FUN FACTS
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Clark grew up a NY Knicks Fan but fell in love with the LA Clippers once moving to LA.
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Clark is also a Duke Basketball fan.
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Clark enjoys watching the LA Dodgers and NY Yankees.
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Clark has recently became a LA Rams Fan. Is even on record stating he finds himself staying home and watching Football on Sundays.
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While attending college, Clark played soccer and dislocated his thumb. During his recovery, he happened to pass by the theater and decided to audition for a production of Much Ado About Nothing. While performing in the play, he realized that acting was what he truly wanted to pursue. He later left Ohio Wesleyan University and enrolled in New York University’s acting program.
Clark Gregg has practiced Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for more than 15 years. After 11 years of training, he earned his black belt in 2015. He trains under Renato Magno at Street Sports Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Santa Monica, California.​​​
"My pal Dave Mamet was directing a movie called "Spartan", and he had started doing Jiu Jitsu with a guy Renato [...]. He dragged me in there and said, "You know, you're playing a kind of a badass special secret service agent. You should, you know, this will help you". And I said: "Do I have any fights in this movie? I would love this if I do". He said "No, you don't. I just want you to go in there".
And so he took me in and I rolled a couple times and I liked it. [...] As any white belt knows, I was really getting suffocated and choked out a lot. At first I really didn’t dig that, but then I found myself going back a couple of months later and really getting hooked. And I kinda think that was about 12 years ago and I, you know, I had to, I would leave town and go do a job and not do it for a while [...] and I would always end up back there studying with Renato and with one of his black belts, a guy he called Richard Wilky.
You turn around you've been doing it a while and finally, I don't know, it must have been five years till I got a blue belt. And just a couple of months ago they gave me a brown belt. I really feel like I should be like a light brown belt, like a latte belt or something".
Clark Gregg, Just The Gi Top Podcast, Episode #35
April 24, 2014
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Basketball is Clark Gregg’s favorite sport, and he continues to play at least once a week. Over the years, he has participated in several celebrity All-Star Games, Entertainment League tournaments, and other basketball events.​​
"Before I did Jiu Jitsu, I was always looking for a workout which was fun. I don't love jogging, I get bored. Once out of every 10 times I'll enjoy it. I had to do another movie about 2 years before Spartan where I played basketball, and I loved basketball. But I played soccer in college and was a bad basketball player, but I used that of course to hire a really good basketball coach, a guy, now he is a shooting coach for the Oklahoma City Thunder. He taught me how to shoot and I started playing basketball religiously and I noticed that I would run till I was soaked in sweat if there was something fun going on.
Renato is still like – dude, you go to basketball three times a week, you can't come here more than once? And I can't help it, I love basketball. But before that I was boxing, just 'cause even boxing, as hard as it wasn't the guy, you know, I get hit a lot because I wasn't very good at that either – that was fun, there was something to try to improve at. So I spent two or three years doing kind of boxing sparring and trying to learn that technique before I did Jiu Jitsu. I love Jiu Jitsu, I even rolled this morning.
Clark Gregg, Just The Gi Top Podcast Episode #35
Apr 24, 2014
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When he is not practicing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or playing basketball, Clark also enjoys taking surfing lessons.
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Clark has participated in several fitness challenges, including the 22 Push-Up Challenge. The challenge involves completing 22 push-ups to raise awareness of suicide among veterans while honoring military service members and veterans.
