Karl Otto Thaning (born May 9, 1977) is a South African actor and former professional swimmer and water polo player. As a swimmer he most notably competed in the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

in Athens. As an actor, he has appeared in a number of films and television series.

Early life

Thaning attended the Bishops High School in Cape Town then, the

University of the Pacific University of the Pacific may refer to: *University of the Pacific (Colombia) *University of the Pacific (Ecuador) *University of the Pacific (Peru) * University of the Pacific (United States) *University of Asia Pacific, Bangladesh * University of ...

Stockton, California Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. Stockton was founded by Carlos Maria Weber in 1849 after he acquir ...

, graduating with a degree in theatre and film.

Athletic career

Thaning represented his country in two sports, playing water polo for South Africa at the Heliopolis Tournament in Cairo, Egypt in 2003, and later for swimming at numerous tournaments. As a swimmer, Thaning specialized in freestyle events. He claimed numerous short-course South African titles in sprint freestyle (both 50 and 100). Thaning competed in the men's 4 × 100 m medley relay, as a member of the South African team, at the

in Athens., teaming with Gerhard Zandberg,

Terence Parkin Terence Mike Parkin (born 12 April 1980 in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe) is a swimmer from South Africa, who won the silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in the 200m Breaststroke. Parkin, who is deaf, also competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics, as wel ...

, and

Eugene Botes Eugene Botes (born 9 June 1980) is a South African former swimmer, who specialized in butterfly events. He became the first swimmer to represent his country South Africa in international tournaments, while playing for the Penn State Nittany Lio ...

in heat two, Thaning anchored a freestyle leg to finish the race with a split of 49.25, with the team finishing thirteenth overall in a final time of 3:43.94. He captained the National Aquatic Team at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia in 2006, during which he finished 9th in the 50 meter freestyle and anchored the freestyle leg of the men's 4 × 100 m medley relay to a 6th-place finish.

Acting career

Thaning began acting in 2002, and has appeared in numerous television shows and films since then. He played Captain Phillip Brooks in the seven-part 2008 South African miniseries '' Feast of the Uninvited''. He also acted in international films, such as the 2010 '' Winnie'', which starred Jennifer Hudson, and the 2012 film '' Dredd'', in which he played Judge Chan. Other characters portrayed by him include O'Malley in '' Black Sails'', Jared Taylor in '' SAF3'' and First Mate Warren in '' Outlander''.

References

External links

*
Profile – South Africa Talent AgencyTVSA Actors' Profile
1977 births Living people South African male swimmers South African male actors Olympic swimmers for South Africa Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Olympics South African male freestyle swimmers Sportspeople from Cape Town {{SouthAfrica-swimming-bio-stub