Maximilian Carlo Martini (born December 11, 1969)
is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Corporal Fred Henderson in ''
Saving Private Ryan
''Saving Private Ryan'' is a 1998 American epic war film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat. Set in 1944 in Normandy, France, during World War II, it follows a group of soldiers, led by Captain John Miller ( Tom Hanks) ...
'', Wiley in ''
Level 9'', First Sergeant Sid Wojo in ''
The Great Raid
''The Great Raid'' is a 2005 internationally co-produced war film about the Raid at Cabanatuan on the island of Luzon, Philippines during World War II. Directed by John Dahl, the film stars Benjamin Bratt, James Franco, Connie Nielsen, Ma ...
'', and as Master Sergeant Mack Gerhardt in the
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
military drama television series ''
The Unit
''The Unit'' is an American action-drama television series created by David Mamet that aired on CBS from March 7, 2006, to May 10, 2009, with the total of four seasons and 69 episodes. The series focuses on a top-secret military unit modeled ...
''. He also starred in the film ''
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi'' as Mark Geist.
Career
Film
After college, Martini found steady work in film and television projects. His film roles include co-starring opposite
Jodie Foster
Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster (born November 19, 1962) is an American actress and filmmaker. Foster started her career as a child actor before establishing herself as leading actress in film. She has received List of awards and nominations re ...
in
Robert Zemeckis
Robert Lee Zemeckis (born May 14, 1952) is an American filmmaker known for directing and producing a range of successful and influential movies, often blending cutting-edge visual effects with storytelling. He has received several accolades incl ...
's ''
Contact'' as Willie, a fellow scientist with an affinity for brightly colored shirts, and sharing the screen with
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...
and
Matt Damon
Matthew Paige Damon ( ; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. He was ranked among ''Forbes'' most bankable stars in 2007, and in 2010 was one of the highest-grossing actors of all time. He has received va ...
in ''
Saving Private Ryan
''Saving Private Ryan'' is a 1998 American epic war film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat. Set in 1944 in Normandy, France, during World War II, it follows a group of soldiers, led by Captain John Miller ( Tom Hanks) ...
'' as Corporal Henderson, ranking NCO of Pfc. James Ryan's unit, who helped Cpt. John H. Miller and his men in the brutal final shootout of the film. Martini later co-starred in
John Dahl
John Dahl (born June 15, 1956) is an American film and television director and writer, best known for his work in the neo-noir genre.
Early life
John Dahl was born and raised in Billings, Montana, the second of four children (his brother is fi ...
's ''
The Great Raid
''The Great Raid'' is a 2005 internationally co-produced war film about the Raid at Cabanatuan on the island of Luzon, Philippines during World War II. Directed by John Dahl, the film stars Benjamin Bratt, James Franco, Connie Nielsen, Ma ...
'' as 1st Sgt. Sid Wojo.
He appeared in smaller independent films, working with
Calista Flockhart
Calista Kay Flockhart (born November 11, 1964) is an American actress. She is best known for portraying the title character on the Fox television series '' Ally McBeal'' (1997–2002), for which she received a Golden Globe Award in 1998 and w ...
in ''Jane Doe'',
Chris Penn
Christopher Shannon Penn (October 10, 1965 – January 24, 2006), credited as Chris Penn after 1991, was an American actor. He was the brother of actor Sean Penn and musician Michael Penn. Noted as a skilled character actor, he was typically cas ...
and
Jeffrey Wright
Jeffrey Wright (born December 7, 1965) is an American actor. His accolades include a Primetime Emmy Award, a Tony Award, and a Golden Globe Award, in addition to a nomination for an Academy Award.
Wright began his career in theater, where he g ...
in ''Cement'' and in the 2000
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023.
The festival has acted ...
fave ''Backroads''. In 1999, Martini wrote, co-directed and starred in ''Desert Son''. His younger brother, Christopher, co-directed the film with him, and his sister, Michelle, served as costume designer. He had a recurring role in the ABC drama ''Castle''. In 2011, the
Noor Iranian Film Festival in
Los Angeles
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, ...
invited him to participate as an official festival judge. In 2013, he played the role of the U.S. Navy SEAL commander in
Paul Greengrass
Paul Greengrass (born 13 August 1955) is an English film director, film producer, screenwriter and former journalist.
One of his early films, '' Bloody Sunday'' (2002), won the Golden Bear at 52nd Berlin International Film Festival. Other f ...
's Academy Award-nominated film ''
Captain Phillips''.
In 2013,
Guillermo del Toro
Guillermo del Toro Gómez (; born 9 October 1964) is a Mexican filmmaker, author, and artist. His work has been characterized by a strong connection to fairy tales, Gothic fiction, gothicism and horror fiction, horror often blending the genres ...
cast Martini and
Rob Kazinsky as the Australian father-son pilot duo in ''
Pacific Rim
The Pacific Rim comprises the lands around the rim of the Pacific Ocean. The '' Pacific Basin'' includes the Pacific Rim and the islands in the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Rim roughly overlaps with the geological Pacific Ring of Fire.
List ...
''. In 2014, Martini was cast in
Legendary Pictures' supernatural thriller ''
Spectral''. Martini played
Christian Grey's bodyguard in the film ''
Fifty Shades of Grey
''Fifty Shades of Grey'' is a 2011 erotic romance novel by British author E. L. James. It became the first instalment in the ''Fifty Shades'' novel series that follows the deepening relationship between a college graduate, Anastasia Steele, ...
