Keith Jardine spent most of his grownup life studying find out how to grow to be a greater combined martial artist however when it was clear that his combating profession was over, he shortly realized he didn’t have a plan ‘B’ the place his future was involved.
Regardless of practically six years spent within the UFC together with wins over champions like Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin after which finally competing for Strikeforce, “The Dean of Imply” didn’t make the type of cash that allowed him to retire and by no means work once more. Truly, Jardine was in an identical state of affairs as so many fighters the place he was all the time depending on claiming a present and win bonus however successful was by no means assured.
“The trick with the combat sport is initially, it’s damaged up into you present up, you get a certain quantity and then you definately get double that in case you win,” Jardine informed MMA Preventing. “You by no means take into consideration dropping. You by no means take into consideration ‘oh I’m solely going to receives a commission this a lot for a combat.’ You all the time take into consideration the massive quantity.
“You get in that cycle. You don’t get a month-to-month verify. Simply when one thing occurs, you receives a commission. So no matter’s in your again account is simply numbers, it’s not actual.”
Add to that, Jardine admits that developing throughout his period within the UFC the place he first appeared again on The Final Fighter season 2, most rivals weren’t actually in it for the cash in any case.
Preventing and successful was the largest aim as a result of again then the UFC was barely faraway from paying to get broadcast on Spike TV and no one ever thought MMA would command offers that might pay $1.1 billion per 12 months.
“Fighters now, combating is fashionable and so they combat as a result of they wish to be a celebrity,” Jardine mentioned. “However quite a lot of us fighters again then like Chuck and me and ‘Rampage’ [Jackson] and all these guys, we’re simply making an attempt to show one thing to world. What higher technique to show that you simply’re any individual than you’re a fighter, proper?
“If you’re combating, you’re actually bare in entrance of thousands and thousands of individuals simply bearing your soul there. There’s one thing that makes us wish to try this. To be retired and performed and I don’t see how one can get success going to do a day job.”
Whereas choices have been seemingly restricted, Jardine did have one potential profession awaiting him after he was randomly found by a pair of filmmakers in a totally coincidental encounter.
It seems, Jardine was simply days faraway from arguably the largest win of his profession when he bested Liddell in a three-round struggle and he simply occurred to run right into a author and director duo getting ready to shoot a movie in his adopted house state in New Mexico.
“Proper after what lots of people say was my greatest combat, once I fought Chuck [Liddell], that was on a Saturday and I got here right here to see my physician on a Monday, as a result of it was like I used to be in a automotive accident,” Jardine defined. “I went to this small city in New Mexico [called] Bernalillo and I used to be in a little bit café there and Brian Taylor and Mark Neveldine have been scouting for places there. They got here as much as me all tremendous shy [saying] ‘hey, we’re doing this film, do you assume you’d be fascinated with studying for a job in it?’ Like hell yeah, I’ve all the time wished to do this.
“I didn’t know who they have been. It turned out they have been the writers and administrators of the Crank franchise, and so they have been doing Gamer with [Gerard] Butler right here in Albuquerque, and that’s how I obtained my [SAG-AFTRA union] card and that’s how I obtained began.”
The position in Gamer gave technique to Jardine selecting up further components in different productions whereas additionally doing stunt work to pay the payments. He’s credited as “bar fighter” within the Emmy successful collection Breaking Dangerous and “Inglewood Pedestrian” in Crank: Excessive Voltage however Jardine knew if performing was going grow to be greater than a component time gig, he needed to get higher at it.
“All the abilities I discovered by means of combating — practice, practice arduous, practice arduous on a regular basis, I skilled an excessive amount of, I killed myself with coaching, but when I wish to be an excellent actor, I’m going to have to coach at performing,” Jardine mentioned. “Then I did that.
“I believe at first, I used to be fairly OK. As a result of I didn’t know any higher, and I used to be simply enjoying. Then I began taking it critically and I began making an attempt and I obtained loads worse and much more contrived. I needed to actually examine, I needed to actually study the craft, and I put 1000’s of hours engaged on it after which roles began approaching. Like I had a Paul Thomas Anderson position, which is the Akira Kurosawa of America. He’s a director’s director. That type of obtained it began with me, however I did stunts at first, too, and that paid the payments.”
