It’s been a long time since Max Martini’s fans have heard from their beloved actor.  The return of his widely popular website www.maxmartini.com , was greeted by a flurry of excited activity after a long hiatus. Fans know him to be a fun person to get to know. His greeting of “This is ‘Sergeant Mack Gerhardt’ was a great surprise and added some relief when I heard from him not long ago. Wish the same were true for the show that sealed him in fans' hearts, The Unit on CBS, where Max plays the rough and troubled “Mack Gerhardt”, a fan favorite among men and women.

While the show has been on a strike induced hiatus, Max has not been idle. The energetic, ready to take it all on, sexy red head has spent some quality family time with his wife Kim Restell and their two young sons, was cast in a new SCI-FI TV martial arts film, and has his own project on martial arts moving forward.

 During the break, he traveled to Las Vegas to interview some men involved in martial arts for this project.  “I interviewed Quinton Jackson, (Ultimate Fighting Champion Light Heavyweight) and Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell (another UFC champ). I shot a presentation for a show that I am developing on MMA (mixed martial arts) fighting.” So one has to ask, what’s with all the martial arts projects?  He took some martial arts training for the film and that could be where he picked up his love for it.

Max was cast as “Joe Collins”, a police officer, in the David Mamet film, Redbelt, which opens nationwide on May 9.   In Redbelt, “Collins” is chosen to be the protégé of “Mike Terry”, a Jiu-Jitsu teacher who chooses to teach the art instead of being in the ring.  He trains in the gym with a highly respected teacher played by John Machado, one of the early Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu families. Max adds, “Joe never really gets in the ring and fights. He trains, protects and serves.” Asked what he got from this film, he states “I learned that one should never assume that a gift has been bought and paid for. “  Not wanting to spoil the story for us, he leaves the rest of the explanation for us to learn in the film.

Any theatrically trained person can attest to wanting to work with David Mamet at least once in their life. This role in the Mamet film gave Max the time to work with him away from the confines of network TV, where The Unit is produced.   “It was a great experience. It was great working with David Mamet in a way where he was free to do what he wants (creatively)”, he expresses with honest admiration.

While fans of The Unit wait for its return, Max clarifies, in his own opinion, what makes this show such a hit. “It’s a standout next to other procedural dramas. The demographics were tight, and it brought in solid (rating) numbers.” A steady 10 million viewers every week. One other valid reason to bring it back is the quality of the production itself. No other network TV show has the close knit quality of this production.  “I talked to Dennis (Haysbert) last week, and I’m talking to Michael (Irby)”, he adds. “We all want the show to come back. We’ve all been busy. But we want the show to come back.”  (Note: CBS has announced that The Unit will return on April, 29 at 10 PM Eastern.)

Max is not one to rest on his popularity. In fact, he gives back to the world by participating in several worthy causes. He is a strong supporter of Autism Speaks and he joined a small group of fans who joined the 2007 Cure Autism Now Walkathon in his honor. He also supports 365-Inspire A Cure for AIDS, which is a photographic project to raise 100 million dollars in 5 years.  An active Harley fan, he takes part in the Annual Love Ride for Muscular Dystrophy, and has contributed his talent to “Love, Light and Laughter” for Lupus. With a  heart of gold and a trademark sense of fun, itt’s easy to understand why Max Martini is so loved. He’s just Max.