# Scott Adkins

Scott Edward Adkins (born 17 June 1976) is an English actor and martial artist. He gained prominence with his villainous portrayal of the Russian prison fighter Yuri Boyka in the American martial arts film Undisputed II: Last Man Standing (2006), a role he reprised in its sequels Undisputed III: Redemption (2010), which won him an Action on Film Award for Breakout Action Star, and Boyka: Undisputed (2017), which won him a Jackie Chan Action Movie Award for Best Action Movie Actor.
His early acting credits include minor roles in the Hong Kong films The Accidental Spy (2001), Black Mask 2: City of Masks (2002), and The Medallion (2003), and the American films Special Forces (2003), Unleashed (2005), and The Pink Panther (2006). 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). He went on to play leading and supporting roles in the well-received films The Expendables 2, Zero Dark Thirty (both 2012), Close Range (2015), Savage Dog (2017), Accident Man (2018), Triple Threat, Avengement, Ip Man 4: The Finale (all 2019), Legacy of Lies (2020), Castle Falls (2021), Accident Man: Hitman's Holiday (2022), and John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023), among others.
Adkins has been practising martial arts since the age of 13, when he took up taekwondo and earned his black belt at age 19. He is also trained in the styles of judo, kickboxing, capoeira, Krav Maga, Jeet Kune Do (JKD), and Wushu.

## 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. After being robbed at age 13, his interest in martial arts grew even more. That same year, he began to practise taekwondo. At age 16, he started to practise kickboxing and eventually became a kickboxing instructor for the Professional Karate Association. He also ran weekly classes at the Fitness First in Bearwood. He has since gained experience in aikido, capoeira, gymnastics, jujutsu, karate, Krav Maga, MMA, ninjutsu, and wushu.
Adkins was inspired by Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee, Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Jean-Claude Van Damme. He said in 2012, "I wanted to be an actor first because I grew up idolising action stars. The first one for me was Bruce Lee, and then there was Stallone and Arnold, and then Van Damme came along in '88 and really inspired me."

## Career

Adkins secured 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 had the opportunity to work with some of Hong Kong cinema's leading action directors including Yuen Woo-ping, Corey Yuen, Sammo Hung, and Jackie Chan. He was soon offered 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 soon followed with Adkins' portrayal of Talbot in Special Forces (2003) and Yuri Boyka in Undisputed II: Last Man Standing (2006). It was this film that broke him into the mainstream with his villainous portrayal of the Russian MMA underground fighter Yuri Boyka. After this, he had guest starring roles in bigger budget films like 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 popular French comic book Metal Hurlant. He has worked in four films with his idol 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 was reunited 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. According to Adkins, Yen personally requested him to star in the film. He also starred in Day Shift (2022) and John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023).

