# Johnny Messner (actor)

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* Data from Wikidata
Johnny Messner (born April 11, 1970) is an American film and television actor best known for his portrayal of a muscular military man in the 2004 film Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid.

## Biography

Messner was born on April 11, 1970, in Syracuse, New York. He is of German, Italian and Spanish descent. He lived in Europe for 13 years while his father served in the United States Air Force, mainly in Germany and England. During this time, he developed a love for sports while playing on teams at military bases. He has one brother and one sister. He briefly attended the San Diego State University to major in sports broadcasting but eventually decided to drop out. Soon after that he went back to New York where he pursued an acting career. He has several tattoos; one depicts Italian actress Monica Bellucci, and another is of his father.
As an actor Messner is probably best known for his work in the films Tears of the Sun, The Whole Ten Yards and Hostage, and in the TV series Guiding Light (working with friend Frank Grillo and a young Hayden Panettiere), Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Cold Case. In August 2004, American action adventure film Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid, starring Messner as an ex-military man Bill Johnson, premiered in theaters. It was the actor's first leading role in a mainstream movie. Around that time Messner became notorious due to his controversial interviews for IGN and Lawrence Journal-World. He stated that "in Hollywood we've lost the real man", and that he's the only "alpha male" still working in the film industry, along with Bruce Willis. In those interviews Messner expressed harsh criticism for actors Orlando Bloom, Brad Pitt, Mickey Rourke, Russell Crowe and Vin Diesel, among others. In December 2004, the horror-themed website CampBlood named him the 2004's sexiest man in horror.
Known as an action hero, he starred in numerous genre films including Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid (2004), Tears of the Sun (2003), Running Scared (2006), Arena (2011), Kill 'em All (2012), The Good, the Bad, and the Dead (2015), Silencer (2018), and Beyond the Law (2019). He portrayed the main protagonist, an ex-police officer Burke Wyatt, in the 2008 action film Ring of Death, created for Spike TV. A torture sequence, shot for the film, required Messner to be waterboarded.
Messner's ex-partner is Kathryn Morris, whom he met while shooting Cold Case. They have twin sons. Messner is currently married to Avril Grace.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2000 | Dancing in September | Officer Jenkins |
| 2001 | Operation Delta Force 4: Deep Fault | Vickers |
| 2002 | The Sweetest Thing | Todd |
| 2003 | Tears of the Sun | Lake |
| 2003 | Finding Home | Nick |
| 2004 | Spartan | Grace |
| 2004 | The Whole Ten Yards | Zevo |
| 2004 | Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid | Bill Johnson |
| 2004 | Our Time is Up | Playboy |
| 2005 | Hostage | Mr. Jones |
| 2006 | One Last Thing... | Jason O'Malley |
| 2006 | Running Scared | Tommy "Tombs" Perello |
| 2006 | Bottoms Up | Tony |
| 2007 | Believers | David Vaughn |
| 2008 | The Art of Travel | Christopher Loren |
| 2008 | Remarkable Power | Doug Wade |
| 2008 | Loaded | Javon |
| 2008 | Ring of Death | Burke Wyatt |
| 2008 | The Poker Club | Bill |
| 2009 | Wrong Turn at Tahoe | Mickey |
| 2010 | Corrado | Corrado |
| 2011 | Arena | Kaden |
| 2011 | Caught on Tape | Tito |
| 2012 | She Wants Me | John |
| 2012 | Kill'em All | Gabriel |
| 2013 | Officer Down | McAlister |
| 2013 | The Outsider | Ricky |
| 2014 | The Equalizer | P&E Worker |
| 2015 | Condemned | Gault |
| 2015 | Checkmate | Joey |
| 2015 | The Good, the Bad and the Dead | Brian Barns |
| 2016 | The Perfect Weapon | Condor |
| 2017 | American Violence | Paul |
| 2018 | Silencer | Frank |
| 2018 | Alone We Fight | Captain Hank Kedry |
| 2019 | Beyond the Law | Frank Wilson |
| 2020 | Final Kill | Pauly |
| 2020 | Breach | Blue |
| 2021 | Cosmic Sin | Coco |
| 2021 | Overrun | Detective Blake Finning |
| 2022 | American Siege | Silas |
| 2022 | A Day to Die | Schipp |
| 2022 | Detective Knight: Rogue | Brigga | Also Executive Producer |
| 2023 | Detective Knight: Redemption | | Executive Producer only |
| 2023 | Detective Knight: Independence | | Executive Producer only |
| 2023 | Call Her King | John Stryker | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1998 | Guiding Light | Rob Layne | 22 episodes |
| 1999 | Rude Awakening | Cute Podiatrist | Episode: "One Birthday at a Time" |
| 1999 | Angel | Kevin | Episode: "Lonely Heart" |
| 2000 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Ted Sallanger | Episode: "Cool Change" |
| 2001 | Danny | Cash | Episode: "Forget About Your Boss" |
| 2001 | Son of the Beach | Handsome Guy | Episode: "Area 69" |
| 2001 | Friends | Kash | Episode: "The One With Rachel's Date" |
| 2001 | Men, Women & Dogs | Jim | Episode: "Let Sleeping Dogs Lie" |
| 2003 | Tarzan | Detective Michael Foster | 3 episodes |
| 2005 | The O.C. | Lance Baldwin | 5 episodes |
| 2005 | Miami Ink | Himself | |
| 2005–06 | Killer Instinct | Detective Jack Hale | 13 episodes |
| 2007 | Burn Notice | Harrick | Episode: "Loose Ends, Part 2" |
| 2008 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Captain Lowell Harris | Episode "Undercover" |
| 2008 | Knight Rider | Sean | Episode: "Journey to the End of the Knight" |
| 2009 | CSI: Miami | Ken Vogel | Episode: "Sink or Swim" |
| 2010 | Chuck | Rafe Gruber | Episode: "Chuck Versus the Fake Name" |
| 2010 | Cold Case | FBI Agent Ryan Cavanaugh | 3 episodes |
| 2010 | The Gates | Mark Woodbury | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2010 | Dark Blue | Danny | 2 episodes |
| 2010 | G.I. Joe: Renegades | Flint (voice) | 11 episodes |
| 2010 | A Soldier's Love Story (originally titled: Meet My Mom) | Sgt. Vince Carrera | Hallmark Movie |
| 2011 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Frank Cafferty | Episode: "CSI Down" |
| 2017 | Jane the Virgin | Chuck Chesser | 10 episodes |
| 2018 | Criminal Minds | Jeremy Grant | Episode: "Luke" |
| 2020 | Primitive | Dr. Mamedyarov | Episode: "Blind Sighted" |
| 2020 | The Christmas High Note | Michael | Lifetime Movie |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Event | Award/category | Work | Result | Ref. |
| 2004 | The Skully Awards | Horror Hottie of the Year | Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid | Won | |
| 2012 | Behind the Voice Actors Awards (BTVA Television Voice Acting) | Best Vocal Ensemble in a Television Series (shared with Jason Marsden and Clancy Brown, among others) | G.I. Joe: Renegades | Nominated | |