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Olivier Gruner

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Olivier Gruner
Gruner in January 2011
Born
Olivier Gruner

(1960-08-02) 2 August 1960 (age 64)
Paris, France
NationalityFrench
Other namesO.G.
Occupations
  • Actor
  • director
  • producer
  • screenwriter
  • martial artist
  • pilot
Years active1981–1988 (martial arts)
1989–present (acting)
Height6 ft (183 cm)
Children1
Martial arts career
DivisionMiddleweight
StyleKarate, Kickboxing
Websitewww.oliviergruner.com
Military career
Allegiance France
Service / branch French Navy
Years of service1978-1981
Unit Commandos Marine

Olivier Gruner (French: [ɔlivje ɡʁyne] ⓘ) (born August 2, 1960) is a French actor, filmmaker, martial artist and former kickboxer. Born in Paris, he moved back to France in 1988 after serving in the French military and competing as a professional kickboxer, during which time he won a silver medal at the W.A.K.O. World Championships. He has appeared in over 40 films and 4 television series and is best known for martial arts and action films.[1][2][3]

Early life and education

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Olivier Gruner was born into a French family with a background in surgery and engineering,[4][5] as the second of three sons.[6]

His interest in martial arts was sparked at the age of 11 after watching a Bruce Lee movie, which inspired him to pursue both martial arts and a potential career in the film industry.[1][4] Being constantly bullied at school pushed him to learn martial arts to defend himself.[7] He began studying Shotokan karate, then boxing, kickboxing, and full contact kickboxing.[8][5][6]

In 1978, at age 18, he joined the French Navy, volunteering for their Commandos Marine unit, also nicknamed the Bérets Verts (Green Berets).[8][5] He was operational in Djibouti and Somalia, where he was particularly involved in anti-piracy operations.[9]

Kickboxing

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In 1981, Gruner left the military with the aim of training full-time to compete professionally as a kickboxer.[5]

In 1984, he began fighting as a professional kickboxer. By 1985, his successes in the ring allowed him to fight full-time.[5][6][better source needed] Later that same year he won a silver medal in the 1985 W.A.K.O. World Championships.[10]

Gruner retired from professional kickboxing in 1987 and pursued an acting career, following the lead of bodybuilders Reg Park and Arnold Schwarzenegger.[1][4][7] To promote himself, Gruner plastered posters of himself around Cannes during the 1987 Cannes Film Festival, which caught the attention of a movie producer. Gruner was invited to Los Angeles for screen tests.

Film career

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Gruner joined Imperial Entertainment Corporation (Turner Classic Movies - TCM) and began acting in action movies.[4] He has appeared in martial arts magazines, such as Budo Journal, Combat, Impact, Inside Karate, Inside Kung Fu Yearbook and many more.[11]

In 1989, he starred in his first movie: the urban action movie Angel Town.[9] Although the film was not well received, Gruner's screen presence was notable and his acting was compared favourably to Dolph Lundgren.[12]

In 1992, Gruner starred as Alex Raine in Albert Pyun’s cyberpunk 1992 science fiction thriller Nemesis.[2][13][3] Critics appreciated the amazing movie stunts, thrilling action sequences, and innovative special effects pushing the film industry limits like Blade Runner and Terminator 2.[14] Both Nemesis and Angel Town were popular in video distribution,[15] and Nemesis is one of the movies Gruner is most proud of.[7]

In 2010, Gruner played Corsair Duguay in Tales of an Ancient Empire.

Gruner played Jagger in Escape from Paradise (2019), and Duguay in Cyborg Nemesis: The Dark Rift (2019), and The Target (2019).

2000s: Television

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In 1999, Gruner appeared as Dieter Vanderval in the episode titled "Wildlife" of the series Martial Law.

In 2001, he appeared multiple times as Tawrens, in a 26-episode television series Code Name: Eternity.

In 2005, NBC hired Gruner to produce a TV series named The Pros, a Way of Life, a project that Gruner had started in 2003. It portrayed life behind the scenes, training, and the discipline required of professional athletes.[9] Gruner had completed episodes on professional boxers, surfers, and MMA fighters,[7] when NBC decided to shelve the series, and it was never released.[4] A separate video published by Gruner is available.

