| Robert Maillet | |
| Birthname: | Robert Maillet |
| Names: | Acadian Giant Giant Kurgan Goliath El Gigante Goliath The Kurrgan Goliath Kurrgan The Interrogator Kurgan Kurrgan Kurrgan The Interrogator |
| Height: | 7 ft 0 in[1] |
| Weight: | 350 lb |
| Birth Date: | 26 October 1969 |
| Children: | 1 |
| Birth Place: | Georgetown, Ontario, Canada |
| Billed: | South Africa (as The Interrogator) |
| Trainer: | Stephen Petitpas Paul Peller Bret Hart Leo Burke[2] |
| Debut: | 1989 |
| Retired: | 2011 |
Robert Maillet (born October 26, 1969) is a Canadian actor and retired professional wrestler. He is known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from 1997 to 1999, where he performed under the ring name Kurrgan and was a member of The Truth Commission and The Oddities. He is also known for his roles in films such as 300 (2007), Sherlock Holmes (2009), Immortals (2011), Pacific Rim (2013), Brick Mansions (2014), Hercules (2014), and Deadpool 2 (2018).
Maillet was born in Georgetown, Ontario, northwest of Toronto.[3] Less than a year later, his family moved to Ste-Marie-de-Kent, New Brunswick, a French-Acadian village where he grew up.[4]
He began wrestling as the Acadian Giant in the early 90s.[5] Maillet made an initial appearance in the WWF on November 11, 1991, when he wrestled as The Cajun Giant, defeating Bob Bradley in a dark match at a television taping in Utica, NY.[6] He worked for Super World of Sports as Giant Goliath in 1991.[7] He also spent some working for the Japanese W*ING promotion as Goliath El Gigante.
He was signed to the WWF in 1997, alongside The Jackyl, as a member of The Truth Commission. The group was sent to the United States Wrestling Association (USWA) before being called up to the main WWF roster in June of that year, where Maillet's ring name evolved into The Interrogator and later to Kurrgan (whose name was inspired by The Kurgan, and was occasionally referred to as Kurrgan the Interrogator on television). Under the tutelage of The Jackyl, a charismatic cult leader, Kurrgan was a heel known for applying the Iron Claw to his opponents and not breaking the hold until The Jackyl slapped him across the face.[8]
After The Truth Commission disbanded in March 1998, Maillet (now billed simply as Kurrgan) continued as a singles wrestler managed by The Jackyl. He later went on to be part of The Oddities, The Jackyl's new stable; however, once The Jackyl was removed as the advisor of The Oddities and replaced by the Insane Clown Posse, The Oddities turned face[9] and became fan favourites.[10] Kurrgan was taken off WWF TV in February 1999 and was later released that November.
After WWF, Kurrgan worked in Mexico CMLL as Gigiante Kurrgan. He also worked in the Independents in Canada working in Nova Scotia, Calgary and British Columbia. By the end of 2001, Kurrgan took a hiatus from wrestling.
Maillet returned to wrestling working for Jacques Rougeau's wrestling events in Quebec as Kurgan. On July 8, 2005, he lost to Jim Duggan in Montreal. He continued working in Quebec and other parts of Canada until he retired from wrestling in 2011.
Maillet appeared in the 2006 film 300, an adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel of the same name.[11] He played the Über-Immortal, a savage berserker who was part of the enemy's imperial guard.[12] In November 2008, during a fight scene for the 2009 film Sherlock Holmes, he accidentally punched Robert Downey Jr. in the face, bloodying Downey and knocking him down.[13] Downey later stated on an episode of the Late Show with David Letterman that Maillet was "10 times more upset about it" than he was.[14]
Maillet played a Russian professional boxer who takes a dive in the 2011 film The Big Bang. Later that year, he appeared in the film Monster Brawl as Frankenstein in a wrestling tournament of eight classic monsters that fight to the death. He played Polyphemus in the 2013 film , Blackwell in the 2013 film adaptation of , and the executioner in the 2014 film Hercules.
He also had a recurring role on the Syfy original series Haven billed as a "Heavy", a thug for the series antagonist. In 2018, Maillet had a small part in the superhero film Deadpool 2 as Sluggo, a mutant mercenary who is in prison alongside the titular character.[15] He also had a part in the 2018 Netflix film Game Over, Man!. He appeared in the 2020 film Becky alongside Kevin James.
Maillet has been married to Laura Eaton since June 14, 1997. He has two stepdaughters, as well as a daughter adopted from Ethiopia. Being an Acadian, his first language is French and he is conversant in English.[16]
| Year | Title | Role | Director | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 300 | Über-Immortal | Zack Snyder | MTV Movie Award for Best Fight (vs. Gerard Butler) | |
| 2009 | Sherlock Holmes | Dredger | Guy Ritchie | ||
| 2011 | data-sort-value="Big Bang, The" | The Big Bang | Anton Protopov | Tony Krantz | |
| Monster Brawl | Frankenstein | Jesse Thomas Cook | |||
| Immortals | Minotaur | Tarsem Singh | |||
| 2012 | data-sort-value="Little Bit Zombie, A" | A Little Bit Zombie | Terry Thompkins | Casey Walker | |
| 2013 | data-sort-value="Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, The" | Samuel Blackwell | Harald Zwart | ||
| Septic Man | Giant | Jesse T. Cook | |||
| data-sort-value="Young and Prodigious Spivet, The" | The Young and Prodigious Spivet | Giant Hobo | Jean-Pierre Jeunet | Uncredited | |
| Polyphemus & Laistrygonian | Thor Freudenthal | Polyphemus voiced by Ron Perlman | |||
| Pacific Rim | Lt. Aleksei Kaidonovsky | Guillermo del Toro | |||
| 2014 | Brick Mansions | Yeti | Camille Delamarre | ||
| Hercules | Executioner | Brett Ratner | |||
| 2015 | Rabid Dogs | Bear Man #2 | Éric Hannezo | ||
| 2016 | Killer Waves | Barracuda Ben | James Balsamo | ||
| 2018 | Game Over, Man! | Tall Thug | Kyle Newacheck | ||
| 2018 | Deadpool 2 | Sluggo | David Leitch | ||
| 2019 | Polar | Karl | Jonas Åkerlund | ||
| 2020 | Becky | Apex | Jonathan Milott & Cary Murnion | ||
| 2020 | Vicious Fun | Mike | Cody Callahan | ||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Lexx | Leroy | 1 episode | |
| 2003 | Liocracy | Behemoth Jones | 1 episode | |
| 2011 | Merlin | Derian | 1 episode | |
| 2011 | Once Upon a Time | Behemoth | 1 episode | |
| 2012 | Momo | 1 episode | ||
| 2013; 2015 | Haven | Heavy | 5 episodes; also credited as Robert Norman Maillet in Season 5 | |
| 2014–2015 | data-sort-value="Strain, The" | The Strain | The Master/Jusef Sardu | 11 episodes |
| 2014 | Dark Rising: Warrior of Worlds | Bedard | 5 episodes | |
| 2019 | American Gods | Balor | 1 episode | |
| 2020 | Titans | Ring Fighter | 1 episode, "Faux Hawk" | |
| 2020 | data-sort-value="Umbrella Academy, The" | The Umbrella Academy | Lights Out Lubbock | 1 episode, "The Swedish Job" |
| 2021 | Jupiter's Legacy | Big Man | 1 episode, "Painting the Clouds with Sunshine" |