Gary Daniels
| Gary Daniels Gary Edward Daniels |
|
|---|---|
| Born | Gary Edward Daniels 9 May 1963 London, England, UK |
| Native name | Gary Edward Daniels |
| Nationality | English |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.79 m) |
| Weight | 12 st 9 lb (80 kg) |
| Division | Middleweight Light Heavyweight |
| Reach | 77.5 in (197 cm) |
| Style | Kickboxing, Muay Thai, Taekwondo |
| Stance | Southpaw |
| Fighting out of | California, United States |
| Team | The Jet Center Piston Kickboxing Gym Team Daniels |
| Trainer | Mickey Byrne Yuki Horiuchi |
| Rank | 2nd degree black belt in Taekwondo |
| Years active | 1979-2008 |
| Kickboxing record | |
| Total | 5 |
| Wins | 4 |
| By knockout | 2 |
| Losses | 1 |
| Amateur career | |
| Total | 35 |
| Wins | 31 |
| By knockout | 30 |
| Losses | 4 |
| Other information | |
| Occupation | Actor, Martial Artist, Kicboxer |
Gary Edward Daniels (born 9 May 1963) is a British actor and retired professional and amateur kickboxer who scored 33 knockout victories, and a former World Light-heavyweight Kickboxing Champion (P.K.A.); known for appearing in action-oriented martial arts B-films.[1] Daniels has performed in over 50 films since his start as an extra in an episode of the 1980s television series Miami Vice. He is best known for playing Kenshiro in the live-action version of Fist of the North Star. He is also known for his roles in the Jackie Chan film City Hunter, and as Bryan Fury in the 2010 live-action film Tekken, based upon the popular fighting game series. He was also seen in the Sylvester Stallone film The Expendables as Lawrence "The Brit" Sparks, an ally of the villain James Munroe.[2]
Contents
Early life
Gary Daniels was born in London, England, on 9 May 1963. Inspired by the Bruce Lee film Enter the Dragon, Daniels began training in martial arts at the age of 8 at a local school where he learned a hybrid martial art known as "Mongolian Kung Fu" that combined wing chun, boxing, Mongolian Wrestling and Wushu, that was found in late 1960's. He then took up taekwondo at 12 years old and received his black belt after 3 years. At 16, he became a 2nd dan and began competing in ITF taekwondo tournaments. His aggressive style did not sit well with British officials, however, and he lost 3 fights by disqualification. Daniels also trains kickboxing, muay thai and kung fu.
Amateur kickboxing career
Daniels began kickboxing at the age of seventeen under the tutelage of former British Army boxing champion Mickey Byrne. He debuted in 1979, and compiled a record of 13 victories (13 knockouts) and 3 defeats; including two matches with Jean-Claude Van Damme opponent, Michael J. Heming.[3] Daniels early matches in England and in the United States were amateur matches.[4]
In 1980, Daniels decided to leave England and move to the state of Florida in the United States to continue his career.
In his first United States match, Daniels defeated Sherman "Big Train" Bergman (The only kickboxer to have knocked down Jean-Claude Van Damme),[5] by decision at the Sunshine State Tournament in Coconut Grove, Florida.[5][6][7] However, in the quarter-finals of the tournament, Daniels was eliminated after he lost a 3-round decision.(Source, Miami Herald, 7 March 1980, Sports Section) Daniels rebounded with an 18-second knockout of Tim "Night Life" Williams at a WKBA event in Orlando, Florida.
Daniels had an amateur kickboxing record of 31 wins, 30 by knockout and 4 defeats.
Professional kickboxing career
In the late 1980s, Daniels moved to California and began practicing Muay Thai at Benny Urquidez's Jet Center and Yuki Horiuchi's Piston Kickboxing Gym. He also became a professional kick-boxer,
In November 1990, Daniels won the WKBA California State Light Heavyweight Championship and the PKA World Light Heavyweight Championship in England within the space of a month.
On 3 December 1991 in Birmingham, England, Daniels fought a 3-round, No Decision, exhibition match with 11-time World Kickboxing Champion Don "The Dragon" Wilson at the World Martial Arts Extravaganza.
Daniels retired with an undefeated professional kickboxing record of 4-0-0 with 2 knockouts.
