Gary Daniels Youtube Videos
Gary Daniels Bio
Gary Edward Daniels (born 9 May 1963) is an English actor and former kickboxer, known for appearing mostly in action-oriented martial arts B-films. Daniels has been in over 50 films since his start as an extra in an episode of the 1980s television series Miami Vice. He is best known for playing Kenshiro in the live-action version of Fist of the North Star. He is also known for his roles in the Jackie Chan film City Hunter, and as Bryan Fury in the 2010 live-action film Tekken, based upon the popular fighting game series. He was also seen in the Sylvester Stallone film The Expendables as Lawrence "The Brit" Sparks, an ally of the villain James Munroe.
Early life [edit]
Gary Daniels was born in London, England, on 9 May 1963. Inspired by the Bruce Lee film Enter the Dragon, he began training in martial arts at the age of 8 at a local school where he learned a hybrid martial art known as "Mongolian kung fu". He then took up taekwondo at 12 years old and received his black belt after 3 years. At 16, he became a 2nd dan and began competing in ITF taekwondo tournaments. His aggressive style did not sit well with British officials, however, and he lost 3 fights by disqualification.
Kickboxing career [edit]
Daniels began kickboxing at the age of around 17 under the tutelage of former British Army boxing champion Mickey Byrne. After debuting in 1979, he won his first 12 fights by knockout before losing to Michael J. Heming by disqualification. He then KO'd Heming in a rematch. Daniels also lost two more fights by disqualification.
Now 13 (13)-3, Daniels moved to Florida to continue his career. In his first match in the US, he defeated Sherman "Big Train" Bergman, the only kickboxer to have knocked down Jean-Claude Van Damme, by decision in the opening round of the Sunshine State Tournament in Coconut Grove, Florida. However, Daniels was then eliminated from the tournament when he lost a decision in the semi-finals. He rebounded with an 18-second knockout of Tim "Night Life" Williams at a WKBA event in Orlando, Florida before going on a barnstorming tour fighting in Texas, California and Florida.
In the late 1980s, Daniels moved to California and began practicing Muay Thai at at Benny Urquidez's Jet Center and Yuki Horiuchi's Piston Kickboxing Gym. In November 1990, he won the WKBA California State Light Heavyweight Championship in the US and the PKA World Light Heavyweight Championship in England within the space of a month.
On 3 December 1991 in Birmingham, England, Daniels fought a 3-round, No Decision, exhibition match with Don "The Dragon" Wilson at the World Martial Arts Extravaganza.
Gary Daniels retired in 1993 with a record of 29-4 with 28 knockouts.
In 2008, Daniels made a one-fight comeback in Thailand at the age of 45 and he lost by decision after 5 rounds.
Acting career [edit]
Daniels began his film career in the Philippines, appearing in two low-budget films Final Reprisal and The Secret of King Mahis Island. His first starring film role was in the David Huey film Capital Punishment in 1991. He played a villain alongside Richard Norton in the film adaptation of City Hunter starring Jackie Chan; he was particularly known for a fight scene where he and Chan transform into various characters from the video game Street Fighter II. By 1996 Daniels had begun working on projects as a producer. His first producer credit occurred in the Joseph Merhi film Rage. Throughout his career he has also served as a fight coordinator. He can also be seen in the Steven Seagal project Submerged, directed by Anthony Hickox. He is still best known for portraying the heroic Kenshiro in the American live-action version of Japanese manga Fist of the North Star.
Among Daniels's fans, films that stand out include American Streetfighter, White Tiger, Bloodmoon, Recoil, Rage, Firepower, Heatseeker and Cold Harvest. Fist of the North Star also holds a considerable cult following. In 2012 he was in a film called "The Encounter: Paradise Lost"
Gary portrayed Bryan Fury in the film version of the popular video game series Tekken. He also starred in Sylvester Stallone's The Expendables as the Brit and appears in a controversial scene in which his neck is snapped. Daniels re-teams with Steve Austin and Eric Roberts in Hunt to Kill.
Daniels was once considered for the role of Johnny Cage in the movie version of Mortal Kombat and as the lead role in Highlander: The Series.
Compared to martial arts actors such as Jet Li or Steven Seagal, Daniels's fighting style is much less classifiable. He has studied Muay Thai, karate, taekwondo, aikido, judo, and several forms of kung fu. In his films, he employs a mixed martial arts style, leading with strong, sweeping kicks and sometimes engaging in close quarters fights with complex hand to hand choreography. As he mentions on the commentary track on the Fist of the North Star DVD, his main discipline is the hybrid kung fu art, Siu Lum Wong Gar Kune (Shaolin Wong Family Fist), which he studied under Sifu Winston Omega, who also served as fight choreographer on Fist of the North Star.
Personal life [edit]
He has five children with his wife, Maricyn.
Titles [edit]
- Professional Karate Association
- PKA World Light Heavyweight Championship
- World Kick Boxing Association
- WKBA California State Light Heavyweight Championship
