Frank Grillo

Early life Grillo was born in New York City to a working-class Italian-American family of Calabrian origin. He was raised in the Bronx and in Rockland County, New York. Grillo began wrestling at eight years old, and took up boxing at eighteen. In 1991, he started practicing Brazilian jiu-jitsu, which he studied under Rickson Gracie; he currently holds a brown belt. Grillo graduated from New York University with a business degree and spent a year on Wall Street before being asked to do a Miller Genuine Draft beer commercial. On the podcast The Fighter and the Kid, he stated that he holds Italian citizenship.

Career

Film

Grillo started his acting career by appearing in commercials, for companies such as American Express and Sure deodorant. His first film role was in 1992's The Mambo Kings, and he went on to appear in the films Minority Report (2002), April's Shower (2006), and both iMurders and New Line Cinema's Pride and Glory in 2008.

Grillo was in the 2010 horror film Mother's Day in the role of Daniel Sohapi and the following year, had a supporting role in the 2011 film Warrior as MMA trainer Frank Campana.

In 2014, Grillo was cast as Hydra agent Brock Rumlow in the 2014 film Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The same year, he starred as Sergeant Leo Barnes in the sequel The Purge: Anarchy, and reprised his role in 2016's The Purge: Election Year. He also reprised the role of Brock Rumlow/Crossbones in the third installment of the Captain America film series, Civil War, which was released on May 6, 2016.

In October 2013, Grillo started filming for The Crash, starring alongside Academy Award nominee Minnie Driver, Ed Westwick, AnnaSophia Robb, Dianna Agron, John Leguizamo, Mary McCormack, Christopher McDonald and Maggie Q. The film is directed by Aram Rappaport and produced by Hilary Shor, Atit Shah, and Aaron Becker. The Crash was released on January 31, 2017.

In 2015, Grillo starred in the films Demonic and Big Sky. Another film in which he stars, Beyond Skyline, was originally set for release in 2015, and was ultimately released on Netflix in December 2017.

In 2018, Grillo starred opposite Bruce Willis and Johnathon Schaech in the action film Reprisal. Years after its release, the film made it on Netflix's U.S. top five in October 2021.

In 2019, Variety announced that Grillo has signed with Creative Artists Agency (CAA) for representation.

Grillo produced and starred in Boss Level, which was announced in November 2017 and was originally scheduled to be released by Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures on August 16, 2019, but was delayed. It was subsequently bought by Hulu, which released it on March 5, 2021. He also appeared in the sequel Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard with Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson.

More recently, he has appeared in the films This Is the Night with Naomi Watts, Copshop with Gerard Butler, Ida Red with Melissa Leo, The Yacht with Ruby Rose and A Day to Die with Bruce Willis.

Grillo plays Ferruccio Lamborghini in the 2022 biographical drama Lamborghini: The Man Behind the Legend. The film is directed by Oscar-winning writer Bobby Moresco. The film also stars Oscar winner Mira Sorvino and Emmy nominee Gabriel Byrne.

In June 2024, set photos revealed that Grillo was set to appear in the DC Universe (DCU) film Superman as Rick Flag Sr., reprising the role in live-action after debuting as the character in the animated series Creature Commandos (2024–present).

Television

Grillo first appeared on television in episodes of Silk Stalkings (1993), and Poltergeist: The Legacy (1996) before being cast as businessman Hart Jessup on the daytime soap opera Guiding Light in 1996 up until 1999. During that time, he also appeared on the Blind Justice as Marty Russo. In 2010, he starred in the sci-fi series The Gates opposite Marisol Nichols and Rhona Mitra. The series only lasted one season.

Between 2014 and 2017, Grillo starred in the DirecTV drama series Kingdom as MMA coach Alvey Kulina alongside Nick Jonas and Jonathan Tucker.

Grillo was a season 5 regular on the drama series Billions, starring as artist Nico Tanner opposite Damian Lewis and Maggie Siff. He also reprised the role of Crossbones by voicing the character on the Marvel Cinematic Universe animated series What If...

In 2024, Grillo voiced Rick Flag Sr. in the Max animated series Creature Commandos, the first series and installment of the new DC Universe (DCU) franchise managed by James Gunn and Peter Safran, and a successor to the previous DC Extended Universe (DCEU). Grillo's character, who is the father of DCEU character Rick Flag Jr., is set to appear across all DCU media, and Grillo was announced in May 2024 to be reprising the role in live-action, appearing as a cast regular for the second season of Peacemaker opposite John Cena.

Grillo joined the cast of Tulsa King season 2, starring as Kansas City mob boss Bill Bevilaqua opposite Sylvester Stallone. He has also filmed season 3 and is gearing up to film season 4 in late 2025.

Personal life Grillo married his first wife, Kathy, in 1991. They had one son together, born in 1997, and divorced in 1998.

