Daniel Bernhardt is a true renaissance man; a martial artist from Switzerland who went from being a professional model in Paris to a Hollywood action star. In the 1990s, he was a leading man in low-budget martial arts films - the star of slicker-than-your-average straight-to-video hits like the Bloodsport sequels, True Vengeance and Perfect Target, working alongside fellow martial artists and aspiring filmmakers like Chad Stahelski, David Leitch, Brad Martin, Jonathan Eusebio and J.J. Perry. When the video market crashed in the early 2000s, Daniel took a different route; moving into the stunt world to become what Chad Stahelski calls an "action actor", someone who can act, fight, perform the stunts, and train the actors. When Chad and David launched 87eleven Action Design, Daniel was right beside them, working on all their major hits, from The Matrix Reloaded to Parker, Logan, all three John Wick films, Atomic Blonde, Hobbs and Shaw, Birds of Prey, and Nobody. For the latter, Daniel also worked as the film's fight trainer, turning the fifty-something comedy writer Bob Odenkirk into a convincing action hero. He puts his multifaceted, hugely successful career down to "pure coincidence", but he is being modest. In hindsight, maybe becoming an action star was always his destiny? After all, his first fight scene was with Jean-Claude Van Damme during a fashion shoot in the early 1990s. It was Van Damme's encouragement which would provide Daniel with the confidence he needed to try his hand at acting and - as they say - the rest is history. Daniel Bernhardt's new film, Hell Hath No Fury - directed by Jesse V. Johnson - is out now in cinemas in North America and released on digital from 9 November, courtesy of Well Go USA. On 22 December, Daniel returns to The Matrix franchise, reprising his role as Agent Johnson in The Matrix Resurrections.
LINKS
Daniel Bernhardt on IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0076780/
Daniel Bernhardt on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealdanielbernhardt/
Daniel Bernhardt profile on Kung Fu Movie Guide: https://bit.ly/ProfileDanielBernhardt
Hell Hath No Fury trailer: https://youtu.be/ztgpqImviOY
Hell Hath No Fury website: https://www.wellgousa.com/films/hell-hath-no-fury
The Matrix Resurrections trailer: https://youtu.be/9ix7TUGVYIo
'The Matrix Legacy' featurette: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BZUMD85S7s
Fetch short film, directed by Daniel Bernhardt: https://vimeo.com/246539996
Nobody fight scene breakdown by Fandango: https://youtu.be/7rEhxsHM0Ag
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