Biografia
Award-winning actress, stunt performer, producer, and action director Crystal Santos is originally from Los Angeles, California. Known for seamlessly blending dramatic performance with elite stunt work, Crystal has built a career portraying authentic, physically demanding characters while performing the vast majority of her own action sequences.
Crystal’s passion for martial arts began at an early age. Her father, Antonio Santos, introduced her to boxing, laying the foundation for a lifelong pursuit of martial arts excellence. She later trained in Muay Thai before beginning her formal Kung Fu studies under Grandmaster Eric Lee, who remains one of her longtime mentors. She also studies Wing Chun under renowned Grandmaster Samuel Kwok, both of whom have had a profound influence on her martial arts journey.
As her acting career expanded into stunt performance, Crystal trained with some of the industry’s most respected professionals, including Master Simon Rhee, legendary stunt performer and grappling icon Gene LeBell, precision driving instructor Rick Seaman, dual bullwhip instructor Noby Arden-Kreish of the renowned Wallenda circus family, and Marine Robert Garcia of the Devil Dog Tactical Weaponry team.
Crystal’s film and television credits include Argo, The Lone Ranger, Death Proof, War of the Worlds, Bare Knuckles, CSI, Gang Related, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Martial Arts Kid, and the award-winning feature film Mayday, for which she received the Best Leading Actress Award at the 2018 Art for Peace Cinematic Awards in Beverly Hills. She also co-starred alongside Danny Trejo on the El Rey Network television series Man at Arms: Art of War.
Crystal’s lifelong dedication to martial arts has earned her international recognition through induction into the Worldwide Martial Arts Council, the Action Martial Arts Hall of Honors, the Munich Hall of Fame for Martial Arts, the Masters Hall of Fame, and the Suisse Hall of Honours.
Today, Crystal continues to combine her passion for storytelling, martial arts, and cinematic action, establishing herself as one of the few female action filmmakers equally accomplished in front of the camera and behind the scenes.
