Biography
Jasi Lanier followed an unconventional path into the stunt industry. After earning a degree in Media Arts from the University of South Carolina, she worked as a model, acted in horror films, and performed as a fire-eater to pay off her student loans. While filming a movie in New Jersey, she fell in love with her co-star Joseph Anthony and moved north to study the Meisner Technique with Glen Vincent and ShotoKan Karate. She continued honing her acting skills in New York City under Olinda Turturro and Enzo Carolina, appearing in numerous indie films such as The Resurrection Game, Nikos, B-Movie, and Fifth City.
A chance encounter at Pittsburgh Comicon introduced her to artists Dave Nestler and Dorian Cleavenger. After interviewing them for a magazine, they invited her to pose for their artwork, launching her career as an art model for comics, fantasy, pinup art, and romance novels. Notably, she was Joe Jusko’s model for Tomb Raider in Top Cow comics for several years and appeared on the cover of Heavy Metal Magazine in August 2003, as well as in Heavy Metal Calendars by Greg Hildebrandt in 2005 and 2006. To date, she has modeled for over 300 paintings.
Although she enjoyed modeling and acting in B-horror films, Jasi realized her true passion was stunt work. Inspired by her Uncle Dusty, who performed live stunts in the 1960s and 70s, and articles about stuntwomen in Femme Fatales magazine, she pursued a career as a stuntwoman. After gaining experience in independent films and industrials, she moved to Los Angeles in June 2005 with the support of family and friends. Initially overwhelmed by the city, she soon embraced everything Los Angeles had to offer. She worked background roles, earned her SAG card with a featured role on 2 1/2 Men, and joined a stunt service while training at Bob Yerkes’ famed backyard facility in high falls, fight choreography, swordplay, and reactions.
Her first big break came when stuntman and coordinator John Moio noticed her sword-fighting skills and recommended her for a job on iCarly, where she doubled a 14-year-old boy for stunt coordinator Vince Deadrick Jr. After a weekend of intense left-handed sword training with stuntman Mario Perez, she booked the part on the "iFence" episode, doubling actor Nathan Kress. She has since continued working on iCarly, doubling actress Jennette McCurdy for four years.
Jasi kept training and landed several jobs while supporting herself as a set decorator. In 2010, she fully committed to stunt work, which led to roles on shows including Alice in Wonderland, Castle, Raising Hope, Vampire Diaries, and Criminal Minds. Alongside stunts, she is returning to acting, recently appearing in the short film Broken and starring in the all-female, Jackass-style stunt show Cherry Bombs, affectionately called Firecracker.
This fall, Jasi will model again for artists such as Mike James, Greg Hildebrandt, Guy Powers, Age, and Lorenzo Sperlonga. Her passion for stunts has also inspired her to give back to the community. She has volunteered and served as a department head for Stuntacular, a live Halloween stunt show that raises funds for Make-A-Wish. Additionally, she has been an assistant board member for Diamond in the Raw/Stuntwomen’s Awards and secretary for the Stuntwomen’s Foundation.
Jasi continues to train in kung fu, aiming to test for her black sash in 2012, and studies weapons, swords, acrobatics, boxing, and stunts. She is a certified PADI Rescue Diver and is expanding her skills to include stilt walking and fire staff. In her free time, she enjoys roller-skating, tai chi, hula hooping, rock climbing, rappelling, and hiking. Her life philosophy, inspired by her father, is to collect experiences.
