Alias: | Big Nasty |
Birth Date: | 13 October 1990[1] [2] |
Birth Place: | Würzburg, Germany |
Occupation: | Actor, boxer |
Years Active: | 2016–present |
Alma Mater: | Hochschule Mittweida |
Florian Munteanu (pronounced as /ro/, born 13 October 1990), also known by his ring name Big Nasty, is a German actor and boxer. He is known for the boxer Viktor Drago in Creed II (2018) and Creed III (2023), and Razor Fist in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021).
Munteanu was born in Germany to Romanian parents, in 1990. His mother is a lawyer, while his father is a dermatologist and former boxer. Munteanu grew up in Bogen, and later moved to Munich to study at the university of applied science Hochschule Mittweida. In 2014 he defended his Bachelor of Arts 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".
Munteanu had his first film role in Bogat, a 2016 German-Romanian film shot in Munich.[2] His breakthrough in acting came in 2018, when Sylvester Stallone was looking for a European heavyweight boxer to play Viktor Drago, the son of Ivan Drago, 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 6feet tall and weighed ca. 245lb, but had to shed ca. 20lb for the role.
Munteanu has joined the Season 3 line-up for Netflix's historical drama series . He has been cast as General George Maniakes.[3]
Munteanu lives in Munich and Los Angeles, California. He was featured on the covers of Muscle & Fitness (October 2018) and Men's Health (December 2018).
Munteanu is fluent in Romanian.[4]
Year | Title | Role | Director | Note | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2016 | Bogat | Razvan | Valentin Kruse | Short film | |
2018 | Creed II | Viktor Drago | Steven Caple Jr. | ||
2021 | Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings | Razor Fist | Destin Daniel Cretton | ||
2022 | The Contractor | Kauffman | Tarik Saleh | ||
2023 | Creed III | Viktor Drago | Michael B. Jordan | ||
2024 | Borderlands | Krieg | Eli Roth |
Year | Title | Role | Note | |
---|---|---|---|---|
2021 | The Roles That Changed My Life | Himself | 1 episode | |
2024 | George Maniakes | Reoccurring role; Season 3 |