CITY FOCUS:

Ever since he could a ride a bicycle Jimmy Romano did tricks on it, following his family’s footsteps into show business.

So it’s only natural that Romano would eventually graduate to jumping from buildings, doing 360-degree flips in moving cars and setting himself on fire. OK, so maybe that’s not so natural, but last week those daredevil feats earned the Huntington Beach resident an Emmy Award for coordinating stunts on the TV series “E-Ring,” a political drama that ran on NBC from September 2005 to February of this year.

The toughest part of his job, he said, is, “How do we shoot this stuff without getting anyone killed?”

Romano, 45, has worked on several high-profile TV series and films in a 26-year career.

Romano still performs some stunts, although he now prefers putting together all the details for an action scene.

“My job is to make sure everybody gets to walk home at the end of the night,” he said.

Some of the TV shows he’s worked on include “Cold Case,” “Numb3rs,” “Justice,” “X-Files” and “Fastlane.” Some of the more prominent movies he’s worked on include “L.A. Confidential,” “The Italian Job” and “Freaky Friday.”

Surprisingly, Romano has never broken an arm or a leg, but he’s suffered a sprain or two.

“Knock on wood,” he said with a laugh. “Sooner or later it’s going to catch up to you.”

Romano performed a “pipe ramp” for an action sequence for the TV pilot of “Dirt” starring Courteney Cox that is scheduled to air in October on the FX Channel. In this stunt, a ramp launched his car, a 1969 Mustang, about 100 feet in the air before landing on the tarmac with him inside.

He walked away from that with a few scratches and aches.

“I was a little sore the next day, but it goes with the territory,” he said.

Friend and neighbor Tim Boucher went on location with Romano to see the filming and watched him do some stunts.

“It was quite spectacular,” he said. “I really enjoyed the experience of watching the whole process.”

Boucher and Romano ride Harley-Davidsons. They hang out at a Main Street coffee bar.

“We are going to have a long friendship,” Boucher said. “He’s such an interesting person.”

Romano is excited about moving into directing the “second unit,” which is industry jargon for the film action unit that works to make all the adventure and crazy stunts look real.

Another friend, Rika Shivetts, once asked Romano if the stunts ever scared him.

“Of course you get anxious or get butterflies in your stomach, but I love it,” Romano said.

“He’s very humble,” said Shivetts, an assistant manager at the coffee shop on Main Street where Romano hangs out with his buddy. “He definitely deserves it after all these years of hard work.”

Although Romano has worked on stunts for blockbuster movies such as “Jurassic Park III,” now he wants to make more decisions about wardrobe, makeup and designing action scenes.

“It’s a lot more creative,” he explained.

Yoga and regular workouts help him stay in shape, he said. He also watches what he eats.

But Huntington Beach is his other love that he refuses to give up despite a 90-minute commute to Warner Bros. studio in Burbank.

Romano used to live in the San Fernando Valley before driving through Huntington Beach 16 years ago.

“It’s kind of like a small town, and I like that.”

“And I have my dream house.”