He’s the biggest star mixed martial arts has ever produced, and now Conor McGregor is on a mission to be the champion of the Hollywood Hills. To kick off his acting career, he’s starring in Doug Liman’s rendition of the cult classic Road House, now streaming on Prime Video. So, let’s take a quick dive into the Irishman’s first foray into motion-picture acting.
“Notorious,” 35 is a household name. He built his combat sports legacy inside the UFC’s Octagon, is the promotion’s first-ever simultaneous two-division champion, and his fights sold the most pay-per-views in the company’s history. Whether it was his dismantling of Eddie Alvarez to snatch the 155-pound belt, or his ruthless sub-15-second KO of longtime featherweight kingpin Jose Aldo, McGregor used his precise and powerful striking to become the face of MMA.
And although he has his sights on making a UFC comeback, McGregor’s also seemingly found a foothold in another avenue of entertainment — something that’ll be around longer than his fighting career. He had some voice work under his belt, but Road House was the first time McGregor truly exercised his acting chops as Knox, a rough-and-tough bad guy fueled by McGregor’s larger-than-life personality, but turned up a few notches.
In the interest of keeping the movie relatively unspoiled, let’s just touch on Knox’s story arc.
Following the original Road House’s formula, Dalton (portrayed by Jake Gyllenhaal) is hired to turn around a failing Florida Keys roadhouse. In short, ruffians had turned the bar into their personal playground and sending her business into an early grave. So, Dalton, an ex-UFC fighter, uses his MMA abilities to deter the degenerates.
That’s where Knox comes in. A mercenary of sorts, Knox is hired by the antagonists to get rid of Dalton by any means necessary. A man known for using his limbs to get what he wants, Knox is the man for the job, and the movie builds toward an eventual climax between the two fighters.
So, let’s talk about Knox himself. Like McGregor, his torso was covered in tattoos. But, a makeup team worked their magic and made them different than Notorious’. For example, instead of a gorilla king chest piece, he had a crazed boar sprawled across his front upper body. And his stomach read “Knox,” not “McGregor.” Here’s a clip of the team reimagining Notorious’ ink:
Physically, McGregor was more jacked than ever. Filming took place after McGregor’s leg healed from the gruesome break it suffered during his most recent fight against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021. Anyone following Notorious on social media during his rehabilitation could see that although he wasn’t training on the mats, he was pumping iron at the gym, and he was bulking in a big way.
Mixed martial arts fans are used to seeing Notorious compete with a 155 or 145-pound frame. The biggest we’d seen him compete was in January 2020 when he obliterated Donald Cerrone at UFC 246. But, McGregor’s Knox walked around a division or two higher than the welterweight Notorious was on that night.
In early March, McGregor did a media round ahead of Road House’s release, and he looked noticeably smaller than when he was bloodying up Gyllenhaal. In an interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, he said he was set to make his UFC return this summer, which – in part – helped explain his smaller stature.
Back to Knox.
His martial arts prowess was on full display during the movie. Throwing a diverse array of strikes throughout, it was evident McGregor is a world-class combatant, not just a Hollywood actor. In an interview with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show, Gyllenhaal said McGregor routinely helped shape his fisticuff skills during their fight scenes together. “He was always great with me,” the Donnie Darko actor said. “He would show me, tell me to do things, ‘Turn your head, move a little bit more this way to try and make it look more real.’”
The role of Knox was catered toward McGregor, Gyllenhaal implied. And when he heard that the 22-6 professional mixed martial artist agreed to join the cast, he was equal parts excited and intimidated.
“When I got word that he was going to be doing it, I was super psyched because they chased him for a long time to play the part,” he said. “But, then I got totally terrified and I thought, ‘Oh, God. I actually have to fake fight this guy, and I got to look like I can.’”
During his interview with Helwani, McGregor said that he wasn’t done making movies — it was only the beginning. So, Notorious’ Knox is in the history books. But, expect the Irishman to bring more outrageous characters to life in the future.
