Today we talk with Byron Gibson, a former Muay Thai promoter turned actor, best known for his role in Only God Forgives. His career has taken him from the fight corner to more than 70 film productions worldwide.

You worked as a Thai boxing promoter. What’s the story behind that?

It’s quite an involved story, but here goes. I first got involved in Thai boxing nearly 38 years ago, and I first went to Thailand around 36 years ago. Thailand back then was completely different from what it is today. Muay Thai has become very commercialised and worldwide, but back in those days it was still very old school. Some gyms wouldn’t even let foreigners train there unless you had an introduction or invitation.

Funny enough, the trip opened my eyes because before I went to Thailand, I’d been taught by an instructor back home who mixed Muay Thai with Taekwondo. At the time, I thought it was authentic, but once I arrived in Thailand I realised very quickly what the real deal was. Our group had paid this instructor for training in Thailand, but he never even turned up at the airport and basically we got ripped off. Looking back, it was a blessing in disguise.

I eventually ended up at a legendary camp called Sor Thanikul after meeting an ex-fighter by chance in a bar at the Stable Lodge Hotel in Bangkok. It scared me to death at first. I’d never seen anything like it. The intensity, discipline and conditioning were on another level. These guys lived and breathed Muay Thai every single day.

I also visited other schools around Thailand, including Sor Plernjit Gym, which had South American boxing trainers working there at the time. Their movement, timing and boxing IQ absolutely amazed me. More than anything, though, I became fascinated by the old-school trainers and pad men. I’d sit for hours watching them work. They weren’t just holding pads, they were creating fighters. That’s when I knew I wanted to become a good trainer myself.

Over the next five years, I made numerous trips back and forth to Thailand, training and learning more every time. Eventually, I started teaching Muay Thai in the UK and built up my own franchise of schools before moving into promoting fights.

I partnered with a successful promoter from Birmingham called Steve Logan, and together we started promoting shows in Cambridge. I’m proud to say I was the first person to promote professional Muay Thai shows in Cambridge. We brought over Dutch fighters, experienced Thai boxers and competitors from all over. It was a massive learning curve and financial risk.

Back then there weren’t major sponsors or TV deals like there are today. Most of the time you relied entirely on ticket sales. It was also the start of the rave culture, and I spent many nights driving around clubs, raves and music venues putting fight posters on windscreens and handing out flyers. There was no social media back then — if you wanted people through the door, you had to get out there and do the work yourself.

In the end, I promoted quite a few shows and every single one sold out. We also produced three or four champions, which I’m very proud of. I started sending fighters abroad to places like New York, Australia and across Europe. In fact, during the very early days of cage fighting, before the MMA explosion, I even took a fighter to Brescia in Italy to compete. You could feel something big was developing, even if most people didn’t realise it at the time. Along the way, I met some very colourful characters in the fight game, and those experiences have stayed with me

But life moves on. And in many ways, that whole journey eventually led me into the movie business which became the next chapter of the story.

How did you land your first movie role?

My first movie role happened completely by accident.

At the time, my partner was attending a casting call for a film in Bangkok. We had no idea what the movie was or who was starring in it. I simply went along with her for a bit of moral support and, if I’m honest, because we were planning to get something to eat afterwards at a nearby shopping centre.

While we were at the casting venue, the casting director spotted me and asked if he could take a photograph. I wasn’t interested in the film business at all back then, but I agreed and thought nothing more of it.

About a week or ten days later, I received a phone call asking if I could come in for a casting. I had absolutely no experience and no idea what I was doing. The only role they had left was that of a sex tourist sitting in a Bangkok taxi asking the driver where to go. Friends encouraged me to go along for a laugh, so I did.

I felt completely ridiculous during the audition and never expected to hear anything back. Then, not long afterwards, I got another call saying that Jean-Claude Van Damme wanted me in the film but not for the tourist role. Instead, they wanted me to play a gangster.

That was my introduction to the movie business.

I ended up spending three weeks working on the film, which was called The Eagle Path. In one of my scenes, Jean-Claude Van Damme kicks me in the throat, and the shot even made it into the trailer, which felt like a huge achievement at the time.

I also received some advice that stuck with me. Jean-Claude’s son, Kristopher Van Varenberg, suggested I take up theatre training to gain experience, while Jean-Claude Van Damme encouraged me to continue pursuing work in the film industry.

Looking back, it all started because I went along to a casting call to support my partner and grab some lunch afterwards. Sometimes the opportunities that change your life arrive when you’re not looking for them.

You worked twice with Steven Seagal on The Asian Connection and General Commander. How was it to work with him?

The circumstances were quite different on each one.

The first was The Asian Connection. At the time, my schedule was absolutely packed because I was also working on Brutal: A Taste of Violence with David Belle. In Brutal, I was playing a dodgy fight promoter, and the shooting schedules for both productions ended up overlapping.

As anyone who works in the film business knows, you have to adapt and take opportunities when they come along. I spent around a month working on The Asian Connection, which was a great experience. I was crossing over to shoot scenes for Brutal on some evenings, so there were periods when I was running on very little sleep.

Ironically, despite working on The Asian Connection, I never actually met Steven Seagal during that production. All of my scenes were filmed separately. There was supposed to be a final day where we would have crossed paths, but I couldn’t make it because I was committed to filming Brutal.

I finally met Steven when I worked on General Commander.

People often ask me what he was like, and all I can do is speak from my own experience. I found him to be quite reserved, but he was always respectful towards me, and I got on fine with...

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