects, William’s career is as dynamic as the tricks he pulls off.

For a deeper dive into his story, be sure to tune into the latest episode of The Team Ignition Show . In the podcast, William and host Leticia Bufoni explore William’s incredible career, their shared love of skateboarding, and so much more.

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