Whereas his IMDB web page is suffering from performing roles now together with appearances in movies like John Wick, Inherent Vice and Logan, Jardine wasn’t simply getting provided these components by chance.
The truth is, Jardine revealed that he successfully spent all the things he had saved from his combating profession in an effort to grow to be a full-time, working actor in main movie and tv productions.
“In the beginning once I first obtained out of the UFC, I spent all my cash going to L.A. and doing auditions,” Jardine mentioned. “Again then we did auditions in particular person and my agent mentioned ‘it is best to actually be right here for this one.’ I get on the aircraft and fly to L.A. It can pan out 1 out of 10 occasions or no matter.
“I used to be actually attending to the underside there. We didn’t make loads combating again then. Then a stunt position got here on [for] John Wick and a pair roles got here on and I made some good cash with that. That type of helped bridge whereas I used to be engaged on my performing till these roles began coming alongside.”
As a lot as he loved performing, Jardine acknowledged that he was going to need to reinvent himself once more after the COVID pandemic hit and movie productions successfully shut down as a result of quarantine guidelines.
The lockdowns didn’t current a lot time to work but it surely did give Jardine the chance to get higher at his craft, which quickly included growing his personal concepts as a author and doubtlessly as a director as nicely.
“I made a decision if I wish to do one thing attention-grabbing, I’m going to need to create it myself,” Jardine mentioned. “I’ve no expertise in writing, I’m not a fantastic author, however I do know dialogue. I examine the hell out of performing. I do know dialogue. I’ve good coaches, too. I can write dialogue. I can write attention-grabbing dialogue. The truth is when anyone reads my scripts, that’s all the time the largest mark is the characters and the dialogue.”
Jardine admits his first script was not excellent, and his second was written as a Western that really obtained some curiosity, but it surely was making a brief movie the place he starred and directed that basically earned him some consideration.
“I did very well with that quick,” Jardine mentioned. “Due to that, I used to be capable of do Kill Me Once more.”
Kill Me Once more is Jardine’s first characteristic movie the place he served as author and director. The film facilities round a serial killer performed by Ultimate Vacation spot star Brendan Fehr, who will get trapped in a time loop reliving the identical violent night time over and over.
The movie options appearances lots of Jardine’s closest buddies within the combat business together with Tait Fletcher, who has additionally gone onto have a really profitable performing profession of his personal, in addition to Michelle Waterson, Donald Cerrone and Maurice Greene.
The venture was enjoyable but additionally grueling as a result of Jardine knew that he couldn’t miss together with his first movie or he might not get a second probability.
“At my age, you don’t get a flop and get to do it once more,” Jardine mentioned. “I’m not simply out of movie college doing films. This needs to be good. Everyone has to get their a reimbursement and each scene needs to be spot on.”
Kill Me Once more has obtained overwhelmingly optimistic critiques together with one which known as the movie “a slick and funky time on the films.” The reception has opened much more doorways for Jardine within the movie business, and he admits the thrill he felt from this venture might have exceeded the exhilaration he used to solely really feel when he was competing within the UFC.
“It’s on par or possibly even higher than strolling out of the ring from a few of my greatest fights,” Jardine s mentioned. “Due to all of the work, all the center, all of the love, every bit of you is in that.”
With a rising resume that now reads fighter, actor, director and author, Jardine appreciates that he was capable of finding a second profession after his first ended. There’s no telling what number of extra jobs he may add earlier than it’s all mentioned and performed however Jardine is proud that as of late he’s acknowledged as continuously for his work in entrance of the digital camera as he was taking and giving punches on the top of his combat profession.
“I’ve had reinvent myself a bunch of occasions,” Jardine mentioned. “Thank goodness I’m a manner higher actor and a filmmaker than I ever was a fighter.”
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