Florian Munteanu (; born 13 October 1990), also known by his ring name Big Nasty, is a German-born Romanian actor and boxer. He is known for his role of the boxer Viktor Drago in ''

Creed II ''Creed II'' is a 2018 American sports drama film directed by Steven Caple Jr. from a screenplay by Juel Taylor and Sylvester Stallone. The sequel to ''Creed'' (2015) and the eighth installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise, the film stars Michae ...

'' (2018) and ''

Creed III ''Creed III'' is an upcoming American sports drama film directed by Michael B. Jordan (in his feature directorial debut) with a screenplay by Keenan Coogler and Zach Baylin from a story they co-wrote with Ryan Coogler. The sequel to ''Creed II ...

'' (2023), and

Razor Fist Razor Fist is the name of three fictional supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The original Razor Fist was killed off in the comic books many years ago. The next two characters to take the title were brothers ...

in the superhero film ''

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings ''Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings'' is a 2021 American superhero film based on Marvel Comics featuring the character Shang-Chi. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the 25th film ...

'' (2021).

Early life

Munteanu was born in Germany to Romanian parents, who fled the

Socialist Republic of Romania The Socialist Republic of Romania ( ro, Republica Socialistă România, RSR) was a Marxist–Leninist one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989. From 1947 to 1965, the state was known as the Romanian People ...

in 1985. His mother is a lawyer, while his father is a

dermatologist Dermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the skin.''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.'' Random House, Inc. 2001. Page 537. . It is a speciality with both medical and surgical aspects. A dermatologist is a specialist medical ...

and a former boxer. Munteanu grew up in Bogen, and later moved to

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

to study at the university of applied science

Hochschule Mittweida The Hochschule Mittweida (german: Hochschule Mittweida) is a public university of applied science located in Mittweida, Germany, founded in 1867. History The University of Applied Sciences Mittweida is the second-largest public university of ap ...

. In 2014 he defended his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

thesis on the "Structure and organization of the sport of boxing in Germany: associations, boxing promotion companies, federations, management and marketing in general, with a comparison to the structures implemented in the USA". He has competed in boxing in Germany under the ring name "Big Nasty".

Acting career

Munteanu had his first film role in ''Bogat'', a 2016 German-Romanian film shot in Munich. His breakthrough in acting came in 2018, when

Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Enzio Stallone (; born Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone, ) is an American actor and filmmaker. After his beginnings as a struggling actor for a number of years upon arriving to New York City in 1969 and later Hollywood in 1974, h ...

was looking for a European heavyweight boxer to play Viktor Drago, the son of

Ivan Drago Ivan Vasilyevich Drago (russian: Иван Васильевич Драго, ) is a Soviet-Russian fictional character from the ''Rocky'' film series. He first appears in the 1985 film ''Rocky IV'', in which he is the central antagonist and riv ...

, in the sports drama sequel ''Creed II''. Stallone found Munteanu through training videos on the Internet and personally promoted him for the role. At that time Munteanu was tall and weighed ca. , but had to shed ca. for the role. Munteanu has joined the Season 3 line-up for Netflix's historical drama series '' Vikings: Valhalla''. He has been cast as General

George Maniakes George Maniakes (, transliterated as Georgios Maniaces, Maniakis, or Maniaches, , ; died 1043) was a prominent general of the Byzantine Empire of Byzantine Greek origin during the 1 ...

. Munteanu lives in

and

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. He was featured on the covers of ''

Muscle & Fitness ''Muscle & Fitness'' is an American fitness and bodybuilding magazine founded in 1935 by Canadian entrepreneur Joe Weider. It was originally published under the title ''Your Physique'', before being renamed to ''Muscle Builder'' in 1954, and acq ...

'' (October 2018) and ''

Men's Health ''Men's Health'' (''MH''), published by Hearst, is the world's largest men's magazine brand, with 35 editions in 59 countries. It is also the best-selling men's magazine on U.S. newsstands. Started as a men's health magazine by Rodale, Inc. ...

'' (December 2018).

Personal life

Munteanu is fluent in Romanian.

Filmography

Film

References

External links

*
Official Instagram
{{DEFAULTSORT:Munteanu, Florian German male film actors Living people 1990 births 21st-century German male actors German people of Romanian descent Romanian male film actors Members of the Romanian Orthodox Church