Car chases, bodies engulfed in flames, fights, shootings -- Jack Pacheco has been through it all.

More information Screen Actors Guild (213) 954-1600 American Stuntmen's Association (818) 886-8755 American Stuntwomen's Association (213) 874-3584

In fact, he does it for a living. He's a stuntman.

So is Donna Keegan, a dead-ringer for Jamie Lee Curtis, who hung from the helicopter for her double in the tell-tale scene in True Lies.

"It's just a bunch of grown men playing,'' said Pacheco, who works through the American Stuntman's Association, one of about 30 such associations that represent stuntpeople.

Pacheco, who has filled in for actors like Tom Selleck, films anywhere from two to 10 action-packed movies or TV shows a year, depending on the duration of the shoot.

The profession isn't as dangerous as it might seem, especially with improved technology and a professional attitude, says Keegan, who is also the national director of Stunt and Safety for the Screen Actors Guild, an actors union in Los Angeles.

It's a heavily male-dominated industry, says Keegan, who works through the United Stuntwomen's Association. Only one out of every 50 jobs for stuntpeople are for women, says Keegan, one of 100 or so stuntwomen in the country.

Keegan, a 17-year veteran, is Curtis' regular stunt double, though she's had roles in films like Indiana Jones and Top Gun, she says.

The average working stuntperson makes about $60,000 a year, or about $1,900 for a week-long shoot, plus "adjustments,'' or compensation for various stunts, says Pacheco. A simple stunt may bring in only $100 in adjustments, but a body burning might bring in $4,500, Pacheco said.

Both Keegan and Pacheco agree it's a competitive field.

Job opportunities knock for those who are athletic and built like famous actors, Pacheco said. It also takes dedication, because the job demands lots of travel, and longs work days, sometimes lasting from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.

There are approximately 2,500 stuntpeople in Los Angeles, according to Stuntmen's Association of Motion Pictures, a fraternal organization with 131 active members.

Pacheco, a former auto racer and Marine, enrolled in United Stunt Academy, which at the time was in Sterling, Conn.

But Keegan, an international diving champion, received no formal training.

"It's hard to make it as an independent,'' Pacheco says. Most stuntmen find jobs for one another by joining one of the stunt associations.