Bryan Genesse
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Bryan Genesse is a Canadian actor and martial artist, perhaps best known for his
action Action may refer to: * Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person * Action principles the heart of fundamental physics * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video gam ...
roles on the television series ''
Street Justice ''Street Justice'' is a Canadian-American action crime drama series starring Carl Weathers and Bryan Genesse. The series began airing in syndication in 1991, and was canceled in 1993 after two seasons. Synopsis The series revolves around U. ...
'', and in early productions of the Nu Image film company.


Career


Early years

Genesse was born in
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
,
Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
, but grew up in
Welland Welland is a city in the Regional Municipality of Niagara in Southern Ontario, Canada. As of 2021, it had a population of 55,750. The city is in the centre of Niagara and located within a half-hour driving distance to Niagara Falls, Niagara-on ...
, in the same
province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
. At age 13, he got into martial arts in order to stand up to bullies. He discovered his interest for acting when he took part in a high school play, and subsequently attended drama school at
George Brown College The George Brown College of Applied Arts and Technology is a public, fully accredited college (Canada), college of applied arts and technology with three campuses in downtown Toronto (Ontario, Canada). Like many other colleges in Ontario, George ...
in
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
. However, he left after a year to fast track his professional career. Genesse quickly garnered minor roles in Canadian-filmed series, and moved to
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
when he was 19 to further improve his professional network. He remained there for three and a half years, while still pursuing gigs in his native Canada. The actor first gained notice playing womanizing types in raunchy comedies, making his feature debut as the lead in 1985's '' Screwballs II'', followed by two antagonistic turns, as a British rock star in
Blake Edwards Blake Edwards (born William Blake Crump; July 26, 1922 – December 15, 2010) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Edwards began his career in the 1940s as an actor, but he soon began writing screenplays and radio scripts ...
' '' Skin Deep'' and a lecherous, conniving nightclub owner in ''California Casanova'' (wrapped in 1989 but belatedly released in 1991). Genesse was also asked to read for the character of
Storm Logan The Logan family is a fictional family in the CBS Daytime soap opera ''The Bold and the Beautiful''. The family debuted in the soap opera's first episode, and were a central family in the show's early years, but by the early 1990s, most of the ...
in the new soap opera ''
The Bold and the Beautiful ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' (often referred to as ''B&B'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. It premiered on March 23, 1987, as a sister show to the Bells' other soap opera ''Th ...
''. Mistakenly believing that the character's nickname reflected his lifestyle, when he was in fact a regular lawyer, Genesse went to the audition in streetwear and sporting a spiky hairdo. The shows' producers were taken aback at first, but found the irreverent style to be a welcome departure from daytime drama conventions, and wrote a brand new character to accommodate him, called Rocco Carner. While most press profiles at the time emphasized the sensitive image befitting of a soap star, his slightly edgier persona allowed for sporadic allusions to his martial arts background, and he did pose for a few glamour shots with traditional Asian weapons. Genesse also hosted a semi-fictional children's instructional video made by former
Cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...
executives to bank on the ''
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (''TMNT'') is an American media franchise created by comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Donatello (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), D ...
'' phenomenon, entitled ''How to Become a Teenage Ninja''.


