| Rodolfo "Rudy" Reyes | |
|---|---|
| Nickname | Fruity Rudy |
| Born | 1971 Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base, Kansas City, Missouri |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service/branch | United States Marine Corps |
| Years of service | 1998-2005 |
| Rank | Sergeant |
| Unit | 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, |
| Battles/wars | Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom |
| Other work | actor, martial arts instructor |
Rodolfo "Rudy" Reyes (actor) (born 1971 in Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base, Kansas City, Missouri) is a United States Marine, champion in martial arts, and actor. He is best known for portraying himself in the HBO TV series "Generation Kill".
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Rudy Reyes was born in 1971[1] to a United States Marine father en route to Vietnam. Rudy was raised by his grandparents until 1976 when both his grandmother and grandfather died in the same year. Rudy spent the next few years being shuffled between relatives and eventually a boys home. Rudy's childhood hero was Bruce Lee, and at 15 Rudy started studying kung fu.[2] At 17 Rudy emancipated himself and took custody of his two younger brothers, after which he moved them back to Kansas City, Missouri where he got an apartment and helped them find work. Between 1996 and 1998 Rudy won 14 gold medals, four at the Wushu-Kung Fu Midwest Championships and five in both the '97 and '98 Jing Woo International Championships.[3] Besides Rudy, Bruce Lee is the only other American-born martial artist to defeat fighters from the Jin Woo Academy.[3]
In 1998 Reyes joined the United States Marine Corps and was ultimately selected for (and passed) Marine Recon training. He served in Afghanistan and took part in the Iraq war. In 2005 he left the military.[4]
After leaving the military Reyes became a fitness trainer at a gym in San Diego.[4] His acting roles included playing himself in Generation Kill 2008[5] and the TV Series Apocalypse Man.