Kevin Grevioux (/ˈɡrɛvjuː/; born September 9, 1962) is an American actor, screenwriter, director, and comic book writer. He is best known for his role as Raze in the Underworld film series, which he co-created, as well as his voicework in the cartoon Young Justice as the villain Black Beetle.
Kevin Grevioux | |
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Grevioux directing on the set of King of Killers | |
Born | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | September 9, 1962
Occupation(s) | Screenwriter, director, comic book writer, actor |
Years active | 1993–present |
Education
editGrevioux graduated from Howard University in Washington, D.C. in 1987 with a degree in microbiology with minors in both chemistry and psychology, afterwards attending graduate school working towards a master's degree in genetic engineering.[1][2] Grevioux began taking screenwriting and cinematography classes as well, and after his first semester of grad school had finished, he moved to Los Angeles to begin to work as a writer in earnest. He has written several spec scripts in various genres. He also started a graphic novel company called Darkstorm Comic Studios in 2003.
Career
editAs an actor, he has been seen in such films as The Mask, Steel, Congo, Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes remake, and the 2003 vampire vs. werewolf film, Underworld.
Underworld was Grevioux's first produced writing credit. He came up with the original concept/premise and wrote the original screenplay along with director Len Wiseman, launching the Underworld franchise. He appears in the film itself as a lycan, Raze, and returned as the character in the Underworld prequel Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, which he will also be adapting into a comic book mini-series. He has also expressed an interest in telling more Underworld stories in comic form if this proves successful.[3]
Using Romeo and Juliet as an archetype, Grevioux based Underworld on his experiences with interracial dating and the tension that it often causes. He also brought a scientific element to the world of vampires and werewolves by basing vampirism and lycanthropy on a viral mutagen rather than the mysticism typically associated with these two mythic creatures.
Early 2006 saw Grevioux form two comic book imprints, Astounding Comics and Darkstorm Comics under his Darkstorm Comics and Media banner.[4][5] Grevioux's Astounding Studios imprint was to focus on all-ages titles such as Valkyries,[6] Guardian Heroes and The Hammer Kid. The Darkstorm Studios imprint was a more mature line, including the books Alivs Rex,[7] Skull and Guns and Uzan, The Mighty.[8]
Grevioux's voice is distinctively deep. In the commentary track of Underworld, he relates that during the promotion and launch of the film, many fans asked him if his voice had been altered by computer, and were surprised to learn that it had not been.[9]
Grevioux wrote Marvel Comics' New Warriors volume 4.[10] Grevioux also wrote Adam: Legend of the Blue Marvel, introducing Blue Marvel, a character he'd created in his teens. The miniseries was drawn by Mat Broome and Roberto Castro.[11] He is also in the process of writing a story featuring Lee Falk's characters The Phantom and Mandrake the Magician, co-written with Mike Bullock. He also wrote ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction for Red 5 Comics.[12][13]
On December 2, 2009, Grevioux hosted a pilot episode for a concept series, Monster Tracker, on Discovery Channel.[14]
He sold the original screenplay for the film adaptation of his Darkstorm Comics Studios graphic novel, I, Frankenstein,[15] to Lakeshore Entertainment, which also produced the Underworld films.[16] The story follows the original monster of Victor Frankenstein who is the only force that stands between the human race and an uprising of supernatural creatures determined to overthrow the world. Filming began on February 27, 2012, and the film was released in January 2014.[17][18]
Since November 6, 2017, Line Webtoon has been publishing Brothers Bond, an action webcomic collaboration with Ryan Benjamin in which they were both nominated for the esteemed Eisner Award for Best Webcomic.
In 2019, Grevioux portrayed The Vault Keeper in "EC Comics Presents The Vault of Horror", a full-cast audio drama adapting the first 24 stories from the first six issues of the original EC comic series.
In 2022, Grevioux directed, wrote, and produced the action film King of Killers, starring Alain Moussi and Frank Grillo, through his production company Channel 56 Films. It was based on his Darkstorm graphic novel.
