Scott Adkins

Early life

Scott Edward Adkins was born into a family of butchers in Sutton Coldfield on 17 June 1976. He first became interested in martial arts at the age of ten, when he visited a local Judo club with his father and older brother.

Adkins was inspired by Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee, Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Steven Seagal.

Career

Adkins had a role in a Hong Kong martial arts film called Dei Seung Chui Keung (2001), known in English as Extreme Challenge. He was spotted by Head of the Hong Kong Stuntmen Association and director Stephen Tung and British-born Hong Kong movie expert Bey Logan. He worked with Hong Kong cinema action directors Yuen Woo-ping, Corey Yuen, Sammo Hung, and Jackie Chan. He has a guest role in the BBC series Doctors (2000) and appeared in a few episodes of the BBC series Dangerfield (1998), City Central (1999), and EastEnders (2003), and a lead role in the Sky One comedy-drama Mile High (2003), followed by a regular role in BBC's Holby City (2006).

Starring roles in feature films followed with Adkins' portrayal of Talbot in Special Forces (2003) and Yuri Boyka in Undisputed II: Last Man Standing (2006). In this film he portrayed the Russian MMA underground fighter Yuri Boyka. After this, he had guest starring roles in The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) and The Tournament (2009), and played Jean-Claude Van Damme's main adversary in The Shepherd: Border Patrol (2008). He shared the role of Weapon XI with Ryan Reynolds in X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009). His first lead role was as Casey Bowman in the American martial arts film Ninja (2009), a role he reprised in the sequel Ninja: Shadow of a Tear (2013).

In 2012, Adkins was cast to star in Métal Hurlant Chronicles, a television adaptation of the French comic book Metal Hurlant. He has worked in four films with Jean-Claude Van Damme: The Shepherd: Border Patrol (2008), Assassination Games (2011), Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning, and The Expendables 2 (both in 2012). In 2014, he played King Amphitryon in The Legend of Hercules. He worked again with action choreographer Yuen Woo-ping in 2019 when he starred alongside Donnie Yen in Ip Man 4: The Finale as the main antagonist Barton Geddes. He also starred in Day Shift (2022) and John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023).

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. (January 2014). "Interview with Scott Adkins, Part 1".
2. "About Scott Adkins".
3. "Scott Adkins".
4. (January 2014). "Interview with Scott Adkins, Part 1".
5. (14 September 2022). "Who Needs Big-Budget Action when You've Got Scott Adkins's Flying Kicks? | Defector".
6. (January 2014). "Interview with Scott Adkins, Part 1".
7. (11 December 2015). "Interview {{!}} Scott Adkins on 'Close Range' and 'Doctor Strange' - CraveOnline". CraveOnline.
8. (24 September 2012). "Scott Adkins Interview: 'Universal Soldier,' Fighting van Damme, and 'Zero Dark Thirty'".
9. Francisco, Eric. (21 February 2024). "Scott Adkins is the Last of the Great Action Stars". [[Inverse (website).
10. Johnson, Travis. (4 October 2021). "Enter the world of action star Scott Adkins with 'Ninja: Shadow of a Tear'". [[Special Broadcasting Service.
11. Peter Martin. "Scott Adkins Crowned King In Renny Harlin's HERCULES 3D". TwitchFilm.
12. (5 August 2014). "'Kickboxer' Reboot Punches Up Cast With Scott Adkins, Tony Jaa". [[Variety (magazine).
13. (17 December 2019). "Meet Scott Adkins, Donnie Yen's nemesis in Ip Man 4".
14. Topel, Fred. (1 January 2020). "'Ip Man 4: The Finale' Villain Scott Adkins Reveals One Big Change in His Fight with Donnie Yen".
15. Kroll, Justin. (29 June 2021). "'John Wick 4': Scott Adkins In Talks To Join Keanu Reeves In Next Installment".
16. "Scott Adkins".
17. "Scott Adkins (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors.