As a 5x Olympian, Luuka Jones-Yaxley is no stranger to primetime moments. In the Rio Olympics, she made a place in the finals after finishing 7th in the semi-final race as a non-favorite but solid contender. But in the final, she won the silver, finishing in 101.82 seconds. That was her Olympic breakthrough moment. Years later, she was once again in front of the cameras, in this case on Netflix’s action flick, Apex, when Charlize Theron called for help.

Charlize Theron’s Netflix action thriller required a lot of whitewater kayaking, realism, and control. Theron was inexperienced in the sport, and she sought Jones’ guidance. “She wanted to get the shots right,” the 37-year-old from Tauranga explained to Olympics.com. “She had never really done kayaking before in her life. It is a very difficult thing to do.”

The opportunity came through a message out of the blue from a friend in the South Island who works in safety coordination for film sets. “He asked if I was available for this project, and it just seemed so far-fetched that I thought it was a bit of a joke,” Jones said. Once she realized it was real, she agreed to join the production.

During filming, Jones worked as a stunt double and coach. She took some time teaching Theron the correct way to sit in the kayak, maneuver the paddle, and read the water while not fighting it. It was not only about safety, but also about each movement looking natural on camera. “You could see that she was a perfectionist,” Jones recalled. “She was trying to get it right, asking, ‘What do you love about kayaking? What is it that brings you joy when you’re out on the water?’”

Those questions stayed with her. Speaking to Olympics.com ahead of the 2026 ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup season, she described kayaking in simple terms. “It is that feeling when you’re in the flow on the white water, and you’re just moving with the water, you’re not fighting, and it feels like a bit of a dance,” she said.

“Because she’s from a dancing background, she really resonated with it,” Jones added. “I think she was trying to emulate that by watching us and then going out and doing it herself.” And now, Apex, released on Netflix on April 24 this year, has been met with strong and positive reviews, with critics praising its realistic action scenes. Much of that realism is due to Luuka Jones-Yaxley, who had real-life experiences.

Luuka Jones built her Olympic career through struggles

In 2003, at the tender age of 14, Jones began competing and quickly moved up the canoe slalom ranks. She travelled to England in preparation for the 2008 Olympics, where she became New Zealand’s first female canoe slalom paddler to represent the country at the Olympics. In Beijing in 2008, at 19 years old, she competed in her first Olympics, where she placed 21st. It marked the start of a long international career of persistence.

By London 2012, she had reached the semi-finals and finished 14th, but the result came with doubt about her future. “I remember almost retiring after the 2012 Olympics in London. I felt like enough was enough, I didn’t know if I needed to give more. So to be here and competing in my fifth Olympics is unreal,” Jones said later after being named to another Olympic team.

She continued to compete at Rio 2016, where she won the silver medal in the K1 event. Having finished 7th in the semi-final, she then created a clean run in 101.82 seconds to grab New Zealand’s first-ever Olympic medal in canoe slalom. Her trip was not a smooth one after that. Tokyo 2020 brought her a huge setback with a prolonged break from training, with Covid-related issues such as tiredness, and a complete loss of her training schedule and fitness. Simple things, like getting ready for the day, became difficult at times.

She returned in all her strength for her fifth Olympics in Paris 2024, however, finishing at 8th in K1 and 5th in kayak cross. During her travels, she also went to compete in the 2019 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championship in La Seu d’Urgell, where she won a bronze medal. This is the sort of attitude and understanding of whitewater that was evident in her time during the filming of Apex.