Olivier Gruner () (born August 2, 1960) is a

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

actor, filmmaker, martial artist and former

kickboxer Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid martial art and boxing type based on punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouth guards, shorts, and ...

. Born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, he moved back to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in 1988 after serving in the French military and competing as a professional kickboxer, during which time he won a silver medal at the W.A.K.O. World Championships. He has appeared in over 40 films and 4 television series and is best known for

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

and

action films The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as ...

."Olivier Gruner"
, ''Kick'em in the Ghoulies (KITG)'', Accessed on December 23, 2018."Test Blu-Ray: Albert Pyun - Nemesis + Mean Guns"
Mickaël Lanoye, ''Critique Film'', France, published on April 20, 2017."Bey Logan interview with Olivier Gruner"
Bey Logan, ''ReelEastHK (EELE)'', Published on August 08, 2012.

Early life and education

Gruner was born into a French family with parents in the surgery and engineering industry."Olivier Gruner"
Tong Po, Česko-Slovenská filmová databáze (CSFD), Accessed on January 1, 2019.
Alan Mercer, ''Alan Mercer's Profile'', Published on July 9, 2010."Olivier Gruner official website"
Olivier Gruner, ''Olivier Gruner.com'', Accessed on December 25, 2018. Gruner began martial arts at the age of 11 after watching a

Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (born Lee Jun-fan; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was an American-born Hong Kong martial artist, actor, filmmaker, and philosopher. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy which was formed from ...

movie, which inspired him to pursue both

and a potential career in the

film industry The film industry or motion picture industry comprises the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking, i.e., film production company, production companies, film studios, cinematography, animation, film production, screenwriting, pre- ...

. Being constantly bullied at school further motivated him to learn martial arts to defend himself."Interview: Olivier Gruner"
Jason Rugaard, ''Movies Mavericks'', September 23, 2010. He began studying

Shotokan karate is a style of karate, developed from various martial arts by Gichin Funakoshi (1868–1957) and his son Gigo (Yoshitaka) Funakoshi (1906–1945). Gichin Funakoshi was born in Okinawa and is widely credited with popularizing "karate do" thr ...

, then

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

kickboxing Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid Martial arts, martial art and Boxing (disambiguation), boxing type based on punch (combat), punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, norma ...

, and full contact kickboxing."Before and after 7 action actors from the 80's who became world icons" (in Portuguese) / "Antes e depois de 7 stores de ação dos anos 80 que se tornaram ícones mundiais"
Cesar Nascimento, Guilherme Rodrigues, ''BlastingNews'', published on August 2, 2017. In 1978, at age 18, he joined the

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

, volunteering for their

Commandos Marine The Commandos Marine, nicknamed ''Bérets Verts'' (Green Berets), are the special operation forces (SOF) of the French Navy, headquartered in Lorient, Brittany in western France. They operate under the Special Operations Command (COS), FOR ...

unit, also nicknamed the ''Bérets Verts'' (

Green Berets The United States Army Special Forces (SF), colloquially known as the "Green Berets" due to their distinctive service Berets of the United States Army, headgear, is a branch of the United States Army United States Army Special Operations Comm ...

). He was operational in

Djibouti Djibouti, officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to the east. The country has an area ...

and

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

, where he was particularly involved in anti-piracy operations."Olivier Gruner the Real Thing"
Interview by Erik Paulson at the CSW 2008 Camp in Fullerton, ''Martial Arts & Action Entertainment'', Published on August 5, 2014.

Kickboxing

In 1981, Gruner left the military with the aim of training full-time to compete professionally as a kickboxer. In 1984, he began fighting as a professional kickboxer. By 1985, his successes in the ring allowed him to fight full-time. Later that same year he won a silver medal in the 1985 W.A.K.O. World Championships. Gruner retired from professional kickboxing in 1987 and pursued an acting career, following the lead of bodybuilders

Reg Park Roy "Reg" Park (7 June 1928 – 22 November 2007) was an English bodybuilder, businessman, and actor. His first title was Mr. Britain in 1949. He then won Mr. Universe in 1951, 1958, and 1965. He went on to star in five films. Later in lif ...

and

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...

. To promote himself, Gruner plastered posters of himself around Cannes during the 1987

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

, which caught the attention of a movie producer. Gruner was invited to Los Angeles for screen tests.

Film career

Gruner joined Imperial Entertainment Corporation (

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcas ...