'' (2015), and its two sequels. In 2016, Martini portrayed Mark "Oz" Geist in
Michael Bay
Michael Benjamin Bay (born February 17, 1965) is an American film director and producer. He is best known for making big-budget high-concept action films with fast cutting, stylistic cinematography and visuals, and extensive use of special eff ...
's ''
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi''.
Martini made his directorial debut in 2019 with a military drama, ''
Sgt. Will Gardner'', in which he also starred as
Sgt. Will Gardner.
Television and theater
Martini's television credits include a lead role in the Sci-fi Channel's Emmy nominated mini-series ''
Taken'' and appearances as Agent Steve Goodrich on the second season of ''
24''. He was also cast in ''
X-Files
''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction drama television series created by Chris Carter. The original series aired from September 10, 1993, to May 19, 2002, on Fox, spanning nine seasons, with 202 episodes. A tenth season of six e ...
'' creator
Chris Carter's ''
Harsh Realm'', and had a recurring role in the Canadian series ''
Da Vinci's Inquest
''Da Vinci's Inquest'' is a Canadian crime drama television series which originally aired on CBC Television from 1998 to 2005. While never a ratings blockbuster, the critically acclaimed show did attract a loyal following, and ultimately seven se ...
''. He also appeared in ''
Lie to Me
''Lie to Me'' (stylized as ''Lie to me*'') is an American crime drama television series created by Samuel Baum that aired on Fox from January 21, 2009, to January 31, 2011. In the show, Dr. Cal Lightman ( Tim Roth) and his colleagues in The ...
''.
After memorable guest-star turns in popular series, including ''
Numb3rs
''Numbers'' (stylized as ''NUMB3RS'') is an American crime drama television series that originally aired on CBS from January 23, 2005, to March 12, 2010, with a total of six seasons consisting of 118 episodes. The series was created by Nico ...
'', ''
Walker Texas Ranger'', ''
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' and ''
CSI: Miami'', Martini landed a lead role in ''
The Unit
''The Unit'' is an American action-drama television series created by David Mamet that aired on CBS from March 7, 2006, to May 10, 2009, with the total of four seasons and 69 episodes. The series focuses on a top-secret military unit modeled ...
'', a series about a tier-1 US Army special operations team created by
David Mamet
David Alan Mamet (; born November 30, 1947) is an American playwright, author, and filmmaker.
He won a Pulitzer Prize and received Tony Award, Tony nominations for his plays ''Glengarry Glen Ross'' (1984) and ''Speed-the-Plow'' (1988). He first ...
and produced by
Shawn Ryan
Shawn Ryan (born October 11, 1966) is an American screenwriter and television producer. He has created and/or produced a number of television series including '' The Shield'' (2002–2008), '' The Unit'' (2006–2009), '' Lie to Me'' (2009– ...
of ''
The Shield
''The Shield'' is an American crime drama television series created by Shawn Ryan and starring Michael Chiklis that aired on FX from March 12, 2002 to November 25, 2008 for seven seasons. The show is known for its portrayal of corrupt police ...
''. Martini remains active in the theater, having co-founded the Theatre North Collaborative in New York City, a company of American and Canadian actors dedicated solely to producing new works from both sides of the border. In 2011, he appeared in an episode of ''
Criminal Minds
''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created by Jeff Davis that premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005. It follows a group of criminal profilers who work for the FBI as members of its Behavioral ...
'', in which he played a
Navy SEAL
The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the United States Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the United States Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main funct ...
named Luke Dolan.

In 2015, Martini starred as the
title character
The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piëce. The title o ...
in
Amazon Studios
Amazon MGM Studios is an American film and television production and distribution company owned by Amazon, and headquartered at the Culver Studios complex in Culver City, California. Launched on November 16, 2010, it took its current name on O ...
' Western series ''
Edge
Edge or EDGE may refer to:
Technology Computing
* Edge computing, a network load-balancing system
* Edge device, an entry point to a computer network
* Adobe Edge, a graphical development application
* Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...
'', written and directed by
Shane Black
Shane Black (born December 16, 1961) is an American screenwriter, film director, and actor, known for his distinctive style of Action film, action and action comedy films. He is the original creator of the ''Lethal Weapon (franchise), Lethal Wea ...
.
In April 2018, Martini was cast in the
Netflix
Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
horror-
drama
Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...
series ''
The Order''.
In August 2022, Martini joined the cast in the second season of the
Amazon Freevee
Amazon Freevee (stylized as freevee and fv, also shortened as Freevee, formerly known as IMDb Freedive and IMDb TV, and sometimes spelled FV) is an American Free ad-supported streaming television, ad-supported video on demand, video-on-demand ( ...
''
Bosch'' spin-off series ''
Bosch: Legacy'' as Detective Don Ellis, a hardened vice cop in the LAPD.
Personal life
Martini was born in
Woodstock, New York
Woodstock is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, New York, Kingston. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The popula ...
.
He holds Italian citizenship through his father, who was born in
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
.
He is the stepson of actor-director
Stuart Margolin
Stuart Margolin (January 31, 1940 – December 12, 2022) was an American actor, director, and screenwriter of film and television. He was known for playing con artist Evelyn "Angel" Martin on the 1970s television series '' The Rockford Files'', ...
, who married Martini's mother Patricia Dunne Martini in 1982, and has two siblings -- costume designer
Michelle Martini and editor/ producer/ director Christopher Martini.
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martini, Max
1969 births
American male film actors
American people of Italian descent
American male stage actors
American male television actors
Living people
People of Lazian descent