Rich Manley

Rich Manley (pronounced /ˈmaenli/; born June 16, 1986) is an American actor. He has played roles in several movies, including A.J. Carson in the indie comedy film BoyBand (2010) with Michael Copon; Nathan Anderson in the Wild West style drama Gem of the West (2011); and Danny in the action-comedy blockbuster Knight and Day (2010), starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz.

In addition to acting, Manley is a full-time model in Massachusetts, with representation in Boston and Los Angeles, and a martial artist, trained by the esteemed Shaolin Monks and Anthony De Longis.

On June 16, 1986, Manley was born in Concord, Massachusetts to Diane Maria and Richard Donald Manley, a police officer. Along with his brothers, Robert Andrew Manley (born 1988) and Ryan Michael Luke Manley (born 1994), Rich Manley was raised in Stow as a Catholic Christian.

As a child in Stow, Manley was reserved, yet artistically expressive. In addition to writing, he enjoyed “making all sorts of art.” He loved to dress up, create characters and situations around the house.

At the age of thirteen, Manley started training in Kenpo Karate, earning a black belt in four years, along with a teaching status at his school . After his initial exposure to martial arts through action films, he developed a passion to perform his skills for the public. Manley eventually traveled to New York City to train in the styles of Shaolin Kung Fu, Wing Chun Kung Fu, and a variety of weapons work under the tutelage of the.

By the time Manley was in his mid-teens, he attended Nashoba Regional High School in the neighboring town of Bolton, Mass. While studying, he focused on martial arts and running. In addition, he spent much of his time researching Buddhism, and other Eastern and Western philosophies. At age nineteen, Manley, after receiving black belts in both styles of kung fu, and competing in L.A., was declared to be “one of the top sixty best young martial arts performers in North America.” (After his new title, Manley even started to write a book on all that he had learned of martial arts and his trip to Los Angeles.)

Once he graduated from high school, Manley enrolled in the College at Radford University in Virginia in 2005, studying Acting/Media and Sports studies, focusing on Martial Arts. While at Radford, Manley traveled to independent film shoots to learn the craft of film making.

At age twenty, Manley began his modeling career. Since 2006, he has modeled for: Puma, Reebok, Nordstrom, Life is Good, New Balance, Saucony, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Neiman Marcus.

By the time it was time to graduate, while Manley saw his friends searching for standard jobs, Manley was determined to pursue Hollywood. After college, Manley traveled to Los Angeles again, as part of a film crew for the reality show pilot “Stars Stunts Action”. There, he met and trained with esteemed professional stuntmen, fight choreographers and coaches. One of the many professionals Manley met was Anthony De Longis, the notable martial artist/actor who trained Michelle Pfeiffer (in Batman) and Harrison Ford (in the Indian Jones series), and fought against Jet Li (in Fearless). To date, Manley and De Longis are friends, and continue to train together.

After returning home to Boston, Rich continued to further his career in acting. He recently played Danny in the Vanilla Sky duo blockbuster Knight and Day, with Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz. He played a supporting role in the Indie comedy film BoyBand, starring Robert Hoffman and Michael Copon. He recently returned from California, shooting a short Wild West style drama titled Gem of the West, in which he plays a rugged Nathan Anderson; and finishing production on a short film titled Hell, in which he plays a rookie cop caught up in vengeance after the murder of his wife.

Currently, Manley is a full-time model and actor in the Boston area with representation in both Los Angeles and Boston. As for the future, Manley is in the midst of creating a full feature Sci-fi thriller Hollow Town, in which he plays the lead character Jimmy Blades. Other projects include, the dark dramady “Let Me Out,” a teen comedy in the spirit of “American Pie” “Lover´s Leap,” and a reality-based street magic pilot “The Craft,” in which Manley displays his Street magic illusions.