Sam Medina
Actor Sam Medina makes his directing debut in the upcoming action/thriller Code Name The Dragon. It will begin production in late 2018 for a release next year. He also co-stars in the film. This December, Medina once more joins the Robert Rodriguez family of actors, lending his talent to the character of Stinger - the ten-foot robot in the animated feature Alita: Battle Angel, written and produced by James Cameron. He's also featured opposite actor Tom Hardy in the new Marvel adventure Venom, and, in one of his most important roles to date, he's the lead antagonist opposite Mark Wahlberg in director Peter Berg's action/thriller Mile 22. Medina plays a special operative for a third world government determined to stop a rogue agent from revealing potential terrorist targets to the U.S. intelligence community. Currently ubiquitous in the action arena, he also played a good cop in the most recent Jack Reacher film, which starred Tom Cruise. A product of Honduras, Vietnam, Polynesia, France, mixed with American Cherokee, Sam Medina was born in Saigon, Vietnam, where he spent the first twelve years of his life living under communist rule. Thanks to his mother's determination and resourcefulness, he was able to move to the United States, where he grew up in New Orleans. It was not an easy life for Sam. When he first arrived in the States, he spoke no English and he was a problem child. However, as he became more settled, he learned the language and excelled in school, later attending he University of New Orleans. When the disaster of Katrina struck the city, the only work available for him was in the construction industry. Medina helped rebuild the city, then began to look into the other industry that was soon thriving: film and television. He began to drive to auditions all over the country - putting 300,000 miles on his cars. His first break was booking two episodes of the Prison Break television series, shooting in Dallas. Early on, he was also able to book the key role of the main villain's brother in Olympus Has Fallen. He was the only member of the attacking force to sport a Fu Manchu. He also portrayed Crawford, a Thai mobster/killer in Kickboxer: Vengeance and Kickboxer: Retaliation. His character will also be featured in the third film in this action series. How tough does Medina appear on screen? He was cast as a character who could intimidate Danny Trejo in Machete Kills. It took three helicopters to take him down. Because of his resemblance to a young Trejo, Robert Rodriguez cast him as "Razor Charlie" in the From Dusk Till Dawn television series - the same character Trejo played in the original film. Medina's additional feature credits include: Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, Tracers, Savages, Dragon Eyes, The Baytown Outlaws, Let's Be Cops, Ant-Man, Our Brand Is Crisis, and Blood Out. His television credits include: Treme, Army Wives, Macgyver, NCIS: Los Angeles, Banshee, Let's Stay Together, Conan, The Messengers, Into the Badlands, Game of Silence, and he booked three episodes of Preacher, portraying the Samurai Guy. Between acting assignments, Medina can be found in his gym, where he works out with weights six days a week. He's also writing, studying cinematography and editing his latest short films.