Life after fighting is going very well for ex-UFC and Strikeforce star Keith Jardine, who retired from the sport shortly after losing to Roger Gracie at Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Kennedy in 2012.
Jardine, also known as ‘The Dean of Mean’, competed under the UFC banner from 2005-2010 and, during that time, picked up wins over former light heavyweight champions and UFC Hall of Famers Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin.
The 42-year-old has since gone one to feature in over 30 films and television shows, including the likes of Gamer, John Wick, and Breaking Bad.
Jardine, whose acting career actually began shortly after his 2007 victory over ‘The Iceman’, is now a regular on hit TV shows such as Shameless and Godless, and the former Strikeforce middleweight title challenger says Hollywood is much more competitive than fighting ever was.
“This is way more competitive than fighting ever was,” Jardine told Mike Chiappetta of MMA Fighting during his preparation for a new role in the upcoming film Yellowstone. “There’s a lot more people trying to be actors who went to school, that go to Broadway and chase different methods of learning. The talent pool is a lot deeper than it is in fighting.”
Jardine says the audition room is even more nerve-wracking than making the walk to the Octagon.
“The challenge of going into an audition, at first it was almost identical as going into a fight week for me,” he said. “You walk into a hallway with all these other people trying to do the same thing, trying to pay their rent by competing with you for it. It’s the same feeling. It’s the same nerves. You have this one room you walk into; you have one shot to impress. If they see an ounce of nerves or weakness, you’re done. You’re fried. In fighting, you can fake it first. No matter how nervous you are, you get hit a couple times and then it becomes a fight. Acting is like you’re naked in that audition room. Whatever weakness you’re showing is going to be apparent. They’re trained to see it.”
As well as preparing for Yellowstone, Jardine will work alongside Sandra Bullock next year for the upcoming post-apocalyptic Netflix exclusive Bird Box. To read the rest of the interview, click here.
About the author