Transition to action roles

While making ''B&B''-related personal appearances in
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, Genesse was called back to Los Angeles to audition for Stephen Cannell's next series to be shot in Canada, ''
Street Justice ''Street Justice'' is a Canadian-American action crime drama series starring Carl Weathers and Bryan Genesse. The series began airing in syndication in 1991, and was canceled in 1993 after two seasons. Synopsis The series revolves around U. ...
'', in a role that would take advantage of his interest for martial arts. In addition to starring on the show, he served as fight choreographer. ''Street Justice'' led to an image change for Genesse, who was featured on the cover of several martial arts magazines, such as CFW's ''
Inside Kung Fu ''Inside Kung-Fu'' was a monthly United States magazine founded in December 1973. Its last issue was in April 2011. History The magazine featured articles on modern wushu and kung fu Chinese martial arts, commonly referred to with umbrel ...
'' and ''Kung Fu Masters''. Following the series' two-season run, Genesse was approached to star in action films made by Nu Image, a fledgling company then primarily based in
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
. He debuted for them in '' Night Siege: Project Shadowchaser II'' opposite Frank Zagarino. The two would become friends and co-star in several more movies. A few months later, Genesse received top billing in ''Human Timebomb'', which Nu Image's U.S. distributor,
New Line New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...
, chose to rebrand as a sequel to their 1992 film '' Live Wire'' in the territory. It was also successful in Japan, and earned the actor a multi-picture contract from Nu Image, with whom he has remained closely associated for most of his career. Genesse, who had contemplated writing since his early days as a performer, scripted and co-produced 2000's '' The Alternate'', in which he also acted alongside his wife Brooke Theiss,
Eric Roberts Eric Anthony Roberts (born April 18, 1956) is an American actor. He has amassed more than 700 film and television credits since his debut in 1978, making him one of the most prolific English-speaking screen actors of all time. Roberts' career ...
,
Ice-T Tracy Lauren Marrow (born February 16, 1958), known professionally as Ice-T (or Ice T), is an American rapper and actor. He is active in both hip hop music, hip hop and heavy metal music, heavy metal. Ice-T began his career as an underground r ...
and
Michael Madsen Michael Madsen (born September 25, 1957) is an American actor. Alongside his frequent collaborations with Quentin Tarantino—''Reservoir Dogs'' (1992), ''Kill Bill: Volume 2'' (2004), ''The Hateful Eight'' (2015), and ''Once Upon a Time in Hol ...
. After Madsen expressed interest in teaming up again, Genesse put together ''Bad Guys'', which marked his second writing credit and his directorial debut. However, the film was affected by turmoil at production company Giants Entertainment and only saw release in a handful of markets. In 2003, Genesse had a serious accident while filming a combat stunt on ''Fire'', part of Nu Image's ''Nature Unleashed'' series of disaster films. He suffered knee,
hamstring A hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in human anatomy between the hip and the knee: from medial to lateral, the semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris. Etymology The word " ham" is derived from the Old ...
and back injuries, which left him with walking difficulties. The actor went through a lengthy rehabilitation process in his native Canada, which took between five and six years—partly due to insurance issues—and virtually ended his acting career. He did appear in a minor role in '' Edison'', a 2005 crime drama from Nu Image's premium production arm,
Millennium Films A millennium () is a period of one thousand years, one hundred decades, or ten centuries, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting p ...
.


Return to television

Following a lengthy hiatus from the screen, Genesse returned to his soap opera roots on ''The Bold and the Beautiful''. He reprised his early role of Rocco Carner, with the first episode of his story arc airing on March 12, 2009.


Martial arts

Genesse's first martial art was
taekwondo Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...
. He later added other styles to his repertoire, such as hung gar kung fu and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, in which he claims a black belt, awarded in 2014 by Jean-Jacques Machado. He is also a self defense and martial arts professor. After teaching under senior instructors, he opened his own school, named Venom BJJ and located in
Valencia, California Valencia is an unincorporated community in northwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States. The area, west of Interstate 5, is expanding with residential development and already includes major commercial and industrial parks. It stra ...
, as of 2024.


Personal life

Genesse has been married to actress Brooke Theiss since 1994. They have two children, born in 1995 and 2008. He also works as a real estate agent in
Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...
.


Filmography


Film


Television


References


External links

*
''Meet the Bad Guys'' – behind-the-scenes footage from Genesse's directorial debutVenom Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Academy – Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Genesse, Bryan 1964 births Living people Canadian male film actors Canadian male television actors Male actors from Toronto Canadian male taekwondo practitioners Canadian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu 20th-century Canadian sportsmen