An incredibly talented stuntman, Joey Ansah has created some of the greatest fight scenes in film. Passionate about the depiction of fight in cinema, he directed his own Street Fighter films.
Joey Ansah's early life
Born in London, November 24 1982, the second son of Ghanaian fashion designer Kofi Ansah and his Devon-born wife Nicola, Joey spent the first ten years of his life in the capital. During this time he became interested in martial arts and acting, avidly watching videos with his dad starring the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan.
The family then moved to Ghana where Joey trained for four years at a local Tae Kwon Do class. At 15 he returned with his mum and baby sister Tanoa to Plymouth to finish school before moving to Oxford to enrol on a three-year-degree in Human Biology.
Joey Ansah's career
During this time Joey worked as an extra and model before landing a job as a stuntman in 2005 flick Batman Begins. Since graduating, Joey has appeared in a range of TV and film projects including UK indie flick Love Struck, Spooks and BBC series Timewatch.
In 2007, he got his Hollywood break in The Bourne Ultimatum, playing Desh, a super assassin chasing Matt Damon's Jason Bourne. He undertook all his own stunts in the sequence, which led to his performance being acclaimed by critics - one of whom described his extended fight scene as among the best ever filmed. Joey was later nominated for an MTV award in the 'Best Fight' category.
Since the acclaim of his role in The Bourne Ultimatum, Joey choreographed, co-wrote and directed 2010 short film Street Fighter: Legacy, hoping to create the most accurate depiction of the series when compared to the two former films.
He explained in an interview with GameSpot that the reason he had decided to create the film was because, as a fan, "I don't feel separated from the rabid fanbase, that would be ready to judge. And to be honest, I did judge the last two films, which is why I'm doing this in the first place. I was so incensed with what was going on in the live-action scene. I was like, if I can do it better, I'll do it."
He went on to create two more street fighter films: Street Fighter: Assassin's Fist (2014) and Street Fighter: Resurrection (2016).
Outside of the Street Fighter films, Joey has taken on numerous small roles in films. He played a policeman in Attack the Block, the role of Aldan in Snow White and the Huntsman, and he has had other small roles in Mission: Impossible - Fallout and Aladdin.