Grevioux is an avid NFL fan. His favorite team is the Minnesota Vikings.
Filmography
editFilm
editYear | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1994 | Naked Gun 331⁄3: The Final Insult | Prison Guard | Uncredited |
1994 | Speed | Bombsquad SWAT officer | |
1994 | The Mask | Henchman #7 | |
1994 | Stargate | Fossil Guard | Uncredited |
1995 | Congo | Roadblock Officer | |
1995 | Showgirls | Andrew Carver's Bodyguard | |
1995 | Batman Forever | Two-Face's Thug | |
1996 | The Great White Hype | Security Guard | Uncredited |
1997 | Steel | Singer | |
1997 | Don King: Only in America | Leon Spinks | Television film |
1999 | Bowfinger | Kit's Bodyguard | |
2000 | Charlie's Angels | Bouncer #2 | |
2000 | The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas | Associate Goon | |
2001 | Planet of the Apes | Limbo's first Handler, Ape Commander, second Ape Soldier | |
2002 | Men in Black II | Pineal Eye | |
2003 | Cradle 2 the Grave | Inmate Guard | Uncredited |
2003 | Hulk | Mitchell | Uncredited |
2003 | Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star | Emmanuel Lewis's Entourage | |
2003 | Underworld | Raze | Also first produced writing credit |
2005 | Dirty | Daddy | |
2006 | Slayer | Grieves | |
2009 | Underworld: Rise of the Lycans | Raze | Also graphic novel writer |
2014 | I, Frankenstein | Dekar | Also screen story, graphic novel |
2017 | Animal Crackers | Samson | Voice |
2022 | The Prey: The Legend of Karnoctus | Reid | |
2022 | King of Killers | Dyson Chord | Also director, executive producer, screenplay, graphic novel writer |
Television
editYear | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1993–1994 | Star Trek: Deep Space Nine | Starfleet Security Officer | 12 episodes, uncredited |
1994 | Alien Nation: Dark Horizon | Sam | Television film |
1997 | Quicksilver Highway | Police Sergeant | Television film |
1997 | Alien Nation: The Udara Legacy | Miller | Television film |
2005 | The Batman | Solomon Grundy[19] | Voice, episode: "Grundy's Night" |
2010 | Spartacus: Blood and Sand – Motion Comic | Doctore, Numidian | Voice, episode: "The Shadow of Death" |
2012–2013 | Young Justice | Black Beetle[19] | Voice, recurring role |
2012 | The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes | Terrax[19] | Voice, episode: "Avengers Assemble!" |
2013 | Payday 2: The Web Series | The Haitian | 2 episodes |
2014 | Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. | Super-Skrull[19] | Voice, 2 episodes |
2019 | Cannon Busters | Black Claw | Voice, English dub |
Video games
editYear | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2008 | Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath | ||
2018 | Marvel Powers United VR | Groot[19] |
Bibliography
edit- Astounding Heroes, starring The Vindicators (Astounding Comics, 2006)
- Guardian Heroes (Astounding Comics, 2006)
- Valkyries (Astounding Comics, 2006)
- Toy Box (Astounding Comics, 2006)
- Alius Rex (Darkstorm Comics & Media, 2006)
- The Hammer Kid (Astounding Comics, 2006)
- New Warriors (Marvel Comics)
- What If? Civil War (Marvel Comics, 2007)
- Spider-Man Family #5, Guest Starring Dr. Strange (Marvel Comics, 2007)
- Spider-Man Family #8, Guest Starring Iron Man (Marvel Comics, 2007)
- Monstroids (Astounding Comics, Original graphic novel, 2008)
- Sista Samurai' (Darkstorm Comics & Media, 2008)
- The Phantom Annual #2 (Moonstone, 2008)
- What If? Secret Invasion (Marvel Comics, 2008)
