Johnny Messner (actor)

Johnny Messner
Born	(1970-04-11) April 11, 1970 (age 54) Syracuse, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1998–present
Spouse(s)	Avril Grace Kathryn Morris (separated)
Children	2

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. ^[1] 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. ^[2] He briefly attended the San Diego State University to major in sports broadcasting but eventually decided to drop out. ^[3] Soon after that he went back to New York where he pursued an acting career. ^[4] He has several tattoos; one depicts Italian actress Monica Bellucci, and another is of his father. ^[4]

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. ^{[3] [5] [6] [7]} Around that time Messner became notorious^{[ citation needed ]} due to his controversial interviews for IGN and Lawrence Journal-World . ^{[4] [3]} 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. ^{[4] [3]} In those interviews Messner expressed harsh criticism for actors Orlando Bloom, Brad Pitt, Mickey Rourke, Russell Crowe and Vin Diesel, among others. ^{[4] [3]} In December 2004, the horror-themed website CampBlood named him the 2004's sexiest man in horror. ^[8]

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. ^[9] A torture sequence, shot for the film, required Messner to be waterboarded. ^[10]

Messner's ex-partner is Kathryn Morris, whom he met while shooting Cold Case . ^[11] They have twin sons. ^[12] Messner is currently married to Avril Grace. ^{[13] [14]}

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 [15]	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	[8]
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 [16] )	G.I. Joe: Renegades	Nominated	[16]

References

1. https://twitter.com/jmessner/status/670671654826168320
2. johnny messner [@JMessner] (4 April 2012). "@BrettAnthony2 that's true buddy Messner is German and so am I even though I was adopted:)" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
3. Niccum, Joe (August 27, 2004). "'Anacondas' star on quest to bring 'a real man' back to Hollywood". Lawrence Journal-World . Ogden Newspapers. Archived from the original on December 22, 2020. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
4. Head, Steve (August 28, 2004). "Interview: Johnny Messner". IGN . IGN Entertainment Inc. Archived from the original on December 22, 2020. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
5. "'Anacondas' has suspenseful twists, goofy dialogue". The Standard-Times . Gannett. August 26, 2004. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
6. Fox, Ellen (August 27, 2020). "With no-name cast, `Anacondas' fizzles". Chicago Tribune . Tribune Publishing . Retrieved December 22, 2020.
7. Schwartz, Dennis (September 2, 2004). "Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid". Ozus's World Movie Reviews. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
8. "Best of 2004: The First Annual Skully Awards". CampBlood. Archived from the original on July 8, 2012. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
9. Vasquez, Felix (May 21, 2008). "Ring of Death (2008)". Cinema Crazed. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
10. "Ring of Death". Facebook. Facebook, Inc. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
11. johnny messner [@JMessner] (5 August 2013). "This is a minute reason but one of many that I love my wife. Kathryn Susan Morris. I love you…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
12. Leon, Anya; Triggs, Charlotte (September 17, 2003). Archived 2014-09-10 at the Wayback Machine
13. Messner, Johnny. "What a beautiful trip to Gods Country ! It was 3 years since my first trip with Avril to meet her whole family on Read Island So grateful for all of my life and my wife ❤️❤️🙏❤️🌱🌱". Instagram.com. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
14. Messner, Johnny. "My Queen, The Medicine/God brought us together for the universal set up! I had no idea what love truly felt like until you came into my life✨ Happy birthday Bubba I love you for all eternity ❤️❤️". Instagram.com. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
15. Billington, Alex (September 14, 2022). "Official Trailer for Thriller 'Detective Knight: Rogue' with Bruce Willis". First Showing. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
16. "Johnny Messner (I) – Awards". IMDb. Amazon.com, Inc. Archived from the original on December 22, 2020. Retrieved December 22, 2020.

External links

• Johnny Messner at IMDb
• "Johnny Messner". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . Baseline & All Movie Guide. 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-12-10.