Column: Former Chargers WR Quinn Early bounces from NFL to big screen

As former Chargers wide receiver Quinn Early flips through images on his phone, the fascinating about-face of his working world becomes clear.

Painfully, in many cases.

There’s a video of him being thrown out a second-story window in a TV show called “The Leftovers.” Another shows him tumbling after being shot in a scene for “Proud Mary,” a movie with Taraji Henson of “Hidden Figures” and “Person of Interest” fame. He’s hanging upside down from a ceiling before being dropped in “Bright” with Will Smith.

In another, the 12-year NFL player turned Hollywood stunt man dodged runaway horses while doubling for hunky Shemar Moore in an episode of “S.W.A.T.”

Then, there’s the helicopter.

“On ‘S.W.A.T.’, I had to fight a guy after we flew off the U.S. Bank (Tower),” Early, 53, said of the structure that until last year was the tallest building in Los Angeles. “So we’re flying around and I’m in this fight. Crazy.”

That’s the unique life-after-football wrinkle for Early, who played for four teams — beginning as a 1988 draft pick of the Chargers. Stops with the Saints, Bills and Jets translated to 6,448 receiving yards and 40 touchdowns.

Now, he hangs — figuratively and otherwise — with big-screen elite like Smith.

“Any time you see him getting his butt kicked (in ‘Bright’), that’s me,” Early said. “He’s a really great guy. Very professional and an awesome sense of humor, obviously.”

When a former University of Iowa teammate planted roots in the entertainment business, he coaxed Early to check it out. His first movie appearance came in “The Baytown Outlaws”, a 2012 flick starring Billy Bob Thornton and Eva Longoria.

The initiation was quick … and loud.

“Next thing you know, I’m hanging out of the back of a truck firing a machine gun,” Early said.

Early, who recorded 55 of his catches, 739 of his yards and five of his touchdowns in three seasons with the Chargers, spent a decade as a wide receivers coach at Cathedral Catholic High.

Time constraints — from his growing work as a stunt man, martial arts training that helped him achieve the highest level in the Chinese discipline of Choy Li Fut and helping produce a book authored by his late mother — caused him to step away from Cathedral this season.

Now, he’s focusing on his on-screen career. Early’s IMDB.com page details his 31 stunt and 10 acting credits. Two more movies — “Against All Enemies” and “All Day and a Night” — likely will land in 2019.

Early remains healthy, despite the rough and routinely tumbling nature of his second career.

“Knock on wood, no,” Early said of any lingering stunt-man injuries. “There’s some bumps and bruises, but nothing too severe. It’s like football. You have to go for it. It’s all-in.”

The butt-kicking and, in most cases, butt-kicked DNA is shared with someone who owns his real DNA. Early’s oldest son Cameron, 28, has broken into stunt work, as well. They’ve done movies and TV together.

One scene in particular, though, stands out.

“On the TV show ‘The Last Ship’, I’m with the Nicaraguan rebels and my son is captured,” Early said. “It doesn’t go so well for him. So we’re on opposite teams on that one.”

Early, who has remained in San Diego since being drafted, used martial arts to aid his time as a Chargers newcomer. The itch began long ago, while a kid roaming the streets of New York.

“My whole life, I’ve been a huge Bruce Lee fan,” he said. “I remember my mom dropping me off at 9 in the morning for a Bruce Lee movie marathon in Long Island and picking me up at dinner time.

“Martial arts really helped me with football. It helps you stay limber, but Kung Fu also teaches you to be calm in the eye of the storm, which is something that works really well in football.”

So, is Early the most fit 50-something in San Diego?

“Trust me, I have my aches and pains,” he said.

Those pains in no way approach the loss of Early’s mother, Ann, to complications from Alzheimer’s disease in 2013. Early assembled a team named Early Intervention that already has raised $6,000 for the Walk to End Alzheimer’s, Sept. 23 along Mission Bay in Crown Point.

Early said emotions often cloud identifying and dealing with a loved one fighting the cruel disease.

“I remember having conversations and, all of a sudden, she’d mention a topic that was totally unrelated,” Early said. “She’s forget which room was her bedroom in the house and that sort of thing. One day we were driving north on the 5. She looked up at the hills at Camp Pendleton and asked if that was Mexico.

“When you’re too close to it, you make excuses or don’t realize what’s happening. I didn’t know where to turn. It’s almost like someone tied me to a cinder block and pushed me into a river.”

Early began educating people about the resources available, starting with the San Diego chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association at www.alz.org/sandiego.

“There’s help available, if you know where to look,” he said.

So, he’ll walk and continue to talk. And then he’ll go back to falling out a building or three.

“It’s been a blast,” Early said.

Sometimes, quite literally.

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Mother, book drive former Charger

When complications from Alzheimer’s disease stole Ann Early, the mother of 1988 Chargers draft pick Quinn Early, he tackled a labor of love.

The man who played wide receiver for 12 NFL seasons worked for two years to usher his mother’s book, “Bryant Acres”, to the publishing finish line. The book details the life of Sherrod Bryant, Early’s great grandfather seven generations removed.

Bryant sold himself into indentured servitude in the Antebellum South, working to become a successful land owner during the age of slavery. The remarkable journey of a black man during such a horrific chapter in American history inspired Early.

“At first, when my mom died, I couldn’t do it. It was too emotional,” said Early, now a Hollywood stunt man who lives in Carmel Valley. “I picked up the book two years ago, read it and cried like a baby.”

• Bryce Miller

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Meet Early at book event

Early will conduct a book signing Saturday at Westroot Tavern, 6025 Village Way, in Carmel Valley from 3-5 p.m. The book also is available on Kindle and Amazon.com.

Support Early’s Alzheimer’s walk

On Sept. 23, Early’s team Early Intervention will participate in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s at 10 a.m. along Mission Bay in Crown Point. To join Early’s team or form one of your own, visit www.alz.org.

For information about resources available for families dealing with Alzheimer’s, go to www.alz.org/sandiego.

bryce.miller@sduniontribune.com; Twitter: @Bryce_A_Miller