David Holmes learned that his documentary David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived was nominated for a BAFTA Award in the middle of giving a speech. “I was literally doing a talk at the UK’s largest disability roadshow and as I was reading my speech off my phone, I saw the text message. ‘Congratulations! We’ve just been nominated for a BAFTA,’” says Holmes. “That’s pretty mental news, isn’t it?”

Currently streaming on Max, The Boy Who Lived takes us behind-the-scenes of the Harry Potter films. Holmes was Daniel Radcliffe’s stunt double, and in 2009 Holmes broke his neck, sustaining a C6-7 SCI, while rehearsing a stunt for The Deathly Hallows: Part 1.

When I talk to Holmes over Zoom from his home in Essex, England, he has just finished a two-hour physio session that includes training holding his breath in his pool. “My record is four minutes, 25 seconds holding my breath,” he says. Just as he’s portrayed in the documentary, Holmes is charming and vulnerable. You immediately want to be his friend.

Teal Sherer: Congratulations on your BAFTA nomination. How has it been putting the film out into world?

David Holmes: It’s been really humbling. I was always very conscious that Harry Potter means a lot to a lot of people, and I didn’t really want to bring my story to life because obviously, breaking your neck is not the most positive things to be associated with the film franchise. But I’ve waited for long enough and realized, what’s the harm in putting it out there now? The original audience have grown up and are rediscovering the film with their own kids.

TS: You said that being a stunt man was the best rehearsal to becoming a quadriplegic. Can you share more about that?

DH: Creating stunts is problem solving. It’s breaking something down to its smallest parts. So when you put it together for the stunt itself, not only can you perform it but you can perform it more than once because quite often they want three or four takes. I am also very good under pressure because I’ve spent my whole life under pressure in gymnastics competitions as a child and as a stunt performer, and now with my spinal cord injury. I have to navigate this body every single day and I’ve learned to work my way around it, like an engineer works out a problem. I’m losing neurological function on the right side of my body, and I don’t know where that ends up. But one thing I know is I’m not ready to give up.

TS: Watching the documentary, I loved seeing your close and enduring friendship with Daniel Radcliffe, and, of course, all the behind-the-scenes footage of you doing stunts. Can you share one of your favorite moments working on the Harry Potter films?

DH: Well, you are talking to the first Quidditch player in the world. I did the first broomstick test on the first film. That was my first day’s work. They strapped me to a truck and drove the truck down the runway at the studio. I’d already read the Harry Potter books so I was imagining flying and dodging Quaffle balls and reaching for Snitches. And that’s how we discovered how Quidditch was going to be filmed. It was the best job in the world, and I miss it everyday.

TS: Let’s talk about the wheelchair you are using in the poster for the documentary. I’ve never seen a chair like that. It’s really cool.

DH: That chair is by a UK company called Trekinetic. The founder of the company was a carbon fiber seat maker for Formula One. He was sitting at an airport watching a young boy struggle trying to get over a threshold in his wheelchair. And he just sat there, and he drew a sketch. That sketch turned into a prototype, and it got a bit of government investment.

The chairs are not cheap, but they get you over snow, sand, over mud, you name it. I cannot sell that chair enough because for the last 10 years I’ve had one, I’ve been able to travel the world and go places that you wouldn’t normally expect a wheelchair to go.

TS: What advice do you have for someone who is newly disabled?

DH: Forgive yourself first. Whatever put you in that situation, whatever challenges you are faced with, even if it is a freak accident or it’s your fault, forgive yourself. Like there’s no point. Hate and blame only hurts you the most, you know? Learn emotional intelligence like self-love, that comes with eating well, exercising, mental health, and breathing properly. And learn to accept that life is going to be hard, and then embrace the suck. Because the more you embrace it, the stronger you become.

TS: What’s next for you?

DH: I have a book deal and I am currently finishing that off. That comes out September and I’ll go on a two-week book tour. I’m working with a biotech company on this catheter device that I want made. I do public speaking and I have an HBO miniseries that I’m trying to get off the ground. I’ve just been asked to speak in front of the UK’s largest legal industry conference in front of 3,000 lawyers. And that’s talking about disparity around disability in the legal industry. That is something I take very seriously. I should be doing a piece for the British Grand Prix this year, where I’m going to be a passenger in a car that breaks 200 miles an hour. And next month, I am setting my head on fire while I’m sitting in my shower chair naked. Yeah, someone’s going to be submitting a portrait of me to the National Portrait Gallery in London. I don’t sit still.