Jonathan Lipnicki, most well-known for his roles in Jerry Maguire and Stuart Little, has shown on Instagram how his love for mixed martial arts has completely transformed his appearance to the point that he may be unrecognizable to fans.
The actor started training in mixed martial arts at a young age after a fighter told him that he would teach him how to box, according to the Irish Mirror. After 14 years of training, he earned his black belt in Jiu-jitsu.
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"My family actually owns an MMA promotion company, so it's kind of a family deal." Lipnicki told ESPN in 2012. "Because of that, I've given my mom a lot of the fighters to fight in a show. I'm actually training one of my friends right now - he's fighting a jiu-jitsu guy. So I'm his sparring guy. If it's someone way better, I won't be a good sparring partner."
His start in fighting antisemitism
A group of Jewish men were attacked outside of a restaurant in Los Angeles in 2021. Lipnicki and his friend Remy Franklin, another martial arts enthusiast, organized groups to guard those who are going to worship at the synagogue.
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"Remy started this group where we decided to make sure people got home and to the synagogue safely."
Jonathan Lipnicki to TMZ
"There have been a lot of antisemitic hate crimes and violence towards Jews." He told TMZ. "Remy started this group where we decided to make sure people got home and to the synagogue safely.
"A lot of us are martial artists or own martial arts gyms and not all of us are Jewish. It's just people wanting to help other people. Everyone should have the right to worship without being discriminated against."
"Bullies of any sort or people who promote hatred don't like when there's a presence there and I think having a presence is a huge deterrent," he added.