Student Stories: Tobiasz Daszkiewicz

Tobiasz Daszkiewicz


Major: Theater

Tobiasz Daszkiewicz didn’t punch a time clock the way most people do.

In fact, he was more likely to jump off an office building than work in one. He also got to drive an ambulance, rob banks and play Santa. It was all part of being a professional stuntman.

“I got involved in stunt work because every day is different,” he explains.

His background is theater, and Daszkiewicz spent two years at College of DuPage earning his Associate in Arts degree while studying theater. He then transferred to Southern Illinois University and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theater.

This background served him well as a stuntman, and his resume is impressive. Film credits include “Public Enemies,” “Batman Begins,” “The Dark Knight” and “The Time Traveler's Wife,” while TV credits range from “CSI New York” and “Prison Break” to “ER” and “Early Edition.” He doubled for Lt. Severide “Chicago Fire” and for Hank Voight on “Chicago P.D.” and worked on “Empire,” “Chicago Med” and “Chicago Justice.” His work also included “Death Wish,” “Captive State,” “Widows” and “Rampage.”

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“One day you’re destroying the interior of a bar with an awesome bar fight, the next day you’re crashing an expensive vehicle or falling off a motorcycle,” he said. “Another day you’re getting shot at in a gunfight, and another day you're engulfed in a fire cloud from an explosion. And then you're still alive to work the next day!”

Daszkiewicz credits the skills he learned at College of DuPage, where he acted in several productions. He singles out Connie Canaday Howard, now retired professor of Theater, as a guiding force in his career.

“She is absolutely the best, and she taught me more than anyone in my entire career,” he said. “She knows how to teach people to play a role, to become a totally different person and to play the moment.

“If anyone wants to attend a professional school for theater, go to COD. The facilities are elite, and the faculty is above the rest.”

Learn more about the Theater program at College of DuPage