“The clock’s ticking, and right now, I really want to focus on action movies.”

Bren Foster is a man on a mission. Fresh from the positive reactions to his blistering 2024 martial arts revenge drama, Life After Fighting – which also marked his directorial debut – Bren is now keen to show the world a new kind of action hero. The former soap star, who made his name on shows like Days of Our Lives and Home and Away, is now capitalising on his incredible martial arts abilities to star in more fight films. His next will be an MMA actioner with Russell Crowe and Luke Hemsworth, called Beast in Me, in which he also provides fight choreography. This will be music to the ears of many martial arts movie fans who, before Life After Fighting, could only glimpse at Foster’s extraordinary physical abilities in small bursts – like on the documentary series, Fight Science, or his roles in two Steven Seagal films, Maximum Conviction and Force of Execution, or on the small screen in the series, The Last Ship. If anything, Life After Fighting saw Bren making up for lost time, throwing himself into every aspect of the film – providing roles for his own family and casting many of his students, and even filming at his own martial arts school. As well directing, he writes, stars, produces, and provides fight choreography. Despite its low budget, it still packs a major punch, and was one of my favourite fight films of 2024. We discuss a life dedicated to the martial arts and competition, the toils of low-budget filmmaking, working with Steven Seagal, and his next steps in an already fascinating career. Follow Bren Foster on Instagram and Facebook.

Bren Foster and Daniel MacPherson in Beast in Me (2025)

Maximum Conviction (2012). From left: Steve Austin, Toby Levins, Dean Redman, Bren Foster and Steven Seagal.