Eminem’s stunt double Ryan Shepard passed away in January in Washington following a car accident. Moreover, his brother Kyle told TMZ that an oncoming pickup truck hit Ryan as he tried to cross the street. While emergency responders rushed him to a hospital, they were unable to save him. The late Shepard was 40 years old and is survived by his two children, aged 7 and 11. After his work with Marshall Mathers, he worked at Disney as a mechanical ride engineer and moved to SpaceX as a test automation engineer.
Furthermore, Ryan acted as the Detroit rapper’s stunt double during the 2000s on multiple occasions. For example, he worked on his various visual projects, including films and music videos. Also, he appeared as a photo double and stand-in. Readers may remember Em’s 2002 MTV Movie Awards performance of “Without Me,” during which Shepard played superhero alter-ego Rap Boy. In addition, Ryan joined the “Lose Yourself” star for his Anger Management tour in 2002. Following that, he also participated in shows in Japan and Europe the next year. Also, he appeared in the music video for D12’s “Purple Hills” as Slim Shady’s double.
Meanwhile, Eminem spoke on his legacy and his many collaborators during his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction speech. ““I realize what an honor it is right now for me to be up here tonight,” he stated during his speech. “What a privilege it is to do the music that I love– the music that basically saved my life. I almost died from an overdose in 2007, which kind of sucked because — Hailie, plug your ears — because drugs were f**king delicious. And I thought we had a good thing going, man, but I had to go and f**k it all up and take too many.”
While MCs get most of the praise for their careers, they stand on the shoulders of thousands of unnamed collaborators. Whether it’s producers, set designers, caterers, assistants, executives, or more, those connections aren’t easily forgotten. Especially in a career as long, illustrious, and impactful as Eminem’s, let’s remember all the hands and lives that contribute to its legacy.
Rest In Peace Ryan Shepard.