Max Martini

2.1. Birth and background

Max Martini was born Maximilian Carlo Martini on December 11, 1969, in Woodstock, New York. While Woodstock is widely cited as his birthplace, some sources also suggest Kingston, New York. He holds Italian citizenship through his father, who was born in Rome. His mother, Patricia Dunne Martini, married actor-director Stuart Margolin in 1982, making Margolin his stepfather. Martini has two siblings: his sister, Michelle Martini, is a costume designer, and his brother, Christopher Martini, is an editor, producer, and director. Christopher also co-directed the film Desert Son with Max, and Michelle served as its costume designer.

3.1. Film career

Martini's early film roles included co-starring alongside Jodie Foster in Robert Zemeckis's 1997 science fiction drama Contact, where he played Willie, a fellow scientist. He also shared the screen with Tom Hanks and Matt Damon in Steven Spielberg's critically acclaimed 1998 war film Saving Private Ryan, portraying Corporal Henderson, a non-commissioned officer in Pfc. James Ryan's unit, who assisted Captain John C. Miller and his men during the intense final shootout. Later, Martini co-starred in John Dahl's 2005 war film The Great Raid as First Sergeant Sid Wojo.

He also appeared in several smaller independent films, including Jane Doe with Calista Flockhart, Cement alongside Chris Penn and Jeffrey Wright, and the 2000 Sundance Film Festival favorite Backroads. In 2011, the Noor Iranian Film Festival in Los Angeles invited Martini to participate as an official festival judge.

In 2013, Martini played the role of a U.S. Navy SEAL commander in Paul Greengrass's Academy Award-nominated film Captain Phillips. That same year, director Guillermo del Toro cast Martini as Hercules "Herc" Hansen, one half of an Australian father-son pilot duo, in the science fiction monster film Pacific Rim, starring opposite Robert Kazinsky. In 2014, Martini was cast in Legendary Pictures' supernatural thriller Spectral, where he played Major Sessions. He gained further recognition for his role as Jason Taylor, Christian Grey's bodyguard, in the 2015 film Fifty Shades of Grey and its two sequels, Fifty Shades Darker (2017) and Fifty Shades Freed (2018). In 2016, Martini portrayed Mark "Oz" Geist in Michael Bay's action thriller 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi. He also appeared in David Ayer's 2014 action thriller Sabotage as DEA Agent Tom "Pyro" Roberts.

3.2. Television career

Martini's television credits include a lead role as Colonel Breck in the Sci-Fi Channel's Emmy-nominated mini-series Taken. He also had a recurring role as Agent Steve Goodrich on the second season of the popular action series 24. He was cast in The X-Files creator Chris Carter's series Harsh Realm and had a recurring role in the Canadian series Da Vinci's Inquest. He also appeared in the crime drama Lie to Me.

After notable guest-star appearances in popular series such as Numb3rs, Walker, Texas Ranger, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and CSI: Miami, Martini secured a lead role as Master Sergeant Mack Gerhardt in The Unit. This CBS military drama series, created by David Mamet and produced by Shawn Ryan of The Shield, focused on a tier-1 US Army special operations team. In 2011, he appeared in an episode of Criminal Minds, playing a Navy SEAL named Luke Dolan.

In 2015, Martini starred as the title character, Josiah "Edge" Hedges, in Amazon Studios' Western pilot series Edge, which was written and directed by Shane Black. In April 2018, Martini was cast in the Netflix horror-drama series The Order, portraying Edward Coventry. In August 2022, he joined the cast of the second season of the Amazon Freevee Bosch spin-off series, Bosch: Legacy, in a recurring role as Detective Don Ellis, a hardened vice cop in the LAPD. He also had a recurring role as Tracer in the 2024 American drama series Lioness.

3.3. Theater

Max Martini remains actively involved in theater. He co-founded the Theatre North Collaborative in New York City, a company composed of American and Canadian actors dedicated exclusively to producing new theatrical works from both sides of the border.

3.4. Directing and writing

Beyond his acting roles, Max Martini has also ventured into behind-the-camera work. In 1999, he made his directorial debut with the film Desert Son, which he also wrote and starred in. His younger brother, Christopher Martini, co-directed the film with him. Martini's most significant work as a filmmaker came in 2019 with the military drama Sgt. Will Gardner, which marked his feature directorial debut. For this film, he also served as the writer, producer, and starred in the titular role of Sgt. Will Gardner. Additionally, he was an executive producer for the 2020 film What the Night Can Do.

4.1. Film

4.2. Television