Olivier Gruner French actor, former world kickboxing champion. Date of Birth: 02.08.1960 Country: France

1. Biography of Olivier Gruner
2. Selected Filmography

Biography of Olivier Gruner

Olivier Gruner, a French actor and former world kickboxing champion, was born in Paris, France in 1960. Despite his family's background in medicine and engineering, Olivier chose a different path in life. At the age of 11, after watching Bruce Lee movies, he became captivated by martial arts and started studying Shotokan Karate. Later, he also took up boxing and kickboxing.

Instead of going to university, as many expected, Olivier joined the French special forces known as "Les Nageurs de combat" (Combat Swimmers) at the age of 18. During his time in the military, he learned diving, parachuting, and the basics of mountaineering, among other skills required for elite soldiers. In 1981, Olivier left the army to pursue a professional career in kickboxing.

To support his training, Olivier worked as a bouncer, a ski instructor, a coach, and a ski lift operator. In 1984, he began his professional kickboxing career in France, winning his first ten fights and becoming the French middleweight champion. By 1985, his successes in the ring allowed him to fully focus on his kickboxing career, and in 1986, he became the World Middleweight Kickboxing Champion.

After achieving his dream of becoming a world champion, Olivier pursued careers as a model and an actor. His acting career led to appearances in nearly 30 films and several TV series, earning him a reputation as one of the most disciplined actors in Hollywood. Despite his busy schedule, Olivier finds time for his hobbies, including helicopter piloting, skiing, skydiving, and his newest passion, surfing.

Selected Filmography

• 1990 - Angel Town as Jacques
• 1993 - Nemesis as Alex
• 1994 - Automatic as Jay 269
• 1997 - Velocity Trap as Officer Raymond Stokes
• 1997 - Mercenary as Captain Carl "Hawk" May
• 1997 - Mercenary II: Thick & Thin as Captain Carl "Hawk" May
• 1997 - Savate as Joseph Charlegrand
• 1997 - Savage as Savage/Alex
• 1998 - Mars as Koshen Templar
• 1998 - T.N.T. as Alex
• 1999 - Interceptors as Lieutenant Sean Lambert
• 1999 - The White Pony as Jacques
• 2000 - Kumite as Michael Rogers
• 2000 - Crackerjack 3 as Marcus Clay
• 2001 - G.O.D. (Guaranteed On Delivery) as Adrian Kaminski
• 2001 - Extreme Honor as Cody
• 2002 - The Circuit as Dirk Longstrit
• 2002 - Power Elite as Captain
• 2002 - The Circuit 2: The Final Punch as Dirk Longstrit
• 2002 - Interceptor Force 2 as Lieutenant Sean Lambert
• 2003 - Deadly Engagement as Paul Gerard
• 2005 - Soft Target as Yordan
• 2005 - SWAT: Warhead One as Luke Remy

Aside from his acting career, Olivier Gruner creates educational films on kickboxing and has his own line of sports apparel called O.G. (Olivier Gruner). He stands at a height of 1.83 meters and enjoys various hobbies, including surfing, skydiving, mountaineering, skiing, diving, and helicopter piloting.