The real Bodyguard! Ex-close protection officer who looked after Uma Thurman and Bradley Cooper – and once had to avert a child kidnap plot – says bug-sweeping, firearms and Hollywood egos are all in a day’s work
- Michael Chandler became a close protection officer to the stars in his 20s
- He guarded Paul McCartney, Uma Thurman and Bradley Cooper amongst others
- Read more: Bodyguard who’s looked after A-listers reveals what it’s REALLY like
A retired close protection officer, who now trains others in elite security, has revealed what it’s really like to be charged with protecting the lives of the world’s rich and famous – and says the idea that you need to be ‘big and burly’ to do the job is a myth.
Michael Chandler, 37, who grew up on a council estate in Islington, London, spent most of his twenties and early thirties protecting some of the biggest celebrities in Hollywood – including Uma Thurman, Bradley Cooper and Sir Paul McCartney.
He’s also worked for a series of high net worth families – think Russian oligarchs and Middle Eastern royalty – in various parts of the globe and executed counter-intelligence operations to protect VIPs – including politicians – at events.
Expected to wear a firearm while on duty in the US and Russia – although not in the UK, Chandler – who by his own admission was ‘skinny’ when he first entered the close protection world – was once charged with creating a security plan for one of the world’s most famous film directors, after a stalker became increasingly menacing.
Speaking to MailOnline, Chandler’s former job sounds like the script of a Hollywood action film might read; where sweeping for bugs, intercepting death threats and dealing with the diva demands of the entertainment industry are all in a day’s work.
Former close protection officer Michael Chandler, pictured with Uma Thurman in London 2012, has protected some of the world’s biggest stars, including Sir Paul McCartney, and a host of high net worth individuals in Russia and the Middle East
He now runs his own company, which has offices across the globe, training others how to become close protection officers – and says being big and burly is not always required for the job
As well as working with stars like Bradley Cooper (pictured), he has also worked for a series of high net worth families – think Russian oligarchs and Middle Eastern royalty
He recounts how his team coolly thwarted a child hostage plot, saying: ‘I had to deal with a kidnap threat made to the daughter of a famous sportsperson’.
After he was told of the threat, which came via a telephone call to a family member, he says: ‘I was ordered to drive back to the house immediately.
‘Upon arrival at the property, the words “kidnap” and “criminal” had been mentioned in the same sentence and a decision was made by the head of the family that the daughter should leave immediately.’
He adds: ‘When I say “leave”, I mean leave the country. A friend had arranged a private jet and so we drove, with caution, to a private airfield where the aircraft was fuelled and waiting.’
There was a deep sigh of relief he says, when the girl ‘crossed the customs line’, knowing that she was now in a’ controlled, safe environment where it was unlikely anything could happen.’
Now retired from the close protection frontline in favour of training others to do it via his own company, Vanquish Security, he says that most individuals ‘who surpass a certain threshold in terms of personal wealth are likely to have a number of “generic” threats imposed upon them.’
These include; theft, robbery, burglary, fraud and kidnap for ransom, making hiring a security team a no-brainer for the vast majority of those individuals.
A trained officer can expect to earn from around £150 to £1,000-a-day depending on experience. The biggest misconception about those working in the industry? That they’re always physically imposing.
When he started in his early twenties, Chandler says he was ‘skinny’ and ‘would have been laughed at’ if he’d have said out loud that he wanted to be a bodyguard on the council estate he grew up on in North London.
The bodyguard explained how he was expected to wear a firearm while on duty in the US and Russia although not in the UK while protecting celebrities (pictured with Paul McCartney)
Gossip Girl star Chase Crawford is among the stars who have been protected by the bodyguard over the years
On the job: Chandler, now 37, pictured working as a bodyguard to the stars, including Dizzee Rascal in 2010, and US singer Carly Rae Jepson in 2012
Islington-raised, Chandler said he was ‘skinny’ when he was younger and would have been laughed at if he’d have mentioned he wanted to be a bodyguard
Chandler, who has worked with a number of high profile sports people, can be seen escorting Tom Daley safely from the club Funky Buddha in London in 2012
He explains: ‘If you look at the King’s close protection operatives. They’re not big, burly men. We still have that mindset that they should be, probably because of the door supervision side of the industry.
‘Actually a lot of them are either serving or ex military, or serving or ex police officers who have to pass a fitness test, that isn’t based on muscle mass.’
Age isn’t always as important as you might think either – Chandler has trained people in their sixties. A huge gender imbalance in the close protection industry remains though, much to Chandler’s frustration.
He said: ‘I’ve tried campaigning for more women to train but predominantly it’s still men working as close protection officers.
‘We need more women, particularly in roles working with high net worth females in certain parts of the world such as for Middle Eastern royalty – we’d snap them up for roles.’
The right clothes – a smart suit for a business meeting to blend in, for example – and smooth interpersonal skills are just as important as being able to fire a gun – something that’s not allowed in the UK but is ‘expected’ in the US, Russia and the Middle East.
He divulges that most of the actual stars he’s worked with have been pleasant to deal with, saying it’s often the peripheral entertainment industry staff such as film PRs who treat bodyguards like second-class citizens.
Chandler says he was initially drawn to the job because it was ‘completely different’ from anything else, winding in diverse elements including travel, medical skills, firearms training and intelligence acquisition.
His efforts to join the Royal Military Police, which carry out most close protection operations overseas and in the UK, were thwarted by his then lack of a Maths GCSE – he has dyscalculia (numerical dyslexia) – and so he ended up working in construction, self-funding a close protection training course and doing freelance security jobs within the film industry to gain experience.
A gig with an investigative company gave him vital skills in close surveillance and intelligence acquisition – which saw him then prosper on the celebrity circuit.
In recent years, Vanquish Security has expanded across the globe with offices in destinations including Dubai, Singapore and Canada and Chandler has also gained a law degree – he says understanding how the law works is crucial to the job and will get him into rooms that not having that qualification wouldn’t – allowing him to further build on the company’s success.
What would his 16-year-old self, who failed his Maths GCSE first time around, say about his successes? ‘He’d have expected me to have a yacht by now!’ he jokes.
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