What role does UFC legend Georges St-Pierre play in the Marvel show 'The Falcon and the Winter Soldier'?
Georges St-Pierre has taken his fighting prowess in front of the camera before, and fans saw him do it once again this past weekend.
Not many people know that the former two-division UFC champion and pound-for-pound great Georges St-Pierre starred in the Marvel 2014 superhit, Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
GSP portrayed the supervillain Georges Batroc, a mercenary and expert combatant. Creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby wrote the character, popularly known as Batroc the Leaper, to be master of a French form of kickboxing called savate. He was recently seen reprising the role in the pilot episode of Marvel's new Disney Plus show, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. The series was released last Friday and has received good reviews from fans and critics alike.
In the 2014 movie, Georges St-Pierre shares the screen with lead actor Chris Evans, who portrayed the role of Captain America throughout the franchise. Despite not being the central antagonist of the movie, Georges St-Pierre's character has one of the most exciting and visibly appealing fight sequences of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Distracted by Scarlett Johansson's Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow, Captain America turns his attention away from Georges St-Pierre's Batroc the Leaper for a minute. Taking advantage, he escapes.
Watch the fight scene below:
There was no mention of the character for the rest of the film series until his reappearance in the first episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Georges St-Pierre: We're all actors, when it's time to perform
Ahead of reprising his role on The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Georges St-Pierre spoke to Variety at length about the parallels between the worlds of acting and combat sports, now that he has seen both up close:
"My sport is a full-contact sport, so there’s a lot of mental work. Trash talking, mind games. Deep down inside, you’re afraid, but you have to act like the win is inevitable. It can be heartbreaking. You have to dig deep and show perseverance… When you see Conor McGregor, for example, he’s playing a role. Fighters play a role. That’s the persona that he gives himself: Love me, hate me, but don’t ignore me. I’m more shy and true to the value of martial arts, and that’s how I carried myself in that business. We are all actors — when it’s time to perform."
Starring Anthony Mackie as The Falcon and Sebastian Stan as The Winter Soldier, the show will be releasing one episode every Friday on Disney Plus.