Alberta couple Steve and Leslie McMichael are bringing attention to Cochrane with their nomination at the 2025 Canadian Screen Awards. The McMichaels were nominated for their stunt coordination on Wynonna Earp: Vengeance, a film that follows a TV show of the same name.
“Winning this award would just be wonderful for Steve and me,” Leslie McMichael said. “It would be the first time we were recognized as a team.”
Wynonna Earp: Vengeance was shot in Calgary during the winter months. Leslie recalled the intense conditions and the work the stunt team put in such a short time to create the film’s action sequences.
“It was -30 C quite often, and a lot of the scenes were shot outdoors,” she said. “We had a vehicle on a gimbal system twirling around, launching stunt performers in the air. We had high drops from a train, as well as performers getting yanked hard to portray someone getting shot.”
Steve and Leslie met on the set of Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation while working as stunt performers. They developed a relationship and continued their careers in the film industry, eventually becoming a stunt-coordinating team for the Wynonna Earp series in 2015.
“We became a team because Steve realized that he couldn’t be in two places at once,” Leslie said. “I would attend meetings while he was on set or vice versa, and we just became a really good team.”
Originally from Colorado, Steve moved to Cochrane in 2010 with Leslie, who is from Rocky Mountain House, Alta.
“We chose to move here from Vancouver so I could be closer to my parents,” Leslie said. “We love Cochrane—our kids grew up here, and the place has grown so much since we first moved.”
While both have had illustrious careers, working on notable titles such as Prey and X-Men: The Last Stand, Leslie noted this is their first nomination at the Canadian Screen Awards.
“We, as stunt people, don’t expect to be recognized because we're very used to being just behind the scenes, so it’s wonderful that the Canadian Screen Awards have a category for stunt coordinators.”
Wynonna Earp: Vengeance is one of five nominees for best stunt coordination at the Canadian Screen Awards. The other nominees are:
- Dark Match – Jean Frenette
- Deaner '89 – Sean Skene, Rick Skene
- Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent – John Stead
- Out Come the Wolves – James Binkley, Andrew Simpson
The 2025 Canadian Screen Awards will take place from May 30 to June 1 at the CBC Broadcast Centre in Toronto.
