Charles Knight (nicknamed "Tankboy") (born 1967) is a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

filmmaker.

Life and career

In his late teens, Knight left New Zealand and moved to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, where he started work in the film and television industry. In his filmmaking career, Knight worked as a stunt driver, armorer, pyro-technician, editor, post supervisor, producer and writer. Over the last 10 years, Knight has worked primarily as a producer for US studios, namely

Starz Entertainment Starz Entertainment LLC., (doing business as Starz Inc., and founded as Encore Movie Group in 1991) is an American entertainment company that owns U.S. pay television channels, including the namesake Starz network, and a media distribution comp ...

and

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

. He developed a keen interest in action drama during his time working with

Koichi Sakamoto is a Japanese-born stunt actor, and producer for films and television. He is best known for his work as executive producer, as well as fight coordinator and frequent director, for the long running ''Power Rangers'' franchise. Biography Early c ...

on the

series ''

Power Rangers ''Power Rangers'' is an entertainment and merchandising franchise built around a live-action superhero television series, based on the Japanese tokusatsu franchise '' Super Sentai''. Produced first by Saban Entertainment, second by BVS ...

''. More recently, Knight has been co-producing with filmmakers

Rob Tapert Robert Gerard Tapert (born May 14, 1955) is an American film and television producer, writer and director, best known for co-creating the television series '' Xena: Warrior Princess''. He is also one of the founding partners of the film product ...

and

Sam Raimi Samuel M. Raimi ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for directing the ''Spider-Man'' trilogy (2002–2007) and the '' Evil Dead'' franchise (1981–present). He also directed the 1990 superhero film ''Darkman' ...

and is a member of the PGA (

Producers Guild of America The Producers Guild of America (PGA) is a 501(c)(6) trade association representing television producers, film producers and New Media producers in the United States. The PGA's membership includes over 8,000 members of the producing establishment w ...

Filmography

A selection of Knight's work. * ''

Ash vs. Evil Dead Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non-gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash is ...

'' * '' Spartacus: Gods of the Arena'' * '' Tankboy TV'' * ''

'' * '' Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior'' * ''

Whale Rider ''Whale Rider'' is a 2002 New Zealand drama film written and directed by Niki Caro. Based on the 1987 novel ''The Whale Rider'' by Witi Ihimaera, the film stars Keisha Castle-Hughes as Kahu Paikea Apirana, a twelve-year-old Māori girl whose am ...

'' * ''

Being Eve ''Being Eve'' is a teen comedy-drama television series from New Zealand, originally shown on TV3 from 2001 to 2002, and later broadcast on Noggin's teen block The N in the US. ''Being Eve'' focuses on a teenage girl, Eve Baxter, and her daily ...

'' * ''

Shortland Street ''Shortland Street'' is a New Zealand prime-time soap opera centring on the fictitious Shortland Street Hospital, first broadcast on TVNZ 2 on 25 May 1992. It is New Zealand's longest-running drama and soap opera, being broadcast continuously ...

'' * ''

Once Were Warriors ''Once Were Warriors'' is New Zealand author Alan Duff's bestselling first novel, published in 1990. It tells the story of an urban Māori family, the Hekes, and portrays the reality of domestic violence in New Zealand. It was the basis of a 19 ...

'' * '' Superman''

Personal life

Knight is a military vehicle enthusiast, a gun collector and pyrotechnic specialist. In October 2009, Knight was involved in an incident involving one of his military vehicles. While taking a tank for a spin, a friend accidentally got injured when the tanks turret turned and squashed her, breaking four of her ribs. In January 2011, Knight lead a team for his first try at the CannonBall Run car rally in Auckland, New Zealand. His team, "Team Tankboy" took third place. The vehicle they entered into the rally was an ex-US Army

Humvee The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV; colloquial: Humvee) is a family of light, four-wheel drive, military trucks and utility vehicles produced by AM General. It has largely supplanted the roles previously performed by the ...

, making it the first time a Humvee had been used on the CannonBall Run.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Charles Living people New Zealand film producers New Zealand screenwriters Male screenwriters New Zealand stunt performers 1967 births People from Eltham, New Zealand