Jalal Merhi is a Brazilian-born Canadian action film producer and martial artist. He was born in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

to Lebanese immigrant parents.

Career

He started his film career by selling his jewellery business to start a film production company. He has produced and acted in numerous action films that can be considered martial arts

B movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature ...

s. Because of this he is known as "Beirut’s

Steven Seagal Steven Frederic Seagal (; born April 10, 1952) is an American actor, screenwriter and martial artist. A 7th-dan black belt in aikido, he began his adult life as a martial arts instructor in Japan and eventually ended up running his father-in-l ...

." Merhi first studied

Shotokan is a style of karate, developed from various martial arts by Gichin Funakoshi (1868–1957) and his son Gigo (Yoshitaka) Funakoshi (1906–1945). Gichin Funakoshi was born in Okinawa and is widely credited with popularizing "karate do" throu ...

style of

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

as youth later moving to tiger style

Kung fu Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common ...

. He has sifu rank in kung fu and owns his own school in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Filmography

*2015 ''Jalal Merhi: The Man, The Myth, The VCR'' *2011 ''The Conspiracy Show'' Airing 31 Episodes VisionTV *2010 ''Alexander The Great Of Macedonia'' In postproduction - Feature film *2009 ''Soccer Dreams'' (TV show) 13 Episodes Twentieth Century FOX- Sun TV *2009 ''Circuit 3'' Feature Film *2008 ''Risk Factor'' Amsell Ent. *2002 ''Circuit 2'' Blockbusters, Amsell Ent - ThinkFilm *2001 ''The Circuit'' Blockbusters, Amsell Ent.- ThinkFilm *2000 ''Sometimes A Hero'' Thinkfilm, Amsell ENT *2000 ''Guaranteed On Delivery'' Thinkfilm, Amsell ENT. *1999 ''Tiger Claws III'' ShowTime, TMN, Amsell ENT *1998 ''Love Letters'' Alliance, Amsell ENT *1998 ''Severe'' Lions Gate, Amsell ENT. *1997 ''Crisis'' Lions Gate, Amsell Ent. *1998 ''The Cellar'' (Short) Film One *1997 ''Variety'' Amsell ENT. Film One *1997 ''

Tiger Claws II The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on u ...

'' *1995 ''Sudden Death''

LionsGate Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...

, Cineplex *1997 ''Expect To Die'' Lions Gate, Alliance *1995 ''Death Junction'' CFP, Film One, SGE *1995 ''21st Century Man'' TV Pilot *1995 ''

Expect No Mercy ''Expect No Mercy'' is the ninth studio album by the Scottish hard rock band Nazareth, released in 1977. The original version was rejected by the label and these versions were the bonus tracks on the Salvo CD. The originally released version ...

'' Alliance, Warner Vision *1994 ''Operation Golden Phoenix'' Universal Alliance *1993 ''

TC 2000 The TC2000 (''Turismo Competición 2000'', formerly ''Súper TC2000'') is a touring car racing series held in Argentina since 1979. Rules Prior to 2012, engines of up to were allowed, with only limited modifications from standard engines. ...

'' Universal, Cineplex, SGE *1992 ''

Talons of the Eagle Talons of the Eagle is a 1992 American martial arts action film starring Billy Blanks, Jalal Merhi, Matthias Hues and James Hong and directed by Michael Kennedy. It received a limited release on November 6, 1992, and was released on video on Decem ...

'' Universal, Cineplex, SGE *1992 ''

Tiger Claws The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on un ...

'' Universal, Cineplex, SGE *1991 ''

Fearless Tiger ''Fearless Tiger'' (also known as ''Black Pearls'' in some countries) is a 1991 Canadian martial arts movie, directed by Ron Hulme. Plot Jalal Merhi, Bolo Yeung and Monika Schnarre Monika Schnarre (born May 27, 1971) is a Canadian model, actr ...

'' Cineplex, Imperial

References

External links

*
Film One
(production company) {{DEFAULTSORT:Merhi, Jalal Living people Brazilian people of Lebanese descent Canadian people of Lebanese descent Canadian film producers Brazilian emigrants to Canada 1967 births