David Legeno (12 October 1963 – 2 or 3 July 2014) was a British actor and

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

Life and career

Legeno was born David Steven Murray in

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...

, London, England. Legeno's first major film role was in

Guy Ritchie Guy Stuart Ritchie (born 10 September 1968) is an English film director, producer and screenwriter. His work includes British gangster films, and the ''Sherlock Holmes'' films starring Robert Downey Jr. Ritchie left school at age 15 and wor ...

's '' Snatch''. He had roles in ''

Batman Begins ''Batman Begins'' is a 2005 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan and written by Nolan and David S. Goyer. The film is based on the DC Comics character Batman, it stars Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne / Batman, with Michael Caine, Liam ...

'', '' Elizabeth: The Golden Age'', '' Centurion'', and ''

Last Knights ''Last Knights'' is a 2015 action drama film directed by Kazuaki Kiriya and written by Michael Konyves and Dove Sussman, based loosely on (and Westernizing, for the most part) the Japanese legend of the forty-seven rōnin. The film, a joint prod ...

''. Most notably, Legeno played the

werewolf In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (; ; uk, Вовкулака, Vovkulaka), is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature), either purposely or ...

Fenrir Greyback The Death Eaters are characters featured in the ''Harry Potter'' series of novels and films. They are a radical group of wizards and witches, led by the dark wizard Lord Voldemort, who seek to purify the wizarding community by eliminating wiza ...

in ''

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'' is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling and the sixth and penultimate novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series. Set during Harry Potter's sixth year at Hogwarts, the novel explores th ...

'', ''

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1'' is a 2010 fantasy film directed by David Yates from a screenplay by Steve Kloves. The film is the first of two cinematic parts based on the 2007 novel '' Harry Potter and the Deathly Hall ...

'', and '' Part 2''. Legeno voiced and motion-captured for the videogame '' The Getaway: Black Monday'' as a protagonist, Eddie O'Connor. He was trained in various combat styles, including boxing, wrestling, judo,

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

, and

Muay Thai Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterised ...

. Also was a professional wrestler as Lone Wolf for British Wrestling Federation from 1991 to 1992.

Death

Legeno's body was found by a pair of hikers on 6 July 2014 in

Death Valley, California Death Valley is a desert valley in Eastern California, in the northern Mojave Desert, bordering the Great Basin Desert. During summer, it is the Highest temperature recorded on Earth, hottest place on Earth. Death Valley's Badwater Basin is the ...

, United States. Due to the remote area, a helicopter was called in to retrieve his remains. Legeno died of heat-related health problems and may have been dead for three to four days before his body was discovered. No foul play is suspected. A memorial evening took place in London on 12 October 2014, which would have been Legeno's 51st birthday. It was held at

Camden Underworld Camden Underworld is a music venue in Camden Town, London, England. The venue is a part of the World's End pub, situated in the basement of the building. It has a capacity of 500 people. History Over the years The Underworld has become the ...

, the venue where Legeno had held his album launch in 2004. The memorial was attended by fellow cast members of ''Harry Potter'' and ''Snatch'', as well as by friends from the mixed martial arts community and music industry. Actors

Tom Felton Thomas Andrew Felton (born 22 September 1987) is an English actor best known for playing Draco Malfoy in the film adaptations of the ''Harry Potter'' fantasy novels by J. K. Rowling. Born in Surrey, Felton began appearing in commercials and ...

and

Nick Moran Nick Moran (born 23 December 1968 or 1969, sources differ) is an English actor and filmmaker, best known for his role as Eddie the card sharp in ''Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels''. He appeared as Scabior in ''Harry Potter and the Deathly H ...

and Cage Rage founder, Dave O'Donnell, spoke about Legeno, and his favourite songs were performed live. The film ''

'' was dedicated to his honour.

Filmography

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 4–3 ,

Herb Dean Herbert Dean (born September 30, 1970) is an American professional mixed martial arts referee for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and former fighter. UFC president Dana White, UFC color commentator Joe Rogan, articles covering MMA in ESP ...

, TKO (eye injury) , Cage Rage 22 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:00 , London, England , , - , Win , align=center, 3–3 ,

Dan Severn Daniel DeWayne Severn (born June 8, 1958), nicknamed "The Beast", is an American professional wrestler, retired mixed martial artist and amateur wrestler. A UFC Hall of Fame member, Severn is considered one of the leading pioneers of mixed marti ...

, Decision (unanimous) , Cage Rage 20 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , London, England , , - , Win , align=center, 2–3 , Alan Murdock , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Cage Rage 19 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:10 , London, England , , - , Win , align=center, 1–3 ,

Kimo Leopoldo Kimo Leopoldo (born January 4, 1968), or simply Kimo, is an American retired mixed martial artist and actor. He made his MMA debut at ''UFC 3'' in 1994 losing to Royce Gracie by submission. A professional from 1994 until 2011, he also competed in ...

, Submission (guillotine choke) ,

Cage Rage 18 A cage is an enclosure often made of mesh, bars, or wires, used to confine, contain or protect something or someone. A cage can serve many purposes, including keeping an animal or person in captivity, capturing an animal or person, and displayin ...

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:21 , London, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 0–3 , Mark Epstein , KO (punches) ,

Cage Rage 17 A cage is an enclosure often made of mesh, bars, or wires, used to confine, contain or protect something or someone. A cage can serve many purposes, including keeping an animal or person in captivity, capturing an animal or person, and displayin ...

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:45 , London, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 0–2 ,

Ikuhisa Minowa is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler currently competing in IGF as . A professional MMA competitor since 1996, he was a longtime veteran of PRIDE and Pancrase and has also competed in other mixed martial arts promotions s ...

, Submission (achilles lock) ,

Cage Rage 15 A cage is an enclosure often made of mesh, bars, or wires, used to confine, contain or protect something or someone. A cage can serve many purposes, including keeping an animal or person in captivity, capturing an animal or person, and displayin ...

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:21 , London, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 0–1 , Alan Murdock , Submission (armbar) , Cage Rage 14 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:07 , London, England ,

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Legeno, Dave 1963 births 2014 deaths Date of death unknown 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors Accidental deaths in California Deaths from hyperthermia English male television actors English male mixed martial artists English male film actors Male actors from London Light heavyweight mixed martial artists Heavyweight mixed martial artists People educated at Dr Challoner's Grammar School People from Marylebone