Martial Arts Roles: Boon or Curse?
By Jay de Leon

In this article, I am featuring actors who are not primarily martial artists but have now come to be identified with their roles in martial arts movies or TV series. In other words, they are actors first and foremost, and by some twist of fate or fortuitous event or casting, have come to be identified with a particular role in a martial arts movie or TV series. They may or may not know some martial arts in real life, but that is not germane to their roles, since after all, they are simply acting a part.

And if you review the resumes of most of these actors, you will find that they have acted in comedies, straight drama, theatre and even musicals. That simply attests to their versatility as performers. For some, their martial arts roles were simply part of an impressive resume’. For others, their martial arts role might even be considered a curse, typecasting them. Judge for yourself who benefited, or who eventually regretted, their martial arts stardom.
PAT MORITA

Pat Morita (left) and Ralph Macchioin “The Karate Kid.”

For the record, there was a total of four “Karate Kid” movies, and in each one of them, Noriyuki “Pat” Morita played Miyagi-san, the old but wily Okinawan sensei who guides the Karate Kid in his or her quest for martial arts knowledge and personal maturity. This role made Morita the most recognized “sensei” in the whole world. Not bad for a man who has never formally trained in martial arts and in fact, was stricken with spinal tuberculosis as a child.

Pat Morita (right) and Ralph Macchio in the movie poster for “The Karate Kid Part II.”

Not bad for an actor who, just a few years earlier, was the zany Arnold in the highly popular TV series Happy Days. In fact, he had to fight for the Miyagi part, as backers for the project opposed casting a “comedian” in such a dramatic role. Maybe Morita was just being Miyagi, overcoming physical, racial and social obstacles to find meaning and dignity in his calling.

This gentle, funny man passed away in 2005, in Las Vegas at the age of 73 years old.

RALPH MACCHIO

Ralph Macchio in “The Karate Kid”

Ralph Macchio played Daniel LaRusso or Daniel-san, The Karate Kid, in three of the four Karate Kid movies. The fourth movie, The Next Karate Kid (1994) featured a then-unknown actress named Hillary Swank. Ralph Macchio has never starred in a high-profile movie since his Karate Kid days.

JAMES HONG

James Hong

James Hong in “Big Trouble in Little China”

James Hong has been acting since 1947. His first real TV role was the No. 1 Son in The New Adventures of Charlie Chan (1957) Since then he has acted in over five hundred movies and TV shows. Invariably, he has portrayed countless martial arts characters in movies like Ninja III: The Domination, Big Trouble in Little China, and Bloodsport 2.

You might remember him in more conventional action flicks like Missing in Action (1984), Tango and Cash (1989), and The Art of War (2000). Hong is one of the founders of the East-West Players, the oldest Asian-American theatre in Los Angeles.

VAN WILLIAMS

Van Williams as “The Green Hornet” in the TV series of the same name.

Of course you know Van Williams. He was the Green Hornet, aka Britt Reid, crime-fighter and publisher of The Daily Sentinel. But what you probably do not know is that Van Williams was at one time one of those Hollywood hunks under contract with Warner Bros. He starred in films as well as TV series such as Bourbon Street Beat and Surfside 6 with Troy Donahue and Diane McBain.

Knowledgeable movie buffs would also know that, paying homage to his Green Hornet past, Van Williams played the part of the director of the Green Hornet segment in the movie Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1993) with Jason Scott Lee.

LUCY LIU

Lucy Liu

Lucy Liu in the movie Kill Bill Vol. 1

After watching Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill Vol. 1, I will never be able to shake the image of Lucy Liu as O-Ren-Ishii, the kimono-clad, katana-wielding killer who duels Uma Thurman to the death in the snow. Initially, it was her role as Ling Woo in the TV series Ally McBeal (1998) that brought her recognition.

JAMES COBURN

James Coburn as “Flint” in the movie “Our Man Flint.”

Tough guy actor James Coburn died in 2002, after a long career in films culminating in an Oscar award for Best Supporting Actor in 1998 for the movie “Affliction.” A graduate of the seminal movie Magnificent Seven (1960) with other tough guy actors Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson and others, his tough guy image was bolstered by his role as super-agent Flint in a series of movie spoofs of the secret agent genre’.

James Coburn accepts his Oscar as Best Supporting Actor for the movie “Affliction” in 1998.

Just like James Bond, Flint was a master of the martial arts, and utilized martial arts techniques in his escapades. In real life, James Coburn was one of the many celebrity students of Bruce Lee. His last major film was Payback with Mel Gibson in 1999.

DAVID CARRADINE

David Carradine as “Kwai Chang” in the TV series “Kung Fu”

David Carradine as Bill in Quentin Tarantino’s movie “Kill Bill”

David Carradine was of course the star of the hit TV series Kung Fu, playing the role of Kwai Chang Caine, “a man of peace in a violent land…schooled in the spirit-mind-body ways of the Shaolin priesthood.” David Carradine is also the reason why Bruce Lee became a big star.

In explaining why David Carradine got the part of Kwai Chang Caine in the TV series Kung Fu, an executive explained that none of the Asian American actors tested would be able to carry the scene. So Bruce Lee packed his bags, made a movie or two in Hong Kong, and showed the world what star power was. Kung Fu got David Carradine, and we got Bruce Lee.

KEYE LUKE

Keye   Luke

Luke as the blind “Master Po” in the TV series “Kung Fu”

The Kung Fu saga continues. Most of you will recognize Keye Luke as the blind Shaolin abbott Master Po who teaches young Kwai Chang the ways of the Shaolin temple.It was also he who popularized the name “Little Grasshopper” for young David Carradine’s character in the series.

In his acting lifetime, he appeared in over one hundred films and over thirty television shows. Among Keye Luke's final film assignments were the two Gremlins (1984 and 1990) and a marvelous supporting part as a philosophical herb merchant in Woody Allen’s Alice (1989). He died on January 12, 1991 in Whittier, California.

MAKO

Mako as “Po-Han” in the movie “Sand Pebbles” (1966

Mako as Admiral Yamamoto in “Pearl Harbor” (2001)

I get to see and chat with Mako at martial arts conventions, and I cannot get over the fact that this unassuming, always smiling man who calls many martial artists his friend has starred in legitimate blockbusters for over four decades now.

His credits include The Sand Pebbles (1966), Tucker, the Man and His Dream (1988), Seven Years in Tibet (1997), and Pearl Harbor (2001). He has portrayed many martial arts-related roles in TV series and movies, including The Killer Elite (1975), The Perfect Weapon (1991), and Bulletproof Monk (2003).

JASON SCOTT LEE

Jason Scott Lee starred as Bruce Lee (no relation) in the biopic Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1993).  Although he was not a martial artist before the film, he trained in jeet kune do with former Bruce Lee student Jerry Poteet for the role.  While he has acted to mixed reviews after this film, such as in The Jungle Book (1994), Rapa Nui (1994), Arabian Nights (1999) and Timecop 2 (2003), his identification with his Bruce Lee character might have prevented him from getting roles of wider range.

And so for these actors, were their martial arts roles a blessing or a curse in their cinematic careers?  Either way, we will always have fond memories of them, and their spectacular sword fights, thunderous kicks, lightning-quick punches as well as philosophical insights and wise lessons forever immortalized on film.