Dan Speaker is considered by many to be one of the world's foremost experts in the art of sword fighting for the motion picture industry. Born into a military family, Dan spent his early years traveling from country to country and from one military base to the next. He developed an early fascination with swords, martial arts and the sport of fencing, which in his teens he began to apply to a new interest, the theater. (He also rode horses and played the Highland bagpipe, but that's another story.)Getting serious about this new interest, he attended the prestigious Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, Scotland, earning a Diploma in Dramatic Arts and a Fencing Coach's credential.Returning to the States, he was working in regional theater as an actor and fight choreographer when he met his wife to be, dancer turned swords woman Jan Bryant. Together they moved to Hollywood where they created a school, the Academy of Theatrical Combat, and established a unique method of teaching and choreographing the art of sword fighting.Working with top stunt coordinators in Hollywood, they quickly learned to put together much more than just sword fighting, and began to coordinate and perform entire action sequences for major movies and television.Now, together with their partner Kim Turney they teach the art of combat to actors and stunt people, continue to coordinate action, perform stunts, sword fight, and occasionally do a bit of acting.