In the recently-released film Terminator Genysis, actress Emilia Clarke wielded a weapon that differed from a bow and arrow used as her previous character as Daenarys Targaryen in Game of Thrones. Instead, Clarke handled a Colt M4 Carbine rifle and the Sig Sauer P266 handgun with relative ease due to the training of Hollywood marksmanship trainer, Michelle Cannon.
While training with Clarke, who had no previous firearm experience, Cannon took her to a private range for three weeks where she taught her how to shoot on the move, change her magazines, remove the gun from a holster, and malfunctions.
According to the Daily Beast, Cannon would purposefully put a snap cap in rounds of live ammunition so that Clarke would have to practice correcting a malfunction when the weapon would jam.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Cannon initially thought she would be set out on a path for Hollywood that one would normally dream of. She took several acting classes in pursuit of becoming a movie star, but then switched her focus to animal control. As an officer, this was where she was first exposed to weapons. After several years, she worked as a police dispatcher and trained to become a cop through a police academy. After a decade, she returned to Hollywood as a stunt-woman.
At five-foot-three, Cannon stated that stunt work was hard to come by.
“I didn’t get hired as much because a lot of times you have to have the same size and shape,” she said. “There are a lot more male roles than female roles.”
She got her breakthrough when she was contacted to play a stunt that required using weapons in a military movie. Her ex-military husband, Ross, was also able to contribute and help her in this role.
Coupled with her husband, the duo found their passion for both the big screen and the big weapons. They founded the Mission Support Specialists Inc. in 2009. Their services provide firearm sales to both the entertainment industry and law enforcement.
by Natalia Leland
http://buzzpo.com/hollywoods-marksmanship-trainer-on-gun-control/
