Manel Soler

Manel Soler is an actor martial artist and writer from Barcelona Spain A firstdan black belt in Hapkido and TaeKwonDo with a specialty in Brazilian JiuJitsu Muay Thai and Mixed Martial Arts Manel has been an aspiring martial artist since the age of 11 For ten years of his life Manels training eventually led him in the company of some very important people working various types of jobs protecting people from bouncer to personal bodyguard until one day he decided it was no longer for him Eventually he sold his car and flew to Thailand to pursue a career in competitive fighting where his career would have remained lucrative until a neardeadly incident with a greedy machetewielding cab driver nearly took his life in 2009 And although Manel prevailed his injuries cost him his fighting career As time passed with recovery Manel had the good fortune of bumping into Jaika Stunts founder veteran stunt performer and stunt coordinator Kaecha Kampakdee whose most notable stunt and choreography credits include Daniel Bernhardts acting debut Bloodsport 2 Tony Jaas sequelized epic thriller Ong Bak 2 and Bollywood actor Allu Arjuns Iddaramayilatho And upon his crossing of paths with Kampakdee the rest would soon fall into place with Manel working on a number of films doing stunt work and other small acting roles including Iddaramayilatho and the comedic Hollywood hit The Hangover 2 directed by Todd Philips to name a few As of 2015 Manel is currently working on what he hopes to be his firstever feature lead role based on the previouslyshot shortfilm Portrait Of An Angry Man shot by cinematographer Kimbo Kim and Italian writerdirector Joe Petrosino Filmed about four years ago Manel strongly considers Portrait Of An Angry Man a lovely experience that fully embedded him as an actor Without a doubt I can say that this is the project that made me fall in love with acting and film making as I was involved all the way from the start to finishhe says It is what made me realize how beautiful it really is to make a movie or shortfilm in this case Manel Soler will also be seen in the upcoming film A Man Will Rise which is still pending release In addition Manel Soler has worked with stunt coordinator Brett Chan on actor Nicholas Cages 12th century romantic war epic Outcast with costars Hayden Christensen Star Wars Episode 2 3 Jumper and Crystial Liu The Forbidden Kingdom The Four under veteran stunt coordinator Nick Powell The Last Samurai The Three Musketeers making his directorial debut Manel has also worked with Tony Jaa Ong Bak Trilogy Fast Furious 7 and veteran actors and martial artist Dolph Lundgren Expendables trilogy Universal Soldier Rocky IV Michel Jai White The Dark Knight Spawn Blood and Bone and Golden Globe winer Ron Perlman Hellboy 12 Drive in the 2015 action thriller Skin Trade On another more personal note Manel Soler has expressed his own fortitude looking back on his life with resolve with the philosophy that everything that happened from bodyguarding and security to an incident that nearly cost him his life has happened for a reason  Written By Lee B Golden