Fifteen years later in 2008, Daniels made a one-fight comeback in Thailand at the age of 45 and he lost by decision after 5 rounds.[8]
Acting career
Daniels began his film career in the Philippines, appearing in two low-budget films Final Reprisal and The Secret of King Mahis Island. His first starring film role was in the David Huey film Capital Punishment in 1991. He played a villain alongside Richard Norton in the film adaptation of City Hunter starring Jackie Chan; he was particularly known for a fight scene where he and Chan transform into various characters from the video game Street Fighter II. By 1996 Daniels had begun working on projects as a producer. His first producer credit occurred in the Joseph Merhi film Rage. Throughout his career he has also served as a fight coordinator. He can also be seen in the Steven Seagal project Submerged, directed by Anthony Hickox. He is still best known for portraying the heroic Kenshiro in the American live-action version of Japanese manga Fist of the North Star.
Among Daniels's fans, films that stand out include American Streetfighter, White Tiger, Bloodmoon, Recoil, Rage, Riot, Firepower, Heatseeker and Cold Harvest. Fist of the North Star also holds a considerable cult following. In 2012 he was in a film called "The Encounter: Paradise Lost"
Gary portrayed Bryan Fury in the film version of the popular video game series Tekken. He also starred in Sylvester Stallone's The Expendables as the Brit and appears in a controversial scene in which his neck is snapped.[9] Daniels re-teams with Steve Austin and Eric Roberts in Hunt to Kill.
Daniels was once considered for the role of Johnny Cage in the movie version of Mortal Kombat. He was also a front runner for the lead role in the hit series Highlander: The Series but lost the role to Adrian Paul.
Compared to martial arts actors such as Jet Li or Steven Seagal, Daniels's fighting style is much less classifiable. He has studied muay thai, kickboxing, taekwondo, boxing, ninjitsu, and Northern Shaolin kung fu. In his films, he employs a mixed martial arts style, leading with strong, sweeping kicks and sometimes engaging in close quarters fights with complex hand to hand choreography. As he mentions on the commentary track on the Fist of the North Star DVD, his main discipline is the hybrid kung fu art, Siu Lum Wong Gar Kune (Shaolin Wong Family Fist), which he studied under Sifu Winston Omega, who also served as fight choreographer on Fist of the North Star.
Titles
- Professional Karate Association
- PKA World Light Heavyweight Championship
- World Kick Boxing Association
- WKBA California State Light Heavyweight Championship
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Final Reprisal | David Callahan | First lead role |
| The Secret Of King Mahis Island | Chuck | Second lead role | |
| 1991 | Ring of Fire | Bud | First time partnered with Don "The Dragon" Wilson |
| In Between | The Guardian | ||
| Capital Punishment | James Thayer | Lead Role | |
| 1992 | Jin san jiao qun ying hui | Martial Artist in Prologue | |
| Final Impact | Nick's Club Fighter | ||
| Deadly Bet | Fletch | ||
| Bloodfist IV: Die Trying | Scarface | Second time partnered with Don "The Dragon" Wilson | |
| American Streetfighter | Jake Tanner | Lead role and also fight choreographer | |
| 1993 | City Hunter | Kim | First time partnered with Jackie Chan |
| American Streetfighter 2: Full Impact | Jared Taskin | Lead role and also fight choreographer | |
| Hardcase | Tom Hawke/Hardcase | Lead role | |
| Knights | David | ||
| Firepower | Nick Sledge | Lead role | |
| 1994 | Pocket Ninjas | The White Dragon | Lead role, but not released until 1997 |
| Deadly Target | Charles Prince | Lead role | |
