

While the real Eddie is a fan of the film, he said that "only about 5%" of Eddie the Eagle is a true story. Ski Team coach who had kicked Peary off the team for breaking the rules and being a daredevil. In the Eddie the Eagle movie, Sharp is the U.S. No, like Bronson Peary (Hugh Jackman), Warren Sharp is a fictional character. Is Christopher Walken's Coach Warren Sharp based on a real coach? And some of you have soared like eagles," remarked Frank King, the games' chief executive, during a speech at the closing ceremonies. More importantly, he survived the events and avoided serious injury. Eddie the Eagle finished last in all three of his jumps at the 1988 Olympics in Calgary, but he did manage to beat his own personal record. Magoo." -The Guardianĭid Eddie really finish last in his Olympic events? "I walked towards but the automatic doors had been turned off, so I walked into the glass and my skis bounced off the doors, everything broke and I became Mr. When he arrived in Calgary for the Olympics, he attempted to exit the airport toward fans who were holding up a banner outside. Was Eddie really as clumsy as shown in the movie? As stated above, fans gave him the nickname Eddie the Eagle when he arrived for the 1988 Olympics in Calgary. Taron Egerton (right) as Eddie in the movie. The real Eddie the Eagle (left) in 1988 shortly after the Olympics.

When he broke his jaw, instead of paying to be treated at a hospital, he tied it up with a pillowcase and went about his business. He wore six pairs of socks to fit into his hand-me-down boots. He traveled the European ski circuit in his mother's car and used a helmet given to him by the Italians and skis from the Austrian team (in the movie, Hugh Jackman's character pillages a lost and found to find better equipment for Eddie). In order to earn money as he trained, Eddie worked part-time jobs, including mowing lawns, babysitting, working in hotels and cooking. Later, his critics would joke that the asylum was fittingly appropriate. It was while staying there that Eddie found out he had qualified for the British Olympic Team.

Though it's not shown in the film, while fact-checking the Eddie the Eagle movie, we discovered that to save money on lodging, Eddie found bargain accommodations at a Finnish mental hospital for one pound a night. Michael "Eddie the Eagle" Edwards (bottom center) poses with his sister Liz (left) and his parents in 1988.ĭid Eddie find discount lodging at a mental hospital? He learned to ski when he was 13 and found himself skiing on the British national team four years later ( ). As a result, he was in plaster casts for the next three years ( Sports Illustrated). At 10, his kamikaze-style moves as a soccer goalie (which included launching himself at the cleated shoes of rushing opponents) left him with damaged cartilage in his left knee. However, he was a fearless child who always found himself paying the price for his bravery. In the movie, Eddie (Taron Egerton) gets the idea to become a ski jumper after seeing it in a poster on his bedroom wall.Īs a child, was Eddie really told he might never walk again? "I went along to the ski jumps and thought: That looks alright" ( The Guardian). "I didn't have much money, so thought I'd better find something cheaper to do," says Eddie. By 1986, he was nearly broke and knew he needed to try something new.
#Ski or die characters movie#
Eddie had narrowly missed making the British downhill team for the 1984 Winter Olympics, a moment that is fictionalized in the movie to make Eddie look more hopeless ( Yahoo Sports).

He was also an experienced downhill skier and had at first hoped to participate in the Olympics as such. The man who worked by day as a plasterer had previous experience stunt-jumping over cars and buses ( The Hollywood Reporter). In fact-checking Eddie the Eagle, we learned that the real Eddie had significantly more experience.
