A terrifying video has emerged showing stuntmen filming James Bond’s famous crocodile scene.
Fans were shocked to learn that real reptiles were used in the iconic scene from Live and Let Die.
Although the filmmakers previously stated that no dolls or models were used during filming, the footage shows just how dangerous the stunt was.
The final version sees Bond escaping across a body of water by stepping onto the backs of three snapping crocodiles.
However, clips reveal just how close stuntman Ross Heilman, aka Ross Kananga, who replaced Roger Moore’s Bond, got to the wild beasts.
A terrifying video has surfaced showing stuntmen filming the famous James Bond crocodile scene
This feat is all the more impressive as Kananga’s own father was reportedly eaten by a crocodile.
It took five takes to capture the scene. You see Kananga fall into the water multiple times and even get bitten.
In the first attempt, Kananga passes the first two animals at high speed, before the third tries to bite him.
He jumps into the water and has to pull himself up, while the crocodile behind him continues to struggle wildly.
In the second and third attempts, the beasts are ready and immediately start snapping at him as he falls again. At one point, they even try to stop one.
The last time he fails, but Kananga manages to reach the other side. His shoe then gets caught on the tooth of the last crocodile and he has to struggle to get out by writhing.
During this last attempt, Kananga’s foot was bitten and had to be stitched.
Fans are shocked to learn that the iconic sequence from Live and Let Die, starring Roger Moore, used real reptiles
Clips show how close stuntman Ross Kananga, who replaced Roger Moore’s Bond, got to the wild beasts.
The animals were tied to the bottom of the water with weights, but as the blunders show, their powerful jaws and tails were not restrained, adding to the danger.
About a dozen crocodiles were used during filming, brought in from a farm in Jamaica owned by Kananga.
The stuntman inherited the farm from his father, an alligator wrestler. According to Moore, he was eaten by one of the animals. He talked about it in the documentary ‘Inside Live and Let Die’.
The breathtaking video has left many fans stunned.
“Never thought they were real, just some kind of machine. Gonna have to rewatch that movie now,” someone wrote on Reddit.
“That could have gone completely wrong,” added another.
Actors Roger Moore, Yaphet Kotto, Julius W. Harris, Geoffrey Holder, Earl Jolly Brown and actress Jane Seymour, on the set of ‘Live And Let Die’
“This guy almost got eaten by crocodiles on the third try and then did it again? Legendary,” said a third.
Another added: ‘I have questions!’
Many said they hoped Kananga would be paid well, considering how dangerous the stunt was.
In 1973, he received $60,000 for his work, which is equivalent to over $450,000 today.
He took his stage name from the Let Die villain, Dr Kananga, played by American actor Yaphet Kotto.