Jonathan Eusebio

Jonathan Raymond Eusebio, also known as Jojo, was born on September 15, 1973, and raised in Canada by his Filipino parents.^[1]

Eusebio's interest in martial arts began at the age of eight and progressed through taekwondo, judo, wrestling, and kickboxing, and even after he enrolled in Dan Inosanto's Academy of Martial Arts school, he never realized martial arts would be his calling.^[2]

Eusebio's academic path led him to major in Biological Sciences at the University of California, Irvine.^[3] After graduating, he worked in a laboratory while maintaining his passion for martial arts. Eusebio began his professional collaboration with future filmmakers and 87eleven Action Design creators Chad Stahelski and David Leitch when he joined at the Inosanto Academy in Marina Del Rey, California, at the age of 18.^[4]

Eusebio's first foray into stunt acting was in the 1997 low-budget action movie True Vengeance. By 2002, his contributions to the film Kung Pow: Enter the Fist, led to greater recognition. In the same year, Eusebio contributed to the development of Jason Bourne's distinct fighting technique in The Bourne Identity, which was based on the Filipino martial art Kali and knife combat. As this style persisted throughout the Bourne film series, Eusebio served as a fight coordinator and trained Matt Damon for the role.^[5]

Eusebio, a founding member of the 87eleven Action Design, has had a significant impact on the development of the Hollywood stunt collective. His co-fight choreography for Ninja Assassin in 2009 and his work on the ground-breaking movie 300 in 2006 demonstrated 87eleven's growing creative influence.^[6]

Eusebio's resume also includes work in Marvel movies, in which he combined Aikido, kali, Muay Thai, and "Lucha libre" to create a distinctive combat style for the character Black Widow in Iron Man 2. His work on several Marvel movies, such as The Avengers, Doctor Strange, and the critically acclaimed Black Panther, was made possible by this role.

Eusebio's contributions to the John Wick franchise are notable examples of his inventiveness. The movies pay homage to Asian action films by combining judo and jiu jitsu, which required Keanu Reeves, the principal actor, to undergo intensive training. The franchise was known to push the edge in terms of Eusebio's creative fighting styles and stunt work.

Eusebio's participation in the industry increased further beginning in 2017 when he began working as a second unit director on various 87eleven movies, including Deadpool 2, Birds of Prey, and Kate. In 2022, he took up the roles of second unit director and stunt coordinator on the Star Wars series, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and in 2021, on the fourth Matrix film, ''The Matrix Resurrections''.^[7]