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2001 | The Accidental Spy | Lee's Bodyguard / Turkish Leader | Credited as Scott Edward Adkins |
| 2001 | Extreme Challenge | Isac Borman | Direct-to-video |
| 2001 | Pure Vengeance | Dany | Short film |
| 2002 | Black Mask 2: City of Masks | Dr. Lang | |
| 2003 | Special Forces | Talbot | Direct-to-video |
| 2003 | The Medallion | Snakehead's Henchman | |
| 2005 | Danny the Dog | Swimming Pool Fighter | |
| 2005 | Pit Fighter | Nathan | Direct-to-video |
| 2006 | The Pink Panther | Jacquard / Footballer | |
| 2006 | Undisputed II: Last Man Standing | Yuri Boyka | Direct-to-video |
| 2007 | The Bourne Ultimatum | CIA Agent Kiley | |
| 2008 | The Shepherd: Border Patrol | Karp | Direct-to-video |
| 2008 | Stag Night | Carl | Direct-to-video |
| 2009 | X-Men Origins: Wolverine | Weapon XI | Shared role with Ryan Reynolds |
| 2009 | The Tournament | Yuri Petrov | |
| 2009 | Ninja | Casey Bowman | Direct-to-video |
| 2010 | Undisputed III: Redemption | Yuri Boyka | Direct-to-video |
| 2011 | Assassination Games | Roland Flint | Direct-to-video |
| 2012 | El Gringo | The Man | Direct-to-video |
| 2012 | The Expendables 2 | Hector | |
| 2012 | Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning | John | Direct-to-video |
| 2012 | Zero Dark Thirty | CIA SAD/SOG Operative John Simmons | |
| 2013 | Legendary | Travis Preston | Direct-to-video |
| 2013 | Green Street 3: Never Back Down | Danny Harvey | Direct-to-video |
| 2013 | Ninja: Shadow of a Tear | Casey Bowman | Direct-to-video |
| 2014 | The Legend of Hercules | King Amphitryon | |
| 2015 | Zero Tolerance | Steven | Direct-to-video |
| 2015 | Wolf Warrior | Tom Cat | |
| 2015 | Close Range | Colton MacReady | Direct-to-video |
| 2015 | Re-Kill | Trent Parker | Direct-to-video |
| 2016 | Home Invasion | Heflin | Direct-to-video |
| 2016 | Jarhead 3: The Siege | Gunny Raines | Direct-to-video |
| 2016 | Grimsby | Pavel Lukashenko | |
| 2016 | Criminal | CIA Agent Pete Greensleeves | |
| 2016 | Hard Target 2 | Wes Baylor | Direct-to-video |
| 2016 | Doctor Strange | Lucian / Strong Zealot | |
| 2016 | Eliminators | Martin Parker / Thomas Mackenzie | Direct-to-video |
| 2017 | Savage Dog | Martin Tillman | Direct-to-video |
| 2017 | Boyka: Undisputed | Yuri Boyka | Direct-to-video |
| 2017 | American Assassin | Victor | |
| 2018 | Accident Man | Mike Fallon | Direct-to-video Also producer and screenwriter |
| 2018 | Deadpool 2 | Weapon XI | Archive footage Shared role with Ryan Reynolds |
| 2018 | The Debt Collector | "Frenchy" French | Direct-to-video |
| 2018 | Incoming | Reiser | Direct-to-video |
| 2018 | No Surrender | The Crazy One | Direct-to-video |
| 2019 | Abduction | Quinn | Direct-to-video |
| 2019 | Triple Threat | Collins | |
| 2019 | Avengement | Cain Burgess | Direct-to-video |
| 2019 | Ip Man 4: The Finale | Gunnery Sergeant Barton Geddes | |
| 2020 | Debt Collectors | "Frenchy" French | Direct-to-video |
| 2020 | Legacy of Lies | Martin Baxter | Direct-to-video |
| 2020 | Seized | Nero | Direct-to-video |
| 2020 | Dead Reckoning | Marco | Direct-to-video |
| 2020 | The Intergalactic Adventures of Max Cloud | Max Cloud | Direct-to-video |
| 2021 | One Shot | Jake Harris | Direct-to-video |
| 2021 | Castle Falls | Mike Wade | Direct-to-video |
| 2022 | Day Shift | Diran Nazarian | |
| 2022 | Section Eight | Leonard Locke | Direct-to-video |
| 2022 | Accident Man: Hitman's Holiday | Mike Fallon | Direct-to-video Also producer, screenwriter and fight choreographer |
| 2023 | John Wick: Chapter 4 | Killa Harkan | |
| 2023 | Wherever You Go | Joseph | |
| 2024 | One More Shot | Jake Harris | Direct-to-video |
| 2024 | Lights Out | Don "The Reaper" Richter | |
| 2024 | The Killer's Game | Angus Mackenzie | |
| 2024 | Take Cover | Sam Lorde | Direct-to-video |
| 2025 | Day of Reckoning† | Kyle Rusk | Completed |
| 2025 | Skyline: Warpath† | Eric Corley | Post-production |
| 2025 | Diablo † | Kris Chaney | Post-production |
| 2025 | Prisoner of War† | James Wright | Post-production, Direct-to-video; Also screenwriter |
| 2025 | RIP † | | Post-production |
| TBA | Reckless† | Devon | Post-production Direct-to-video |
Key :
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1998 | Dangerfield | | Episode: "Paths" |
| 1999 | City Central | Jake Clanton | Episode: "Life Liberty and Pursuit" |
| 2000 | Doctors | Ross | 3 episodes |
| 2001 | The Big Breakfast | Himself | 1 episode |
| 2002 | Mutant X | Marko | Uncredited Episode: "Sign from Above" |
| 2003 | EastEnders | Joel | 6 episodes |
| 2005 | Mile High | Ed Russell | 12 episodes |
| 2005 | Hollyoaks: Let Loose | Ryan | 2 episodes |
| 2006 | Holby City | Bradley Hume | 9 episodes |
| 2012, 2014 | Métal Hurlant Chronicles | Guillame / Joe Manda | 3 episodes |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Nominated work | Award | Category | Results |
| 2010 | Undisputed III: Redemption | Action On Film International Film Festival | Breakout Action Star | Won |
| 2017 | Boyka: Undisputed | Jackie Chan Action Movie Awards | Best Fight | Won |
| 2017 | Boyka: Undisputed | Jackie Chan Action Movie Awards | Best Action Movie Actor | Won |