Daniel Bernhardt

Early life

Bernhardt was born in Ittigen, Canton of Bern in 1965, to Heidi and Horst Bernhardt. He began studying martial arts at the age of 15, learning what called “something cobbled together out of kung fu and kickboxing." He later earned black belts in Taekwondo under Hee-il Cho, and Kyokushin Karate under Mas Oyama. In Paris, he was a pupil of Dominique Valera. He has also studied boxing, judo, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

Prior to his acting career, Bernhardt worked at an architecture firm, and was a top model in Paris and New York, working for the likes of Claude Montana, Thierry Mugler, Hugo Boss, and Versace. His first exposure to the film world was in 1992, when he was featured in a martial arts-themed Versace ad campaign, featuring Jean-Claude Van Damme. He subsequently moved to Los Angeles to pursue a film career.

Career

Acting

Bernhardt made his acting debut in the leading role in Bloodsport II: The Next Kumite (1996), a sequel to the 1988 Jean-Claude Van Damme film.

He also appeared in two of its sequels and starred in Future War (1997), True Vengeance (1997), Perfect Target (1997), G2 – Mortal Conquest (1999), Black Sea Raid (2000) and Global Effect (2002). From 1998 to 1999, he starred in the TV series Mortal Kombat: Conquest.

In 2003, he appeared as Agent Johnson in The Matrix Reloaded (2003), and in 2005 he appeared with Chuck Norris in The Cutter.

In 2013, he returned to acting with Jason Statham in Parker (2013) and in a cameo in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) as the male tribute from District 9. He trained with the 87Eleven Stunt Team and played Russian henchmen in John Wick and Atomic Blonde. In 2015, he made his Bollywood debut as mixed martial arts fighter Max Potter in the remake of Warrior, titled Brothers. He co-starred in a particularly acclaimed episode of HBO's Barry as Ronny Proxin.

In September 2020, it was announced that Bernhardt would be reprising his Matrix role as Agent Johnson in The Matrix Resurrections; however, his scenes were cut from the final film.

Bernhardt is set to play the title character in Deathstalker, an upcoming remake of the 1983 cult film of the same.

Stunts

Bernhardt's credits as a stunt performer include A Good Day to Die Hard (2013), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Deadpool 2 (2018), Alita: Battle Angel (2019), Hobbs & Shaw (also 2019), and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023). He was the principal fight trainer and fight choreographer for Creed II (2018) and Nobody (2021), and The Equalizer television series.

Personal life

Bernhardt has two brothers, Cliff and Dirk. He is married to actress Lisa Stothard, whom he met on the set of Bloodsport: The Dark Kumite. They have a daughter together.

Filmography

Cinema

Television

References

References

1. (August 2003). "The Matrix: Reloaded". Active Interest Media.
2. Schlag, Beatrice. "A life full of action". SWISS Magazine.
3. "Kung Fu Movie Guide".
4. "Interview: Daniel Bernhardt – Movie Mavericks".
5. (April 1996). "Bloodsport II". [[Active Interest Media]].
6. (June 26, 2019). "The Star of One of MST3K's Worst Movies Was the Title Character of the Best TV Episode of 2019".
7. N'Duka, Amanda. (September 29, 2020). "'The Matrix 4′: Daniel Bernhardt Returning For Warner Bros Sequel".
8. Kay, Jeremy. (2024-03-02). "Daniel Bernhardt to star in reboot of Roger Corman's 'Deathstalker' films (exclusive)".
9. (2014-04-21). "Man Drops Out of Lawsuit Against City of Santa Monica, Wife Doesn't".