Gruner played Ivan in the television series Seven Days, which premiered in 2019.

2010s: Directing

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Gruner's first involvement as a director was in 2002 with Interceptor Force 2.

In 2011, he premiered his first feature film as a screenwriter, a director, and an actor,[4] titled Re-Generator. This film was previously known as One Night, a project Gruner had been working on since 2010.[16]

In 2014, he featured as a director in Sector 4: Extraction, a direct-to-video release.

In 2015, Gruner released one more film as a director, a producer, a screenwriter, and an actor: EP/Executive Protection.

Film producing

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Early in his career, Gruner got involved in the production of some of the films in which he was appearing as an actor. This is the case for Savage (1996), Mercenary (1996), Mercenary 2: Thick & Thin (1998), Interceptor Force (1999), The Circuit (2001), and Crooked (2005).

But it was only starting in the 2010s, except Interceptor Force 2 in 2002, that he accumulated his involvement both as a producer, as an actor, and as a director in One Night (2010), Re-Generator (2011), Sector 4: Extraction (2014), and EP/Executive Protection (2015).

He has also been involved, as a producer-only, in Front Line (2015). He was both an actor and a producer in Iron Cross: The Road to Normandy (2018).

Screenwriting

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Gruner co-wrote the stories of some of the movies in which he appeared as an actor.

He wrote the stories of T.N.T. (1997), Interceptor Force 2 (2002), Crooked (2005), One Night (2010), Re-Generator (2011), and EP/Executive Protection (2015).

He also co-wrote the story and the screenplay of Lost Warrior: Left Behind (2008), and co-wrote the story of Sector 4: Extraction (2014).

Business activities

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Gruner has always been involved in several other business activities.[9]

Personal Protection Agent

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Gruner occasionally provides personal or close protection for celebrities. Some clients are more comfortable with a fellow actor who understands the pressure and demands, but can also work as a bodyguard. Gruner indeed not only has one of the highest special forces military training one can receive,[9] but also provides body-guarding training at his academy. One of such body-guarding clients is the famous Canadian singer Celine Dion.[17][18][19]

Training videos

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Gruner has been producing training videos for martial arts, combat skills, bodyguarding, and survival techniques since 2012.[6] He commercializes those under the various brands of "Gruner Tactical Training Academy" and "O.G Training". More recently, he has been producing a survival reality show video series under the name "Survival X" in 2018.

Personal training

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Gruner has always kept a side activity as a personal trainer in various martial arts such as kickboxing and mixed martial arts.[9][4] He usually dedicates this personal training time to competing martial artists, as well as retired champions.

Athletic fashion brand

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He has also created his own "O.G" trademark athletic fashion brand. Several collections were produced, including "The Lone Operator" collection, and the "Pro Series" collection in 2018.[citation needed]

Helicopter piloting

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Gruner is a licensed helicopter pilot, which allows him to mix this activity with film-producing requirements at times. For example, he worked for ABC News in Los Angeles where he did many chase videos and saw a lot of damage and lethal encounters.[9] Moreover, he was also the helicopter co-pilot in the 1999 movie Storm.[20]

He regularly flies helicopters and considers it a big part of his life. For Blue Hawaiian Helicopters, he regularly flew tours on Hawaii's Big Island. For Maverick Helicopters, he also flew tours over the Grand Canyon.[9]

Personal life

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Gruner lives in Santa Monica, California and Las Vegas, Nevada. He has one son.[4]

He has been regularly maintaining his karate, boxing and kickboxing training, which he has been completing with Brazilian jiu-jitsu, wrestling and mixed martial arts.[4]

Gruner has been a volunteer firefighter since 2015.