| 1995 | Fist of the North Star | Kenshirô | Lead role |
| Heatseeker | Xao | ||
| Rage | Alex Gainer | Lead role and also associate producer | |
| 1996 | White Tiger | Mike Ryan | Lead role |
| Hawk's Vengeance | Eric Hawke | Lead role and also fight choreographer | |
| 1997 | Bloodmoon | Ken O'Hara | Lead role and also associate producer |
| Riot | Maj. Shane Alcott | Lead role | |
| 1998 | Recoil | Det. Ray Morgan | Lead role and also associate producer |
| Spoiler | Roger Mason | Lead role | |
| 1999 | No Tomorrow | Jason | Lead role |
| Cold Harvest | Roland Chaney/Oliver Chaney | Lead role | |
| Delta Force One: The Lost Patrol | Capt. James Wellford | Lead role | |
| 2000 | The Ides of March | Thomas Cane | Lead role and unreleased to date. Title also changed to Ultimate Target |
| City of Fear | Steve Roberts | Lead role | |
| Fatal Blade | Richard Fox | Lead role and also associate producer | |
| 2001 | Queen's Messenger | Captain Anthony Strong | Lead role |
| Witness to a Kill | Captain Anthony Strong | Lead role and it's a sequel to Queen's Messenger | |
| 2002 | Epicenter | Nick Constantine | Lead role |
| Black Friday | Dean Campbell | Lead role and also producer | |
| 2004 | Retrograde | Markus | First time partnered with Dolph Lundgren |
| 2005 | Submerged | Col. Sharpe | |
| 2006 | Reptilicant | Ryan Moore | Lead role |
| 2007 | Immortally Yours | Sebastian | |
| 2008 | Dark Secrets | Darryl Van Dyke | Lead role |
| 2009 | La Linea | Martin | First time partnered with Andy Garcia |
| 2010 | Game of Death | Zander | |
| Tekken | Bryan Fury | ||
| The Expendables | The Brit | Second time partnered with Dolph Lundgren First time partnered with Jet Li, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Eric Roberts |
|
| Hunt to Kill | Jensen | Straight to DVD Second time partnered with Stone Cold Steve Austin and Eric Roberts |
|
| Across the Line | Michaels | Second time partnered with Andy Garcia | |
| The Lazarus Papers | Sebastian Riker | ||
| 2011 | Johnny's Gone | Unknown | |
| Forced To Fight | Shane | Lead role and fight choreographer | |
| 2012 | The Mark | Joseph Pike | Third time partnered with Eric Roberts |
| A Stranger In Paradise | Derek | ||
| The Encounter: Paradise Lost | Charlie Doles | ||
| The Mark: Redemption | Joseph Pike | Fourth time partnered with Eric Roberts | |
| The Rogue | Kiefer | ||
| Liberty | Agent Gunner | ||
| 2013 | Branson's Country | Unknown | rumored |
| Human Factor | Chad | ||
| Payday 2 Web Series | Hector | ||
| 2014 | Tekken 2: Kazuya's Revenge | Bryan Fury | |
| Quyên | Hans | ||
| Misfire | Cole | Lead role | |
| 2015 | Skin Traffik | Bradley | Lead role. Second time partnered with Mickey Rourke, Michael Madsen and Jeff Fahey. Fifth time partnered with Eric Roberts. |
| Rumble | David Goran | Lead role | |
| Zero Tolerance | Sammy |
Professional kickboxing record
| Date | Result | Opponent | Event | Location | Method | Round | Time | |
| 2008 | Loss |  |
carlo la Torre | Thailand | Decision | 5 | 3:00 | |
| 1993-00 | Win |  |
Professional Karate Association | London, England | KO | |||
| 1992-00 | Win | |
Professional Karate Association | London, England | KO | |||
| 1991-12-03 | No Decision |  Don "The Dragon" Wilson |
World Martial Arts Extravaganza | Birmingham, UK | Exhibition | 3 | ||
| 1990-11 | Win | |
Professional Karate Association | London, England | ||||
| Wins PKA World Light Heavyweight Championship. | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990-11 | Win | |
World Kick Boxing Association | California, USA | ||||
| Wins WKBA California State Light Heavyweight Championship. | ||||||||
Amateur kickboxing record
