Eminem‘s stunt double, Ryan Shepard, was reportedly killed in Washington last month after being struck by a car. According to TMZ, Shepard was attempting to cross a street when a pickup truck slammed into him. Emergency responders rushed to the scene, but Shepard was already dead.
Shepard began appearing as Eminem in the early 2000s. Not only did he work as Slim Shady’s stunt double, he’d also stand in for photos and show up to various events. In fact, he once posed at the MTV Movie Awards as Shady’s superhero character, Rap Boy. In 2002, Shepard had the opportunity to accompany Eminem on the Anger Management Tour. He accompanied Shady to both Japan and Europe the following year. He later appeared in the D12 video for “Purple Pills” as Eminem’s double.
Shepard’s brother Kyle said the 40-year-old eventually landed a job at Disney as a ride mechanical engineer and soon moved to Elon Musk’s SpaceX as a test automation engineer.
Eminem has yet to address Shepard’s death publicly. Shepard leaves behind two children.
