Taimak

Taimak Guarriello

Taimak at Florida Supercon 2014
Born (1964-06-27) June 27, 1964
Los Angeles,California
Nationality American
Occupation Actor, Martial Artist, Stuntman
Years active 1982-present
Website iamtaimak.com

Taimak[1] (pronounced Tie-Mock) Guarriello (born June 27, 1964) is a martial arts actor and stuntman, best known as Leroy Green in the 1985 martial arts film The Last Dragon.[2] He was born in Los Angeles, California, to a black mother, and an Italian father.

Career

Taimak's leading role in Berry Gordy’s The Last Dragon, in which he played Leroy Green, a Bruce Lee-inspired martial artist in search of "The Glow", was his first major break in acting. The film was a financial success and grossed more than $25 million at the box office.

Since The Last Dragon, Taimak has appeared in a number of TV roles and over a dozen plays.

Taimak later appeared in a number of TV roles and music videos including the lead male in Janet Jackson's "Let's Wait Awhile" music video, Debbie Allen's "Special Look" video. He played a date rapist on an episode of the TV show A Different World. He appeared in 36 Crazyfists' music video "Bloodwork".

Taimak has worked with a number of celebrities including Madonna and starred in the play Cheaters, which toured the United States. He starred in a hit Off-Broadway show in 2004 called Roadhouse The Comedy, based on the Patrick Swayze film Road House.

In addition to his acting career, Taimak operated a gym on the Manhattan's East Side in New York city called Fitness Concepts, that he opened in 2002. However, due to time constraints, he has since parted ways with the partner but may reconsider re-opening another gym in the future. In the interim, Taimak completed Taimak FIT (Find Inner Transformation) the first installment of a series of fitness DVDs.

He is an accomplished martial artist and has received black belts in Goju Ryu Karate, Jeet Kune Do, Wing Chun, Hapkido, Jujutsu, Tae Kwon Do & Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He studied Chinese Goju under "The Black Dragon", Ron Van Clief.[3]

He officiated the preliminary MMA bouts at UFC 6 and UFC 7.[3]

He wrote and directed called I've Seen Things.

Also in Nov 2015, both he and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa from Mortal Kombat: Legacy movies were honorees for the Fists of Legends Legacy Award at the Urban Action Showcase & Expo at HBO [4] [5] In March 2016, Incorgnito Publishing Press published Taimak's autobiography, Taimak The Last Dragon which is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Filmography

Stunts

Self

References

  1. ↑ "Taimak". The New York Times.
  2. ↑ Maslin, Janet (March 22, 1985). "The Last Dragon (1985) FILM: SCHULTZ DIRECTS 'LAST DRAGON'". The New York Times.
  3. 1 2 McCarthy, "Big" John (1 September 2011). Let's Get It On!: The Making of MMA and Its Ultimate Referee. Medallion Press. p. 190. ISBN 978-1-60542-200-8.
  4. ↑ "2015 Urban Action Showcase International Action Film Festival & Honoree Awards". YouTube. Retrieved 2015-12-14.
  5. ↑ http://incorgnitobooks.com
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