Olivier Gruner () (born 2 August 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 Armed Forces 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."Olivier Gruner" , Kick'em in the Ghoulies (KITG), Accessed on 23 December 2018."Test Blu-Ray: Albert Pyun - Nemesis + Mean Guns", Mickaël Lanoye, Critique Film, France, published on 20 April 2017."Bey Logan interview with Olivier Gruner", Bey Logan, ReelEastHK (EELE), Published on 8 August 2012.
Early life and education Gruner was born into a French family with parents in the surgery and engineering industry."Olivier Gruner", Tong Po, Česko-Slovenská filmová databáze (CSFD), Accessed on 1 January 2019."Olivier Gruner: the action movie Star", Alan Mercer, Alan Mercer's Profile, Published on 9 July 2010."Olivier Gruner official website", Olivier Gruner, Olivier Gruner.com, Accessed on 25 December 2018.
Gruner began martial arts 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. Being constantly bullied at school further motivated him to learn martial arts to defend himself."Interview: Olivier Gruner", Jason Rugaard, Movies Mavericks, 23 September 2010. He began studying Shotokan karate, then boxing, kickboxing, and full contact kickboxing."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 2 August 2017.
In 1978, at age 18, he joined the French Navy, volunteering for their Commandos Marine unit, also nicknamed the Bérets Verts (Green Berets). He was operational in Djibouti and Somalia, where he was particularly involved in anti-piracy operations."Olivier Gruner the Real Thing", Interview by Erik Paulson at the CSW 2008 Camp in Fullerton, Martial Arts & Action Entertainment, Published on 5 August 2014.
Kickboxing In 1981, Gruner left the military with the aim of training full-time to compete professionally as a kickboxer.
In 1984, he began fighting as a professional kickboxer. By 1985, his successes in the ring allowed him to fight full-time. Later that same year he won a silver medal in the 1985 W.A.K.O. World Championships.
Gruner retired from professional kickboxing in 1987 and pursued an acting career, following the lead of bodybuilders Reg Park and Arnold Schwarzenegger. 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 Gruner joined Imperial Entertainment Corporation and began acting in action movies. He has appeared in martial arts magazines, such as Budo Journal, Combat, Impact, Inside Karate, Inside Kung Fu Yearbook and many more."Olivier Gruner", Ma-Mags, Accessed on 2 January 2019.
In 1989, he starred in his first movie: the urban action movie Angel Town. Although the film was not well received, Gruner's screen presence was notable, and his acting was compared favorably to Dolph Lundgren."'Angel Town' misses the Mark", Kevin Thomas, Movie Review - Los Angeles Times, published on 23 February 1990.
In 1992, Gruner starred as "Alex Raine" in Albert Pyun's cyberpunk 1992 science fiction thriller Nemesis."'Nemesis' a provocative, sleek Thriller", Kevin Thomas, Movie Review - Los Angeles Times, published on 29 January 1993. Critics appreciated the amazing movie stunts, thrilling action sequences, and innovative special effects pushing the film industry limits like Blade Runner and Terminator 2."Behind the scenes: the Making of "Nemesis" (1992)", Albert Pyun, Olivier Gruner, Imperial Entertainment, Published on 4 March 2011. Both Nemesis and Angel Town were popular in video distribution,"Olivier Gruner", Terrence Allen, pp. 57, Black Belt, 1 January 1996. and Nemesis is one of the movies Gruner is most proud of.
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
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. Gruner had completed episodes on professional boxers, surfers, and MMA fighters, when NBC decided to shelve the series, and it was never released. A separate video published by Gruner is available.
Gruner played Ivan in the television series Seven Days, which premiered in 2019.
2010s: Directing
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, titled Re-Generator. This film was previously known as One Night, a project Gruner had been working on since 2010."Review: Re-Generator (2013)", BZ Film, published on 14 May 2013.
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
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 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
Gruner has always been involved in several other business activities.
