Matt Mullins is an American actor and martial artist. At the age of 16, in 2000, he won his first
World Kickboxing Association title in
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
, Ireland. This would be his first of five championships in the next three years.
Martial arts career
Mullins was featured in the
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience.
It init ...
mini-series ''
Extreme Martial Arts'' alongside
Mike Chat. As of 2024, he held 7th degree
Black belt in the style
Shōrei-ryū and studied under martial arts instructor John Sharkey at Sharkey's Karate Studio in
Naperville, Illinois
Naperville ( ) is a city in DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage and Will County, Illinois, Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is a southwestern suburb of Chicago located west of the city on the DuPage River. As of the 2020 United State ...
.
While an
underbelt, he met Mike Chaturantabut and together they created a martial arts style which later became known as
Extreme Martial Arts (XMA). Their style's growing popularity prompted the Discovery Channel to produce a documentary called ''XMA: Extreme Martial Arts''. In this documentary, the producers covered the XMA style with modern technology such as
motion-capture and 3D imaging to show how a martial artist can use their body. As a side story, they focused on Matt Mullins' attempt to return to the competition world of
sport karate
(; ; Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) under the influence of Chinese martial arts. While moder ...
.
Matt Mullins is the founder and creator of the Sideswipe Performance Team. He created this extreme martial arts group in 2002 after appearing on the show
30 seconds to Fame. From there he grew Sideswipe and began traveling around the world with everyone a part of the team to do these performances.
Mullins holds seminars and martial arts camps. He has appeared on shows such as ''The
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian, with a career spanning seven decades in film, stage, television and radio. Famously nicknamed as "Th ...
Telethon'', ''
The Wayne Brady Show'',
America's Got Talent (Season 2) and ''
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. The show ran for nineteen seasons from September 8, 2003, to May 26, 2022, in which it broadcast 3,339 episodes. It was produced by ...
'', as well as at sporting events, live action shows and karate tournaments.
Acting career
Mullins has appeared in national commercials for
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois. It was founded by brothers Paul and Joseph Galvin in 1928 and had been named Motorola since 1947. Many of Motorola's products had been ...
,
America Online
AOL (formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City, and a brand marketed by Yahoo! Inc. (2017–present), Yahoo! Inc.
The service tra ...
,
Applebee's
Applebee's Restaurants LLC. is an American company that develops, franchises, and operates the Applebee's Neighborhood Grill + Bar restaurant chain. The Applebee's concept focuses on casual dining, with mainstream American dishes such as salads, ...
,
Nike,
Hanes
Hanes (founded in 1900) and Hanes Her Way (founded in 1985) is an American clothing brand headquartered in Winston-Salem. Founded in 1900 as Shamrock Knitting Mills by John Wesley Hanes, the company is owned by Hanes, Inc.
History
Hanes was f ...
and
Pepsi
Pepsi is a Carbonated water, carbonated soft drink with a cola flavor, manufactured by PepsiCo which serves as its flagship product. In 2023, Pepsi was the second most valuable soft drink brand worldwide behind Coca-Cola; the two share a long ...
as well as a lead actor in several films including ''Kung Fu Love Triangle'', ''Bloodfist 2050'', and ''
Adventures of Johnny Tao: Rock Around the Dragon''. He had a lead role portraying the character Len/Kamen Rider Wing Knight on the in-production TV show ''
Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight''. He also helped Mike Moh get the role of Hunt/Danny Cho/Kamen Rider Axe in the same show through their shared martial arts training.
Mullins was a reporter for LX TV 1st Look television program introducing DJ Hapa, as well as Shinkendo. He starred as
Johnny Cage in the
Kevin Tancharoen
Kevin Tancharoen (born April 23, 1984) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, dancer, and choreographer. On September 29, 2011, New Line Cinema/Warner Bros. announced that Tancharoen would be helming a big-screen adaptation of ''Mortal ...
directed short film ''
Mortal Kombat: Rebirth''.