| Date | Result | Opponent | Event | Location | Method | Round | Time | |
| 1989 | Win | "Florida" John Johnson |
Independent Event | Tampa, Florida, USA | TKO | 3 | ||
| 1989 | Win | Willard Williams |
Karate Tournament | Tampa, Florida, USA | TKO | 1 | ||
| 1988 | Win | Marco Harris |
World Karate Association | Tampa, Florida, USA | TKO | 3 | ||
| 1988 | Win | Otha Robson |
World Karate Association | Tampa, Florida, USA | TKO | 2 | ||
| 1987 | Win | Marco Harris |
World Karate Association | Orlando, Florida, USA | TKO | 3 | ||
| 1987 | Win | Leroy Bennett |
Karate Tournament | Tampa, Florida, USA | KO | 1 | ||
| 1986 | Win | Daton Moore |
World Karate Association | Apopka, Florida, USA | KO | 1 | ||
| 1986 | Win | Jack Kronheim |
Professional Karate Association | Gulfport, Florida, USA | TKO | 2 | ||
| 1985 | Win | Lamont Coleman |
World Karate Association | Safety Harbor, Florida, USA | KO | 1 | ||
| 1985 | Win | Daton Moore |
Karate Tournament | Tampa, Florida, USA | TKO | 3 | ||
| 1984 | Win | "Hurricane" Wally Johnson |
World Karate Association | Safety Harbor, Florida, USA | TKO | 1 | ||
| 1984 | Win |  Humberto Hernandez |
World Kick Boxing Association | Tampa, Florida, USA | TKO | 3 | ||
| 1983 | Win | Oscar Martinez |
World Kick Boxing Association | Orlando, Florida, USA | TKO | 3 | ||
| 1983 | Win | Calvin Brown |
Professional Karate Association | USA | KO | 2 | ||
| 1982 | Win | Angel Requena |
World Kick Boxing Association | Orlando, Florida, USA | TKO | 3 | ||
| 1981 | Win | Efrain Brizuela |
World Kick Boxing Association | Orlando, Florida, USA | TKO | 3 | ||
| 1980 | Win | Tim Williams |
World Kick Boxing Association | Orlando, Florida, USA | KO | 1 | 0:18 | |
| 1980-03-05 | Loss | |
Sunshine State Tournament, Semi Finals | Miami, Florida, USA | Decision | 3 | 3:00 | |
| 1980-03-05 | Win | Sherman Bergman |
Sunshine State Tournament, Quarter Finals | Miami, Florida, USA | Decision | 3 | 3:00 | |
| 1979 | Win | Michael J. Heming |
British Full-Contact Organization | London, England | KO | 1 | ||
| 1979 | Loss | Michael J. Heming |
British Full-Contact Organization | London, England | DQ | 1 | ||
| 1979 | Win | Billy Boyle |
British Regionals | London, England | TKO | 1 | ||
| 1979 | Win | Lawrence Thomas |
PKA British Open | London, England | TKO | 1 | ||
| 1979 | Win | Burton Miles |
PKA British Open | London, England | TKO | 1 | ||
| 1979 | Win | Henry Williams |
PKA British Open | London, England | TKO | 1 | ||
| 1979 | Win | Cliff Bromley |
British Regionals | London, England | TKO | 1 | ||
| 1979 | Win | Barry McCormack |
PKA British Open | London, England | TKO | 1 | ||
| 1979 | Win | Jackie Cullen |
PKA British Open | London, England | TKO | 1 | ||
| 1979 | Win | Arthur Reeves |
PKA British Open | London, England | TKO | 1 | ||
| 1979 | Win | Pat Baker |
PKA British Open | London, England | KO | 1 | ||
| 1979 | Win | Bernie Jenkins |
PKA British Open | London, England | TKO | 2 | ||
| 1979 | Loss | Norman Baxter |
British Full-Contact Organization | London, England | DQ | 1 | ||
| 1979 | Win | Ryan Racken |
PKA British Open | London, England | KO | 1 | ||
| 1979 | Loss | Derek Harris |
British Full-Contact Organization | London, England | DQ | 1 | ||
| 1979 | Win | Stephen Oliver |
PKA British Open | London, England | TKO | 2 |
Legend: Win Loss Draw/No contest Notes |}
References
- ↑ Gary Daniels Bio http://ronin5.com
- ↑ Gary Daniels Bio IMDb
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- Miami Herald, 5 March 1980, Sports: NOVICE (Division): "Lightmiddleweight-Gary Daniels def. Sherman Bergman".
- INSIDE KUNG-FU PRESENTS: KICKBOXING-SPORT OF THE 90s, August 1993, Front page story-HIS GAME IS A FOOT! Gary Daniels trades the ring for the reel thing.