Grillo met actress Wendy Moniz in 1996 on the set of Guiding Light. They were married on October 28, 2000 and had two sons together, born in 2004 and 2008. They divorced in 2020. Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1992 The Mambo Kings Machito 1993 Deadly Rivals Grogan 1996 Deadly Charades Vince Carlucci 2002 Simplicity General Short film The Sweetest Thing Andy Minority Report Pre-Crime Cop 2003 April's Shower Rocco 2007 Raw Footage Ben Chaffin Short film 2008 iMurders Joe Romano Pride and Glory Eddie Carbone 2009 Blue Eyes Bob Estevez 2010 Edge of Darkness Agent One Mother's Day Daniel Sohapi My Soul to Take Paterson 2011 Warrior Frank Campana The Grey John Diaz 2012 Lay the Favorite Frankie End of Watch Sergeant "Sarge" Daniels Disconnect Mike Zero Dark Thirty Red Squadron Commanding Officer 2013 Gangster Squad Russo Collision Scott Dolan Homefront Cyrus Hanks 2014 Captain America: The Winter Soldier Brock Rumlow The Purge: Anarchy Sgt. Leo Barnes 2015 Demonic Mark Lewis Big Sky Jesse 2016 Captain America: Civil War Brock Rumlow / Crossbones The Purge: Election Year Sgt. Leo Barnes 2017 The Crash Guy Clifton Stephanie Eric Wolf Warrior 2 Big Daddy Wheelman Wheelman Beyond Skyline Mark Corley 2018 Reprisal Jacob Direct-to-video Donnybrook Chainsaw Angus 2019 Avengers: Endgame Brock Rumlow Point Blank Abraham "Abe" Guevara Into the Ashes Sloan Black and Blue Terry Malone Hell on the Border Bob Dozier 2020 Boss Level Roy Pulver Also producer Jiu Jitsu Harrigan 2021 No Man's Land Bill Greer Cosmic Sin Gen. Eron Ryle Direct-to-video Body Brokers Vin Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard Bobby O'Neill Ida Red Dallas Walker The Gateway Duke Copshop Teddy Murretto Also producer This Is the Night Vincent Dedea 2022 Stowaway Meeser Shattered Sebastian A Day to Die Capt. Brice Mason Direct-to-video Paradise Highway Dennis Operation Seawolf Cmdr. Race Ingram Lamborghini: The Man Behind the Legend Ferruccio Lamborghini 2023 Little Dixie Doc Alexander The Resurrection of Charles Manson Robert One Day as a Lion Pauly Russo Black Lotus Saban Justice League: Warworld Agent Faraday Voice MR-9: Do or Die Roman Ross King of Killers Jorg Drakos 2024 Lights Out Michael 'Duffy' Duffield Die Alone Kai Long Gone Heroes Gunner Hounds of War Ryder Werewolves Wesley Marshall 2025 Superman Rick Flag Sr. 2026 Misdirection David Blume Kill Code Benjamin 2027 Rick Flag Sr. Post-production TBA Paxton

Television Year Title Role Notes 1993 Silk Stalkings Franco LaPuma Episode: "Ladies Night Out" 1996 Poltergeist: The Legacy Jerry Tate Episode: "Ghost in the Road" 1996–1999 Guiding Light Hart Jessup Main role 1999 Wasteland Cliff Dobbs Recurring role 2000 Battery Park Anthony Stigliano Main role 2002 Hunter: Return to Justice Detective Terence Gillette Television film 2002–2003 For the People Det. J.C. Hunter Main role The Shield Officer Paul Jackson Recurring role (Season 1–2) 2002, 2009 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Frank Barbarossa / Mark Van Kuren Episode: "Deception", "Transitions" 2003 Karen Sisco Garrison Kick Episode: "Nostalgia" Hunter: Back in Force Detective Terence Gillette Television film 2004 The District Vince Dymecki Episode: "Breath of Life" 2005 Blind Justice Detective Marty Russo Main role 2005–2006 Prison Break Nick Savrinn Recurring role (Season 1) 2006 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Gary Sinclair Episode: "Happenstance" Hollis & Rae Henry Callaway Television film 2007 Without a Trace Neil Rawlings Episode: "Tail Spin" Las Vegas Jeremy Shapiro Episode: "The Burning Bedouin" The Kill Point Albert Roman / Mr. Pig Main role CSI: NY Jimmie Davis Episode: "The Thing About Heroes..." 2008 The Madness of Jane Oliver Cornbluth Television film Blue Blood Quarry 2010 The Gates Nick Monohan Main role 2011 Breakout Kings Agent Stoltz Episode: "Queen of Hearts" 2013 Mary and Martha Peter Television film 2014–2017 Kingdom Alvey Kulina Main role 2018 FightWorld Himself / Host Main host 2020 Billions Nico Tanner Recurring role (Season 5) 2021, 2023 What If...? Brock Rumlow Voice; 4 episodes 2023 Paul T. Goldman Dan Hardwick Recurring role 2024–present Tulsa King Bill Bevilaqua Main role Creature Commandos Rick Flag Sr. Voice, main role 2025 Peacemaker Main role (Season 2)

Music videos Year Title Artist Role 2026 "Do Me Right" Mr. Fantasy Himself

Awards and nominations