Personal Protection Agent
Gruner occasionally provides personal or close protection for celebrities. Many clients prefer an actor who understands the pressure and demands. Gruner does in fact have military training from the Bérets Verts, and that is enough experience for many clients. One of such body-guarding clients is the famous Canadian singer Celine Dion."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 30 August 2017."Céline Dion honors Olivier Gruner on his birthday" (in Portuguese)/ "Céline Dion homenageia Olivier Gruner em seu aniversário", Luiz Campos, Action News, published on 7 August 2017."Celine Dion: Warm greetings and hugs with her bodyguard" (in French)/ "Céline Dion : Voeux festifs et accolade chaleureuse avec son garde du corps", Purepeople, 3 August 2017.
However, Gruner also provides body-guarding training at his academy "Gruner Tactical" Or "Gruner Tactical Training Academy."
Training videos
Gruner has been producing training videos for martial arts, combat skills, bodyguarding, and survival techniques since 2012. 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
Gruner has always kept a side activity as a personal trainer in various martial arts such as kickboxing and mixed martial arts. He usually dedicates this personal training time to competing martial artists, as well as retired champions.
Helicopter piloting
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.
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.
Personal life
Gruner lives part-time in both Santa Monica, California and Las Vegas, Nevada. He has one son.
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.
Kickboxing titles
1985 W.A.K.O. World Championships - Men's Full-Contact Middleweight -75 kg
Filmography
Films Year Title Involved asRole Notes Director Producer Writer Actor 1990 Angel Town Jacques Montaigne First lead and movie 1990 Lionheart Received thanks for facilitating access to Somalia photos used in the film via Gruner French military connections 1992 Nemesis Alex Raine 1994 Automatic J269 Fight Choreographer 1995 Savate (aka The Fighter) Joseph Charlegrand Video, Fight choreographer 1996 Savage Alex Verne / Savage Associate producer 1996 Mercenary Captain Karl 'Hawk' May Video, Associate producer, Fight choreographer 1997 Mars Caution Templar 1997 T.N.T. Alex Girard 1998 Mercenary 2: Thick & Thin Captain Karl 'Hawk' May TV movie, Co-executive producer 1999 Velocity Trap ED Officer Raymond Stokes 1999 The White Pony Jacques 1999 Storm Video, Helicopter co-pilot 1999 Interceptor Force Lieutenant Sean Lambert Producer 2000 Crackerjack 3 Marcus Clay 2000 Kumite Michael Rogers 2001 G.O.D. Adrian Kaminski 2001 Extreme Honor Cody 2001 The Circuit Dirk Longstreet Executive producer 2002 Power Elite Captain 2002 Interceptor Force 2 Lieutenant Sean Lambert TV movie 2003 The Circuit 2: The Final Punch Dirk Longstreet Video, Executive producer, Helicopter pilot 2003 Deadly Engagement Paul Gerard 2004 SWAT: Warhead One Luc Rémy Video. Fight choreographer. 2005 Crooked Phil Yordan Also named Soft Target 2006 The Circuit 3: The Street Monk Dirk Longstreet Video, also named The Circuit 3: Final Flight 2007 Blizhniy Boy: The Ultimate Fighter FBI Agent #1 2008 Lost Warrior: Left Behind Nash Daniels Video, Co-writer story and screenplay 2008 Skorumpowani Montenegro 2009 Brother's War Anton 2010 One Night The Beast Director 2010 Tales of an Ancient Empire Corsair Duguay Also named Abelar: Tales of an ancient Empire 2011 Re-Generator The Beast Director 2013 Cyborg: Rise of the Slingers Duguay 2014 Sector 4: Extraction Nash Executive producer, Co-writer 2015 EP/Executive Protection Max Webber 2015 The whole World at our Feet Tony 2015 Frontline Co-producer 2016 Assassin X Ronus Steele Also named The Chemist 2016 Beyond the Game Nash Daniels 2016 Showdown in Manila Ford 2016 Darkweb Stanislas 2017 Iron Cross Brothers Road Home 2021 Amour Robert Short film 2021 Iron Cross: The road to Normandy Anton 2022 Gunfight at Rio Bravo Marshall Austin Carter 2022 Escape from Paradise Jagger Pre-production 2022 Cyborg Nemesis: The Dark Rift Duguay Film announced. Duguay role is rumored only. 2022 The Target Film announced.