- TCM) and began acting in action movies. He has appeared in martial arts magazines, such as ''Budo Journal'', ''Combat'', ''Impact'', ''Inside Karate'', ''Inside Kung Fu Yearbook'' and many more."Olivier Gruner"
''Ma-Mags'', Accessed on January 2, 2019. In 1989, he starred in his first movie: the urban action movie '' Angel Town''. Although the film was not well received, Gruner's screen presence was notable, and his acting was compared favorably to

Dolph Lundgren Hans "Dolph" Lundgren (, ; born 3 November 1957) is a Swedish actor, filmmaker, and martial artist. Lundgren made his acting debut in 1985 with a cameo in the List of James Bond films, James Bond film ''A View to a Kill''. Also that year, he h ...

."'Angel Town' misses the Mark"
Kevin Thomas, ''Movie Review - Los Angeles Times'', published on February 23, 1990. In 1992, Gruner starred as "Alex Raine" in

Albert Pyun Albert Pyun (May 19, 1953 – November 26, 2022) was an American film director who made low-budget B-movies and direct-to-video action films. The Independent Film Channel said that Pyun "has carved out a unique niche as a director of low-budge ...

’s Cyberpunk 1992 science fiction thriller ''

Nemesis In ancient Greek religion and myth, Nemesis (; ) also called Rhamnousia (or Rhamnusia; ), was the goddess who personified retribution for the sin of hubris: arrogance before the gods. Etymology The name ''Nemesis'' is derived from the Greek ...

''."'Nemesis' a provocative, sleek Thriller"
Kevin Thomas, ''Movie Review - Los Angeles Times'', published on January 29, 1993. Critics appreciated the amazing movie stunts, thrilling action sequences, and innovative special effects pushing the film industry limits like

Blade Runner ''Blade Runner'' is a 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott from a screenplay by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and Edward James Olmos, it is an adaptation of Philip K. Di ...

and

Terminator 2 ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' is a 1991 American science fiction action film directed by James Cameron, who co-wrote the script with William Wisher. Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, and Robert Patrick, it is the sequel to ''Th ...

."Behind the scenes: the Making of "Nemesis" (1992)"
Albert Pyun, Olivier Gruner, ''Imperial Entertainment'', Published on March 4, 2011. Both ''

'' and '' Angel Town'' were popular in video distribution,"Olivier Gruner"
Terrence Allen, pp. 57, ''Black Belt'', January 1, 1996. and ''

'' is one of the movies Gruner is most proud of. In 2010, Gruner played Corsair Duguay in '' Tales of an Ancient Empire''. Gruner played Jagger in ''Escape from Paradise'' (2019), and Duguay in ''Cyborg Nemesis: The Dark Rift'' (2019), and ''The Target'' (2019).

2000s: Television

In 1999, Gruner appeared as Dieter Vanderval in the episode titled "Wildlife" of the series ''

Martial Law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...

''. In 2001, he appeared multiple times as Tawrens, in a 26-episode television series '' Code Name: Eternity''. In 2005,

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

hired Gruner to produce a TV series named ''The Pros, a Way of Life,'' a project that Gruner had started in 2003. It portrayed life behind the scenes, training, and the discipline required of professional athletes. Gruner had completed episodes on professional boxers, surfers, and MMA fighters, when

decided to shelve the series, and it was never released. A separate video published by Gruner is available. Gruner played Ivan in the television series '' Seven Days,'' which premiered in 2019.

2010s: Directing

Gruner's first involvement as a director was in 2002 with '' Interceptor Force 2''. In 2011, he premiered his first feature film as a

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

, a

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

, and an actor, titled ''Re-Generator''. This film was previously known as ''One Night,'' a project Gruner had been working on since 2010."Review: Re-Generator (2013)"
''BZ Film'', published on May 14, 2013. In 2014, he featured as a director in ''Sector 4: Extraction'', a

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, television series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strat ...

release. In 2015, Gruner released one more film as a director, a producer, a screenwriter, and an actor: ''EP/Executive Protection''.

