Film '' Grillo started his acting career by appearing in commercials, for companies such as
American Express and
Sure deodorant. His first film role was in 1992's
The Mambo Kings, and he went on to appear in the films
Minority Report (2002), ''
April's Shower (2006), and both iMurders'' and New Line Cinema's
Pride and Glory in 2008. Grillo was in the 2010 horror film ''
Mother's Day in the role of Daniel Sohapi and the following year, had a supporting role in the 2011 film Warrior'' as MMA trainer Frank Campana. In 2014, Grillo was cast as
Hydra agent
Brock Rumlow in the 2014 film
Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The same year, he starred as Sergeant Leo Barnes in the sequel
The Purge: Anarchy, and reprised his role in 2016's
The Purge: Election Year. He also reprised the role of Brock Rumlow/Crossbones in the third installment of the
Captain America film series,
Civil War, which was released on May 6, 2016. In October 2013, Grillo started filming for
The Crash, starring alongside
Academy Award nominee
Minnie Driver,
Ed Westwick,
AnnaSophia Robb,
Dianna Agron,
John Leguizamo,
Mary McCormack,
Christopher McDonald and
Maggie Q. The film is directed by Aram Rappaport and produced by Hilary Shor, Atit Shah, and Aaron Becker.
The Crash was released on January 31, 2017. In 2015, Grillo starred in the films
Demonic and
Big Sky. Another film in which he stars,
Beyond Skyline, was originally set for release in 2015, and was ultimately released on Netflix in December 2017. In 2018, Grillo starred opposite
Bruce Willis and
Johnathon Schaech in the action film
Reprisal. Years after its release, the film made it on Netflix's U.S. top five in October 2021. In 2019,
Variety announced that Grillo has signed with
Creative Artists Agency (CAA) for representation. Grillo produced and starred in
Boss Level, which was announced in November 2017 and was originally scheduled to be released by
Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures on August 16, 2019, but was delayed. It was subsequently bought by
Hulu, which released it on March 5, 2021. He also appeared in the sequel ''
Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard'' with
Ryan Reynolds and
Samuel L. Jackson. More recently, he has appeared in the films
This Is the Night with
Naomi Watts,
Copshop with
Gerard Butler,
Ida Red with
Melissa Leo,
The Yacht with
Ruby Rose and
A Day to Die with
Bruce Willis. Grillo plays
Ferruccio Lamborghini in the 2022 biographical drama
Lamborghini: The Man Behind the Legend. The film is directed by Oscar-winning writer
Bobby Moresco. The film also stars Oscar winner
Mira Sorvino and Emmy nominee
Gabriel Byrne. In June 2024, set photos revealed that Grillo was set to appear in the
DC Universe (DCU) film
Superman as
Rick Flag Sr., reprising the role in live-action after debuting as the character in the animated series
Creature Commandos (2024–present).
Television ,
Joanna Going,
Matt Lauria, Grillo and
Jonathan Tucker at the premiere of the drama series
Kingdom in October 2014 Grillo first appeared on television in episodes of
Silk Stalkings (1993), and
Poltergeist: The Legacy (1996) before being cast as businessman
Hart Jessup on the daytime soap opera
Guiding Light in 1996 up until 1999. During that time, he also appeared on the
Blind Justice as Marty Russo. In 2010, he starred in the sci-fi series
The Gates opposite
Marisol Nichols and
Rhona Mitra. The series only lasted one season. Between 2014 and 2017, Grillo starred in the
DirecTV drama series
Kingdom as MMA coach Alvey Kulina alongside
Nick Jonas and
Jonathan Tucker. Grillo was a season 5 regular on the drama series
Billions, starring as artist Nico Tanner opposite
Damian Lewis and
Maggie Siff. He also reprised the role of Crossbones by voicing the character on the
Marvel Cinematic Universe animated series
What If... In 2024, Grillo voiced
Rick Flag Sr. in the
Max animated series
Creature Commandos, the first series and installment of the new
DC Universe (DCU) franchise managed by
James Gunn and
Peter Safran, and a successor to the previous
DC Extended Universe (DCEU). Grillo's character, who is the father of DCEU character
Rick Flag Jr., is set to appear across all DCU media, and Grillo was announced in May 2024 to be reprising the role in live-action, appearing as a cast regular for the
second season of
Peacemaker opposite
John Cena. Frank Grillo joined the cast of
Tulsa King season 2, starring as Kansas City mob boss Bill Bevilaqua opposite
Sylvester Stallone. Grillo has also filmed season 3 and is gearing up to film season 4 in late 2025. ==Personal life==