Florian Munteanu (; born 13 October 1990) is a German actor. He is known for playing the boxer Viktor Drago in ''

Creed II ''Creed II'' is a 2018 American sports drama film directed by Steven Caple Jr. from a screenplay by Juel Taylor and Sylvester Stallone. It is the sequel to ''Creed'' (2015), a follow-up to '' Rocky IV'' (1985), and the eighth installment in t ...

'' (2018) and ''

Creed III ''Creed III'' is a 2023 American sports drama film starring and directed by Michael B. Jordan in his directorial debut, and produced by Irwin Winkler, Charles Winkler, William Chartoff, David Winkler, Ryan Coogler, Michael B. Jordan, Eliza ...

'' (2023), and

Razor Fist Razor Fist is the name of three different supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The original Razor Fist was killed off in the comic books many years ago. The next two characters to take the title were brothers ...

in ''

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings ''Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings'' is a 2021 American superhero film based on Marvel Comics featuring the character Shang-Chi. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is List of Marvel ...

'' (2021).

Early life

Munteanu was born in Germany to Romanian parents in 1990. His mother is a lawyer, while his father was a

dermatologist Dermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the skin.''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.'' Random House, Inc. 2001. Page 537. . It is a speciality with both medical and surgical aspects. A dermatologist is a specialist medi ...

and former boxer. Munteanu grew up in Bogen, and later moved to

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

to study at the university of applied science

Hochschule Mittweida The Hochschule Mittweida () is a public university of applied science located in Mittweida, Germany, founded in 1867. History The University of Applied Sciences Mittweida is the second-largest public university of applied sciences in Saxony. I ...

. In 2014 he defended his

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

thesis on the "Structure and organization of the sport of boxing in Germany: associations, boxing promotion companies, federations, management and marketing in general, with a comparison to the structures implemented in the USA". He has competed in boxing in Germany under the ring name "Big Nasty".

Career

Munteanu had his first film role in ''Bogat'', a 2016 German-Romanian film shot in Munich. His breakthrough in acting came in 2018, when

Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Gardenzio "Sly" Stallone (; born July 6, 1946) is an American actor and filmmaker. In a Sylvester Stallone filmography, film career spanning more than fifty years, Stallone has received List of awards and nominations received by Syl ...

was looking for a European heavyweight boxer to play Viktor Drago, the son of

Ivan Drago Ivan Vasilyevich Drago (, ) is a fictional character from the ''Rocky'' film series. He first appears in the 1985 film ''Rocky IV'', in which he is the main antagonist and rival of Rocky Balboa and is also responsible for the death of Apollo ...

, in the sports drama sequel ''Creed II''. Stallone found Munteanu through training videos on the Internet and personally promoted him for the role. At that time Munteanu was tall and weighed ca. , but had to shed ca. for the role. Munteanu has joined the Season 3 line-up for Netflix's historical drama series '' Vikings: Valhalla''. He has been cast as General

George Maniakes George Maniakes (; ; died 1043) was a prominent general of the Byzantine Empire during the 11th century. He was the catepan of Italy in 1042. He is known as Gyrgir in Scandinavian sagas. He is popularly said to have been extremely tall and well ...

. Munteanu lives in

and

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He was featured on the covers of ''

Muscle & Fitness ''Muscle & Fitness'' is an American fitness and bodybuilding magazine founded in 1935 by Canadian entrepreneur Joe Weider. It was originally published under the title ''Your Physique'', before being renamed to ''Muscle Builder'' in 1954, and ac ...

'' (October 2018) and ''

Men's Health ''Men's Health'' (''MH''), published by Hearst Communications, Hearst, is the world's largest men's magazine brand, with 35 editions in 59 countries; it is the bestselling men's magazine on American newsstands. Started as a men's health magazin ...

'' (December 2018).

Personal life

Munteanu is fluent in

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, and English. On January 19, 2025, he announced the passing of his father through Instagram.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Munteanu, Florian German male film actors Living people 1990 births 21st-century German male actors German people of Romanian descent Romanian male film actors Members of the Romanian Orthodox Church Actors from Würzburg Male actors from Bavaria