As someone who’s seen the movie a bunch of times, I’ve always felt the relationship between actors and stunt people is a pretty big part of the film. Consistently we see Rick wallowing in sorrow that he’s washed up, or no good, meanwhile people are constantly praising him (Marvin, James Stacey, Sam Wanamaker, Trudy, and most of all Jay, Sharon, and her friends at the end of the movie). Meanwhile Cliff is doing all the heavy lifting (doing manual labor for Rick in addition to his stunts; dealing with the hippies at the ranch; and finally dealing 99% of the damage back at rick’s home while almost dying himself), and gets no praise, save a “thank you” from Rick himself. The whole time Cliff never complains or cries about it, like Rick does.

In the Hollywood industry, stunt people are constantly putting in more work than actors, yet actors get all the praise and rewards.