Robert Maillet

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Robert Maillet
Robert Maillet (2011)

Robert Maillet (2011)
Data
Ring name Acadian Giant
Giant Kurrgan
Goliath El Gigante
Interrogator
Kurrgan
Additions to names Gigante Kurrgan
Goliath Kurrgan
Goliath The Giant
height 208 cm
Fighting weight 146-150 kg
birth October 26, 1969
Georgetown , Ontario , Canada
Trained by Bret Hart ,
Leo Burke
debut 1989
retirement 2011

Robert Maillet (born October 26, 1969 in Sainte-Marie-de-Kent, New Brunswick ) is a Canadian actor and former wrestler who served as a Kurrgan for the WWF . He gained fame through his appearances in the movies Sherlock Holmes and Percy Jackson - Under the Bann of the Cyclops .

Life

Robert Maillet grew up as the eldest of three brothers in Sainte-Marie-de-Kent. He used to be very shy, mainly because he always stood out due to his enormous height. His father went to wrestling shows, which Maillet was fascinated by. He later made the decision to become a professional wrestler.

Wrestling career

When he was 17, he met with Emile Dupree, who was hosting wrestling shows in his home country, for advice. But the answer wasn't what he expected, Dupree said he was too thin and needed to build muscles first. Maillet did not give up and turned to wrestler Stephen Petitpas, who was not averse, but initially put him off. Six months later he called Maillet and asked for him. In the crash course he learned the most important things and quickly achieved an important role in the tour plan. During this early days Leo Burke was his trainer and he also learned a lot from the more experienced wrestlers.

Maillet had his first match in June 1991 as The Acadian Giant . In 1993 he appeared as Goliath el Gigante for both the Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) in Mexico and the Japanese Wrestling International New Generations (WING).

He quickly got his chance at what was then the World Wrestling Federation , but due to the daily matches and tour life he was no longer fully operational. Maillet was supposed to gain more experience, but the tour came to a standstill and he worked as a doorman for the next few years.

Then he got a call from his former trainer Leo Burke, who was training wrestlers with Bret Hart , and informed him that Hart wanted to meet him. So Maillet went to Alberta to train intensively with Hart in his house for four weeks.

As a result, the WWF was interested in him again in 1997 , they first sent him to the United States Wrestling Association (USWA) to gain experience as The Interrogator . He became a member of the Truth Commission with Recon , Tank , Sniper . It was only supposed to be a stopover, but the planned four weeks turned into four months. Maillet suspected the WWF would have dropped him again because the Truth Commission was separated. Maillet went back to Canada, married his wife, and went on a honeymoon with her. While he was still on vacation, he got a call from WWF, so he made his way to Detroit, where he did a try out match with his partner from the Truth Commission . Two weeks later he signed a contract with WWF.

In November 1997 he had his first major fight in the Survivor Series in an "Eight-Man-Tag-Team-Elimination" match. At the end of the year the Truth Commission was dissolved and Maillet's name was changed to Kurrgan .

In early 1998 he took part in the main Royal Rumble match. He later led the group The Oddities , his followers included George Steele , Golga and Sable . In 1999 he was again a participant in the Royal Rumble. But the enthusiasm was quickly over and the entire team was fired from the WWF. Maillet did not want to accept that and did everything to get another contract.

In May 1999 he joined the Mexican Liga Consejo Mundial De Lucha Libre (CMLL) before moving to Real Action Wrestling (RAW) in Canada at the end of the year . There he won the vacant RAW Heavywight Title in his first match .

In February 2000 he became a member of the Canadian National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Shortly thereafter, he won the NWA Championship Title and in March the Battle Royal . In May he lost the title to Juggernaut before getting it back a day later. His last fight for the league was in September 2000.

He then returned to Real Action Wrestling (RAW) in April of the next year , and had regular matches until August. Then he finally gave up the fight for a contract with the WWF. With the death of his father he also lost his passion for wrestling.

Acting career

Robert Maillet had his first appearance as an actor in the television series Lexx - The Dark Zone 2001. After that, he received no further offers and had to work in a factory. Until he received a call from the former wrestler Jacques Rougeau , the producers of the comic film version 300 were looking for a great man for the "giant". Believing a wrestler to be a good choice, they asked Rougeau for advice, who recommended Maillet to them. The producers had Maillet audition or they looked at his fighting style. With his previous knowledge and his stature, he was perfect and was hired. After six hours in the mask, he stood in front of the camera and acted like Kurrgan before .

In 2009 he starred in Guy Ritchie's movie Sherlock Holmes , which made him better known as an actor. Mainly because he played the leading actor Robert Downey Jr. in a fight scene . accidentally injured. He couldn't stop a fake blow to the jaw in time and hit Downey, who fell to the ground. Maillet felt bad, but Downey took it with humor and gave him a bottle of champagne the next day. The incident quickly became known to the public, and so did Maillet.

This was followed by appearances in television series such as Merlin - The New Adventures , Once Upon a Time - Once Upon a Time ... and Haven , in which the former wrestler Edge played.

Other cinema productions in which Maillet has participated are Monster Brawl , War of the Gods , Percy Jackson - The Bane of the Cyclops , Chronicles of the Underworld - City of Bones and Pacific Rim .

From 2014 to 2017 he starred in 13 episodes of the television series The Strain .

family

In 1997 he married Laura Eaton. They have four children, including a girl they adopted from Ethiopia.

Wrestling successes

  • 2 × ECCW Championship Title
  • 3 × USWA Tag Team Title (with Recon )
  • 1 × RAW Heavyweight Title

Filmography (selection)

Web links

Commons : Robert Maillet  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Robert Maillet on Wizardworld.com ( Memento from March 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h Where ar the now - Kurrgan on wwe.com (English)
  3. ↑ Biography on imdb.com (English)
  4. ↑ When a giant came for dinner on slam.canoe.com (English)
personal data
SURNAME Maillet, Robert
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kurrgan
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian wrestler and actor
DATE OF BIRTH October 26, 1969
PLACE OF BIRTH Georgetown , Ontario , Canada