- Young Avengers Presents #5, featuring Stature (Marvel Comics, 2008)
- ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction (Red 5 Comics, forthcoming)
- Adam: Legend of the Blue Marvel (with Mat Broome, 5-issue limited series, Marvel Comics, November 2008–May 2009)
- Spider-Man vs. Vampires (Marvel Comics, One-shot, 2010)
- Justice Society of America 80-Page Giant #1 (DC Comics, 2010)
- Holiday Special 2010 (DC Comics, One-shot, 2010)
- Age of Heroes #3 (Marvel Comics, 4-issue limited series, 2010)
- Wetworks Mutations (Wildstorm, 2010)
- Breaking Into Comics the Marvel Way #2 (Marvel Comics, 2010)
- Batman 80-Page Giant #1 (DC Comics, 2020)
- Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (with Andrew Huerta, 2-issue mini-series, IDW Publishing, forthcoming)
- I, Frankenstein Genesis (Darkstorm Comics & Media, Movie tie-in, 2013)
- Amazing Spider-Man #700.5 (Marvel Comics, 2014)
- Brothers Bond (Rocketship Entertainment, Original graphic novel, 2016)
- Odyssey of the Amazons (DC Comics, 6-issue limited series, 2017)
- Underworld: Blood Wars (Darkstorm Comics & Media, Movie Adaptation, 2017)
- Cyborg #19-20 (DC Comics, 2018)
- Bloodshot: Rising Spirit (Valiant Entertainment, limited series, 2018)
- Noble #15-19 (Lion Forge, 2019)
- Bass Reeves (Allegiance Arts & Entertainment, Original graphic novel, 2019)
- Psycho List (Black Box Comics, 6-issue limited series, 2019)
- Darkstorm, the Conqueror (Darkstorm Comics & Media, 4-issue limited series, 2020)
- DJINNTARA: Rise of the Djinn (Zenescope Entertainment and Darkstorm Comics, 2023)
- Winter Ember (Blowfish Studios, 6-issue limited series, 2022)
References
edit- ^ "The Hollywood experiment".
- ^ Dennis, Michael (3 October 2023). "Interview: Kevin Grevioux Talks Transition To Screenwriting, Race As A Factor, 'I, Frankenstein' & More". IndieWire.
- ^ CCI: Grevioux returns to "Underworld", Comic Book Resources, August 1, 2008
- ^ Grevioux Gets Astounding[permanent dead link], Newsarama, July 21, 2005
- ^ Kevin Grevioux – From "Underworld" to the Comic World, Comic Book Resources, March 22, 2006
- ^ Of Valkyries and Other Things: Talking to Kevin Grevioux Archived 2011-02-12 at the Wayback Machine, Newsarama, November 15, 2006
- ^ Earth's First Astounding Invasion Archived 2006-11-12 at the Wayback Machine, Broken Frontier, May 17, 2006
- ^ "Uzan, the mighty #1 « Blacksuperheroesworld". Archived from the original on 2011-08-17. Retrieved 2011-07-26.
- ^ Underworld special edition director commentary
- ^ New Joe Fridays Week 26. Newsarama
- ^ CCI: The 'Return' of "The Blue Marvel", Comic Book Resources, July 25, 2008
- ^ Kevin Grevioux: Werewolves, Vampires... and now Zombies, Comics Bulletin, May 15, 2008
- ^ The Monsters of Kevin Grevioux – ZMD and More, Newsarama, July 22, 2008
- ^ Discovery Channel TV Special: Monster Tracker
- ^ I, Frankenstein Franchise Coming At You From Lakeshore
- ^ Lakeshore Eyes New Franchise With 'I, Frankenstein'
- ^ Frater, Patrick (February 27, 2012). "I Frankenstein starts shoot". Film Business Asia. Retrieved March 8, 2012.
- ^ "Gothic thriller starts filming in Melbourne". The Sydney Morning Herald. Australian Associated Press. February 27, 2012. Retrieved March 8, 2012.
- ^ a b c d e "Kevin Grevioux (Visual voices guide)".
External links
edit- Official website
- Kevin Grevioux at IMDb
- Kevin Grevioux at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
- Kevin Grevioux at ComicSpace
- Astounding Comics
- Darkstorm Studios
- Darkstorm Comics