Kickboxing titles

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Filmography

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Films

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Year Title Involved as Role Notes
Director Producer Writer Actor
1990 Angel Town Yes Jacques Montaigne First lead and movie,[9][12]
1990 Lionheart Received thanks for facilitating access to Somalia photos used in the film via Gruner French military connections[3]
1992 Nemesis Yes Alex Raine [2][13][14]
1994 Automatic Yes J269 Fight Choreographer,[3]
1995 Savate aka The Fighter Yes Joseph Charlegrand Video, Fight choreographer
1996 Savage Yes Yes Alex Verne / Savage Associate producer
1996 Mercenary Yes Yes Captain Karl 'Hawk' May Video, Associate producer, Fight choreographer
1997 Mars Yes Caution Templar
1997 T.N.T. Yes Yes Alex Girard
1998 Mercenary 2: Thick & Thin Yes Yes Captain Karl 'Hawk' May TV movie, Co-executive producer
1999 Velocity Trap Yes ED Officer Raymond Stokes
1999 The White Pony Yes Jacques
1999 Storm Video, Helicopter co-pilot
1999 Interceptor Force Yes Yes Lieutenant Sean Lambert Producer
2000 Crackerjack 3 Yes Marcus Clay
2000 Kumite Yes Michael Rogers
2001 G.O.D. Yes Adrian Kaminski
2001 Extreme Honor Yes Cody
2001 The Circuit Yes Yes Dirk Longstreet Executive producer
2002 Power Elite Yes Captain
2002 Interceptor Force 2 Yes Yes Yes Lieutenant Sean Lambert TV movie
2003 The Circuit 2: The Final Punch Yes Dirk Longstreet Video, Executive producer, Helicopter pilot
2003 Deadly Engagement Yes Paul Gerard
2004 SWAT: Warhead One Yes Luc Rémy Video. Fight choreographer.
2005 Crooked Yes Yes Yes Phil Yordan Also named Soft Target
2006 The Circuit 3: The Street Monk Yes Dirk Longstreet Video, also named The Circuit 3: Final Flight
2007 Blizhniy Boy: The Ultimate Fighter Yes FBI Agent #1
2008 Lost Warrior: Left Behind Yes Yes Nash Daniels Video, Co-writer story and screenplay
2008 Skorumpowani Yes Montenegro
2009 Brother's War Yes Anton
2010 One Night Yes Yes Yes Yes The Beast Director
2010 Tales of an Ancient Empire Yes Corsair Duguay Also named Abelar: Tales of an ancient Empire
2011 Re-Generator Yes Yes Yes Yes The Beast Director,[16]
2013 Cyborg: Rise of the Slingers Yes Duguay
2014 Sector 4: Extraction Yes Yes Yes Yes Nash Executive producer, Co-writer
2015 EP/Executive Protection Yes Yes Yes Yes Max Webber
2015 The whole World at our Feet Yes Tony
2015 Frontline Yes Co-producer
2016 Assassin X Yes Ronus Steele Also named The Chemist
2016 Beyond the Game Yes Nash Daniels
2016 Showdown in Manila Yes Ford
2016 Darkweb Yes Stanislas
2017 Iron Cross Brothers Road Home Yes
2021 Amour Yes Robert Short film
2021 Iron Cross: The road to Normandy Yes Yes Anton
2022 Gunfight at Rio Bravo Yes Marshall Austin Carter
2022 Escape from Paradise † Yes Jagger Pre-production
2022 Cyborg Nemesis: The dark Rift † Yes Duguay Film announced. Duguay role is rumored only.
2022 The Target † Yes Film announced.
Key
† Denotes films that have not yet been released

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1999 Martial Law Dieter Vanderval Wild Life (1999)
2000 Code Name: Eternity Tawrens - The Shift (2000)

- All Fall Down (2000)
- Chameleon (2000)
- Underground (2000)
- The Box (2000)
- Not a Bite to Eat (2000)
- Dark of Night (2000)
- Project Midas (2000)
- Laura's Story (2000)
- All the News (2000)
- Sold Out for a Song (2000)
- Fatal Error (2000)
- Deep Down (2000)
- 24 Hours (2000)
- Lose Your Dreams (2000)
- Thief (2000)
- Bounty Hunter (2000)
- Death Trap (2000)
- Making Love (2000)
- Tawrens (2000)
- Never Go Home (2000)
- The Watery Grave (2000)
- The Long Drop (2000)
- The Hunter (2000)
- The Mission (2000)
- Ethaniel's Story (2000)