Film producing

Early in his career, Gruner got involved in the production of some of the films in which he was appearing as an actor. This is the case for ''Savage'' (1996), ''Mercenary'' (1996), ''Mercenary 2: Thick & Thin'' (1998), ''Interceptor Force'' (1999), ''The Circuit'' (2001), and ''Crooked'' (2005). But it was only starting in the 2010s, except '' Interceptor Force 2'' in 2002, that he accumulated his involvement both as a producer, as an actor, and as a director in ''One Night'' (2010), ''Re-Generator'' (2011), ''Sector 4: Extraction'' (2014), and ''EP/Executive Protection'' (2015). He has also been involved, as a producer-only, in ''Front Line'' (2015). He was both an actor and a producer in ''Iron Cross: The Road to Normandy'' (2018).

Screenwriting

Gruner co-wrote the stories of some of the movies in which he appeared as an actor. He wrote the stories of ''T.N.T.'' (1997), '' Interceptor Force 2'' (2002), ''Crooked'' (2005), ''One Night'' (2010), ''Re-Generator'' (2011), and ''EP/Executive Protection'' (2015). He also co-wrote the story and the screenplay of ''Lost Warrior: Left Behind'' (2008), and co-wrote the story of ''Sector 4: Extraction'' (2014).

Business activities

Gruner has always been involved in several other business activities.

Personal Protection Agent

Gruner occasionally provides personal or close protection for celebrities. Many clients prefer an actor who understands the pressure and demands. Gruner does in fact have military training from the ''Bérets Verts'', and that is enough experience for many clients. One of such body-guarding clients is the famous Canadian singer

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had ...

."Céline Dion : Olivier ne la quitte plus?!" (in French) / "Celine Dion: Olivier doesn't separate from her anymore?"
Pierre-Marie Elstir, ''France Dimanche'', published on August 30, 2017."Céline Dion honors Olivier Gruner on his birthday" (in Portuguese)/ "Céline Dion homenageia Olivier Gruner em seu aniversário"
Luiz Campos, ''Action News'', published on August 7, 2017."Celine Dion: Warm greetings and hugs with her bodyguard" (in French)/ "Céline Dion : Voeux festifs et accolade chaleureuse avec son garde du corps"
''Purepeople'', August 3, 2017. However, Gruner also provides body-guarding training at his academy "Gruner Tactical" Or "Gruner Tactical Training Academy."

Training videos

Gruner has been producing training videos for

, combat skills, bodyguarding, and survival techniques since 2012. He commercializes those under the various brands of "Gruner Tactical Training Academy" and "O.G Training". More recently, he has been producing a survival reality show video series under the name "Survival X" in 2018.

Personal training

Gruner has always kept a side activity as a personal trainer in various martial arts such as kickboxing and

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

. He usually dedicates this personal training time to competing martial artists, as well as retired champions.

Athletic fashion brand

He has also created his own "O.G" trademark athletic fashion brand. Several collections were produced, including "The Lone Operator" collection, and the "Pro Series" collection in 2018.

Helicopter piloting

Gruner is a licensed helicopter pilot, which allows him to mix this activity with film-producing requirements at times. For example, he worked for

ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to: * ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company ABC News may a ...

in Los Angeles where he did many chase videos and saw a lot of damage and lethal encounters. Moreover, he was also the helicopter co-pilot in the 1999 movie ''Storm''."Storm"
IMDb, Accessed on 20 December 2018. He regularly flies helicopters and considers it a big part of his life. For Blue Hawaiian Helicopters, he regularly flew tours on Hawaii's Big Island. For Maverick Helicopters, he also flew tours over the Grand Canyon.

Personal life

Gruner lives part-time in both

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

and

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

. He has one son. He has been regularly maintaining his

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...

and

training, which he has been completing with Brazilian jiu-jitsu,

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

and

. Gruner has been a volunteer firefighter since 2015.

Kickboxing titles

* 1985 W.A.K.O. World Championships - Men's Full-Contact Middleweight Med 2

-75 kg

Filmography

Films

Television

Documentaries

Stunts

References

External links

Olivier Gruner official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gruner, Olivier 1960 births Living people Military personnel from Paris French expatriate male actors in the United States People from Hollywood, Los Angeles Male actors from Paris Male actors from Hollywood, Los Angeles Male actors from Los Angeles Male actors from Santa Monica, California Male actors from Greater Los Angeles Film producers from California Screenwriters from California Film directors from Los Angeles French science fiction film directors French male karateka Shotokan practitioners French male kickboxers Middleweight kickboxers French male mixed martial artists World middleweight boxing champions French Navy personnel Martial artists from Paris Commercial aviators French aviators 20th-century French sportsmen