Filmography
Films
* 2005 ''Wentworth'' as Waiter
* 2007 ''
Adventures of Johnny Tao: Rock Around the Dragon'' as Eddie
* 2009 ''
Blood and Bone'' as "Pretty Boy" Price
* 2010 ''Freshmyn'' as Zach Markey
* 2010 ''
Mortal Kombat: Rebirth'' as
Johnny Cage
* 2012 ''Alpha Must Die'' as "Blue"
* 2013 ''The Wrath of Vajra'' as K-23 / Bill
* 2013 ''Resident Evil: Vengeance'' as
Chris Redfield
is a character in ''Resident Evil'' (''Biohazard'' in Japan), a survival horror series created by the Japanese company Capcom. He was introduced as one of the two player character, playable characters of the original Resident Evil (1996 vide ...
* 2014 ''
Divergent'' as Fighter On Ring
* 2015 ''White Tiger'' as Michael Turner
Stunt work
* 2002 ''
Ted Bundy
Theodore Robert Bundy (; November 24, 1946 – January 24, 1989), known colloquially as Ted Bundy, was an American serial killer who kidnapping, abducted, raped and murdered dozens of young women and girls between 1974 and 1978. His ''modus ...
'' as
Michael Reilly Burke's Stunt Double
* 2005 ''
No Rules'' as Brotherhood Fighter
* 2009 ''Severed'' as Fight Choreographer
* 2014 ''
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' as Fight Coordinator
* 2015 ''Masterless'' as Stunt Coordinator
* 2017 ''
Defenders
Defender(s) or The Defender(s) may refer to:
* Defense (military)
* Defense (sports)
** Defender (association football)
Arts and entertainment Film, television, and theatre Film
* ''The Defender'' (1989 film), a Canadian documentary
* ''The D ...
'' as Stunt Coordinator
* 2018
''Luke Cage'' season 2 as fight coordinator
Video games
* 1995 ''
Area 51
Area 51 is the common name of a highly classified United States Air Force (USAF) facility within the Nevada Test and Training Range in southern Nevada, north-northwest of Las Vegas.
A remote detachment administered by Edwards Air Force B ...
'' as Voice
* 2002 ''
Resident Evil (2002)'' as Face Model For Chris Redfield
* 2003 ''
Tao Feng: Fist of the Lotus'' as Voice
* 2004 ''
The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earth'' as Voice
* 2007 ''
Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles'' – Face model for Chris Redfield
* 2007 ''
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune'' as Motion Capture For Nathan Drake
* 2009 ''
Resident Evil 5
''Resident Evil 5'' is a 2009 third-person shooter video game developed and published by Capcom. It is a major installment in the ''Resident Evil'' series, and was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles in March 2009 and for Window ...
'' as Face Model For Chris Redfield
* 2012 ''
Resident Evil 6'' as Face Model For Chris Redfield
* 2019 ''
Death Stranding'' as MULEs
Television
* 2006 ''
Final Fu'' as Himself / Competitor
* 2007 ''
America's Got Talent
''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is an American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distributed by) and ...
'' as Himself / Performer
* 2008-2009 ''
Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight'' as Len / Kamen Rider Wing Knight (Main Role)
* 2009 ''Misadventures in Matchmaking'' as Cobin In "The Love Portal"
* 2011 ''
Mortal Kombat: Legacy'' as
Johnny Cage
* 2011 ''
Team Unicorn'' as Beach Stud In "Alien Beach Crashers"
* 2012 ''
Kickin' It'' as Trent Darby In "It Takes Two To Tangle"
* 2012 ''
Métal Hurlant Chronicles'' as Julian In "King's Crown"
* 2014 ''
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' as Centipede Soldier In "
The Magical Place"
Director
* ''The Johnnies'' – 5 episodes
Producer
* 2013 ''Resident Evil: Vengeance''
* ''The Johnnies'' – 5 episodes
References
External links
*
*
Sideswipe Performance Team Official WebsiteNERDSociety – Interview with Matt Mullins
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mullins, Matt
Living people
American male karateka
American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu
Sportspeople from Euclid, Ohio
America's Got Talent contestants
American stunt performers
Year of birth missing (living people)