Date of birth: 2 November, 1976 (London, UK)
Occupation: Actor, martial arts instructor, producer, writer, director.
Style: Taekwondo, Hapkido, Hwa Rang Do, Brazilian jiu-jitsu
Biography: Bren Foster is an Australian actor and martial artist. His mother is of Cypriot heritage and his father of English-Irish heritage. He was born in London, but moved to Australia when he was three years old. At the age of six, he started training in karate, and then moved onto Hapkido and taekwondo. At 14, he started training in Muay Thai, and at 21, he learned Brazilian jiu jitsu. He has also trained in Filipino martial arts with Ron Balicki. He holds black belts in taekwondo, Hapkido, Hwa Rang Do and Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
Bren has accumulated over 150 first-place medals and competed in over 200 matches across diverse disciplines. In 1999, Bren opened the Elite Martial Arts and Fitness Centre, a martial arts facility and gymnasium based in Minchinbury, Western Sydney.
Bren started acting in high school and studied film and video production. He traveled to New York to study acting at The Barrow Group Theater. Upon his return to Australia, he auditioned and was selected into one of Australia’s leading drama schools, the University of Western Sydney (aka Theater Nepean). He spent two years at the Sanford Meisner-based acting school, The Actors Pulse, in Sydney.
His martial arts skills were recognised by The Discovery Channel, who cast him on the documentary television show Extreme Martial Arts, and the National Geographic Channel, where he was put to the test against technology for the TV series, Fight Science (2007), appearing in four episodes. He was trained by James Lew for the kung fu sequence in the show.
In the 2000s, he worked on many Australian television dramas – including Sea Patrol, The Strip, East West 101, Review with Myles Barlow, and the iconic series Home and Away, before making his breakout film role in the critically acclaimed and award-winning Australian urban crime drama, Cedar Boys (2009). He was praised as “a born star” by Empire magazine for his portrayal of Jamal, a criminal behind bars. He was talent scouted by Australian martial artists and filmmakers Guy Norris and Richard Norton, who ran a series of screen tests in the hope of making martial arts films in Queensland, Australia. However, the films never materialised after Bren relocated to the USA.
Bren moved to Los Angeles following his breakout acting role in 2011, when he was cast as a regular actor on the long-running American soap opera, Days of Our Lives. He played Quinn Hudson, filming eight episodes a week from 2011 to 2012. He moved into film work, with roles in Bad to the Bone (2011), where he portrayed the lead character Donner Bone Mason, and War Flowers (2012), where he shared the screen with acclaimed actors Christina Ricci and Tom Berenger, assuming the role of Confederate Sergeant John Ellis.
While based in the USA, Bren worked with Steven Seagal in two films – Maximum Conviction (2012) and Force of Execution (2013), both directed by Keoni Waxman. It was Ron Balicki, who was working in the stunt department, who asked Bren to appear in Force of Execution. In 2015, he appeared in the American action drama series, The Last Ship – executive produced by Michael Bay – playing Chief Petty Officer Wolf “Wolf-Man” Taylor, a member of the Royal Australian Navy. He first appeared in season two and became a series regular for season three to five, before the show concluded. The filmmakers were initially unaware of Bren’s martial arts background, and he summarily started to appear in more fight sequences, many of which Bren developed himself with his own stunt team.
Bren Foster made his directorial debut with Life After Fighting (2024) – he also starred in the film, wrote, co-produced and provided fight choreography. The film was a family affair with his wife, Chelsea Jean Foster, acting as co-producer, art director and costumer. His daughter, Arielle Foster, acted in the film and his son, Jaylan, and his nephew, Jimmy, helped with stunts and fight choreography. Much of the action in the film took place in his own gym.
In 2007, he married Chelsea Jean Foster. He lives in Sydney, Australia.
Filmography: 2001 Invincible; 2005 Home And Away (TV); 2006 Shadow of Sins; 2008 Man of Blood (short); The Strip (TV); Review with Myles Barlow (TV); East West 101 (TV); 2009 Cedar Boys; Sea Patrol (TV); Vinyl (short); Drowning (short); 2011 Venger (short); Femme Fatales (TV); Bad to the Bone; Melissa & Joey (TV); Days of Our Lives (TV); 2012 War Flowers; Maximum Conviction; 2013 Force of Execution; 2015 Infini; Terminus; The Last Ship (TV); 2016 The Osiris Child; 2020 Deep Blue Sea 3; Alpha Code; 2024 Life After Fighting; Last King of the Cross (TV); 2025 The Beast in Me.