2005 The Pros, a way of life Himself Documentary TV Series partially produced and published by NBC before being shelved, video
2019 Seven Days Ivan - Episode #1.1 (2019)
2020 CF3: Cult Fans, Films & Finds Himself - Nemesis (1992) feat. Olivier Gruner & Thom Mathews (2020)
2021 The Circuit 2020 Dirk - Ranch Terror (2021)

- The Bank Heist (2021)
- Pawn Shop (2021)
- Wilderness (2021)

Documentaries

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Year Title Role Notes
2012 Tales of an Ancient Empire: Behind the Scenes Himself Video documentary

Stunts

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Year Title Involved as Role Notes
1994 Automatic Fight choreographer J269
1995 Savate aka The Fighter Fight choreographer Joseph Charlegrand Video
1996 Mercenary Fight choreographer Captain Karl 'Hawk' May Video, Associate producer
1996 Savage Fight choreographer Alex Verne / Savage Associate producer
2003 The Circuit 2: The Final Punch Action coordinator Dirk Longstreet Video, Executive producer, Helicopter pilot

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Olivier Gruner" Archived 27 May 2022 at the Wayback Machine, Kick'em in the Ghoulies (KITG), Accessed on December 23, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c "Test Blu-Ray: Albert Pyun - Nemesis + Mean Guns", Mickaël Lanoye, Critique Film, France, published on April 20, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d "Bey Logan interview with Olivier Gruner", Bey Logan, ReelEastHK (EELE), Published on August 08, 2012.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Olivier Gruner: the action movie Star", Alan Mercer, Alan Mercer's Profile, Published on July 9, 2010.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Olivier Gruner official website", Olivier Gruner, Olivier Gruner.com, Accessed on December 25, 2018.
  6. ^ a b c d "Olivier Gruner", Tong Po, Česko-Slovenská filmová databáze (CSFD), Accessed on January 1, 2019.
  7. ^ a b c d "Interview: Olivier Gruner", Jason Rugaard, Movies Mavericks, September 23, 2010.
  8. ^ a b "Before and after 7 action actors from the 80's who became world icons" (in Portuguese) / "Antes e depois de 7 stores de ação dos anos 80 que se tornaram ícones mundiais", Cesar Nascimento, Guilherme Rodrigues, BlastingNews, published on August 2, 2017.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Olivier Gruner the Real Thing", Interview by Erik Paulson at the CSW 2008 Camp in Fullerton, Martial Arts & Action Entertainment, Published on August 5, 2014.
  10. ^ a b "5th WAKO World Championships 1985" (PDF). wako.sport. World Association of Kickboxing Organizations. 2 November 1985. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 February 2022.
  11. ^ "Olivier Gruner", Ma-Mags, Accessed on January 2, 2019.
  12. ^ a b "'Angel Town' misses the Mark", Kevin Thomas, Movie Review - Los Angeles Times, published on February 23, 1990.
  13. ^ a b "'Nemesis' a provocative, sleek Thriller", Kevin Thomas, Movie Review - Los Angeles Times, published on January 29, 1993.
  14. ^ a b "Behind the scenes: the Making of "Nemesis" (1992)", Albert Pyun, Olivier Gruner, Imperial Entertainment, Published on March 4, 2011.
  15. ^ "Olivier Gruner", Terrence Allen, pp. 57, Black Belt, January 1, 1996.
  16. ^ a b "Review: Re-Generator (2013)", BZ Film, published on May 14, 2013.
  17. ^ "Céline Dion : Olivier ne la quitte plus?!" (in French) / "Celine Dion: Olivier doesn't separate from her anymore?", Pierre-Marie Elstir, France Dimanche, published on August 30, 2017.
  18. ^ "Céline Dion honors Olivier Gruner on his birthday" (in Portuguese)/ "Céline Dion homenageia Olivier Gruner em seu aniversário", Luiz Campos, Action News, published on August 7, 2017.
  19. ^ "Celine Dion: Warm greetings and hugs with her bodyguard" (in French)/ "Céline Dion : Voeux festifs et accolade chaleureuse avec son garde du corps", Purepeople, August 3, 2017.
  20. ^ "Storm", IMDb, Accessed on 20 December 2018.
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