Sean Patrick Flanery is in love. It’s a love that’s changed his life, something he’d not trade for $10 million. A love for Brazilian Jiu-jitsu.
As opposed to an actor who dabbled in the martial arts — perhaps for a role — Flanery is a lifelong martial artist who dabbles in acting. Starting with taekwondo at age 9, not a week has gone by in the 46 years since that he hasn’t devoted time to one art or another and he currently teaches BJJ at Hollywood BJJ Houston. Had BJJ reached the U.S. a bit sooner and mixed martial arts emerged a little earlier, it would “100 percent” have been his trajectory in life.
While some may know Flanery only as an actor — portraying a young Indiana Jones, his roles in Powder, Suicide Kings, The Dead Zone, the final season of Dexter or, of course, cult favorite The Boondock Saints — and others know him as a teacher — one who helps them navigate a world of hooks, holds and locks on the mat — those two worlds will meet for Born a Champion, a martial arts drama which will see release on streaming platforms and in select theaters on Friday, January 22, with DVD and Blu-ray coming on January 26. In it, he plays Mickey Kelley, an armed forces veteran who’s also dedicated his life to BJJ and a man on whose life martial arts also has a life-altering, transformative effect. Flanery co-wrote the film with director Alex Ranarivelo and stars alongside Katrina Bowden and Dennis Quaid. For MMA fans, veteran fighter Edson Barboza makes his acting debut.
Brazilian Jiu-jitsu is one of Sean Patrick Flanery’s loves and Born a Champion is his love letter to the art. He sat down to talk about the film — among other things — and his passion is self-evident. He also offered a glimmer of hope that fans may one day see him and on-screen brother Norman Reedus together again as the Brothers MacManus in a future Boondock Saints project.