I love a good challenge, so I was excited. I had about a month between when I found out I got the role to when we started filming. There were some weapons I hadn’t used before. But once Cole goes on his journey, he starts to learn some new skills. He starts off as an MMA fighter, which means a lot of striking and ground game. Joe Manganiello on Zack Snyder's ‘Justice League’ and Bringing Back Deathstroke Read article How did you create Cole’s fighting style? But maybe that’s when he realized how much the martial arts are a part of my life. I answered the phone with wraps on my hands and no shirt. What were you doing when you got the call confirming you got the gig? Whenever I’m scared of something, that’s a good indication I should be doing it. I can bring something special to this film. And then I was hit with the fact I was going to have to compete with these characters that are so well established and loved. Once it became clear he was going to do it right, I was excited. I wanted to hear about all of that before I signed on. I was blown away. I talked with him about the authenticity of the martial arts elements and how he was going go film it. I met with the director, and he played me some of the soundtrack they were working on from Benjamin Wallfisch. But playing a new character is a lot of pressure, and a lot of weight on my shoulders. This is a huge franchise, and an incredibly opportunity. At this point of my career, I’ve made good calls. I didn’t want to be the guy who messed up Mortal Kombat. What were your first thoughts about playing a new character? You have to find what’s good for you, and where you may have the advantage, then build from there. I have these long-ass arms and legs, so I think it’s a good fit for me. Is there one style you find yourself going back to and feeling the most comfortable with? Those were all growing experiences, and I’m still growing. They have some of the best credits in the world, working with Jackie Chan and projects like Kill Bill and The Matrix.
Once I started my film career, I was fortunate enough to start learning from all these different masters-like Iko Uwais from The Raid, arguably the best martial arts movie of current day, and Andy Cheng and Master Dee during Into The Badlands. They’re called smoker sessions where you do three, three-minute rounds. I competed in some amateur circuits at different gyms in Los Angeles. I eventually started to focus only on kickboxing and Muay Thai. I tried out a few other styles as I got older like jiu jitsu, some weapons work, and judo. So those were the first styles I started to learn when I was five or six years old. My father was a Taekwondo champion, then went on to win the British national Muay Thai championship. NASA Astronaut and Former SEAL Chris Cassidy Shares His Rules for Success Read article How old were you when you started training martial arts? The R-rated version of what Marvel is-less CGI, more practical stunts, and true martial arts.
I remember when I first got the script for the movie, I could see they had this great world to build on-kind of like a darker Marvel Universe. Then things changed a little bit when Trilogy came out with all the robots. I also liked Smoke, Kung Lao, and Liu Hang. I played all the ninjas, so Scorpion and Sub- Zero. What character did you usually play with? Little did you know it was research for a future role. We had martial art pads in the backyard. I must have spent thousands of hours with.
My father was also a champion martial artist and a fight choreographer for a lot of big movies. We were drawn to all the fighting games-beating my brothers at home and playing it in arcades.
I have three younger brothers, so that meant a house full of boys. I picked up Mortal Kombat again once I got the role, but was already familiar with it because of my earlier years. Warner Bros./Mark Rogers How familiar were you with Mortal Kombat before you got connected to the movie project?