Michael Bisping worked on his weapon skills ahead of filming Atlas King, by training in the very same place Keanu Reeves honed his craft.
The former UFC middleweight world champion is currently exploding in the acting world. Earlier this year, Bisping featured in Den of Thieves 2: Pantera, with Gerard Butler, and more recently acted alongside Liam Neeson in The Naked Gun.
Now, he’s bagged himself a lead role in the highly anticipated Atlas King, in which he’ll play a former MMA fighter who returns from exile to bury his best friend and confront unfinished business.
And he’s gone above and beyond to produce a breathtaking performance that will ‘blow fans away’.
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Michael Bisping trained at Taran Tactical for Atlas King
While Bisping often laughs about nearly knocking out Noel Clarke years ago during a hilarious behind-the-scenes incident, training at Taran Tactical might be the coolest thing he’s done in his acting career.
Just like Keanu Reeves did ahead of filming John Wick, the UFC Hall of Famer learned all about guns at the specialized training center.
In an exclusive interview with Bloody Elbow, he beamed: “We went up to Taran Tactical, which is a legendary training place. They trained Keanu Reeves for the John Wick movies, amongst many others.
“We went up there a couple of times and did some training for this film, because there’s a lot of gunplay and explosions. That was absolutely fascinating.
“To go up there, it was a legendary place, and spend some time with Taran himself and have him show me the ropes and his partner showing me how to hold the guns and give me some one-on-one training, it was incredible. I absolutely loved it. It was brilliant.”
Michael Bisping promises fans will love Atlas King
Michael Bisping enjoyed every second of filming his new movie, and he can’t wait for the fans to see it, with the icon promising that they’re going to love watching the action unfold.
He enthused: “I play the titular character, Atlas King. This movie is going to surprise a lot of people, not only with the action we have in it, but with the performances.
“This isn’t like some cheesy MMA movie, this is a movie with an incredible script, a ridiculously talented cast, and there’s a really good story there. It’s kind of like a heist movie with a lot of action.
“My character is a former MMA fighter, as you can imagine, I know a thing or two about that.
“I got involved with some gangsters, and I was in a lot of trouble, and for one reason or another, I had to leave the country.
“So, my character goes back to England for ten years, and then a guy, who was like my mentor and a father figure, he passes away, so I come back to town to bury him and pay my respects.
“It turns out his son is in trouble with the same people I was having trouble with. So, I come back into town and I’m like, ‘I owe it to my friend to take care of his son’, so Atlas King comes back into town and we take care of business.”