Many individuals know Mark Dacascos as The Chairman in Meals Community’s Iron Chef America, a job that he returns to this week as Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend involves Netflix. However Dacascos can be probably the greatest display fighters we’ve ever been blessed to see gracing our screens, delivering some quintessential motion performances within the ’90s and past that stay outstanding to at the present time.
Dacascos’ distinctive mixture of allure and ability coupled along with his laid-back perspective made him stand out from different martial arts stars of his period, just like the way more intense Steven Seagal or Jean-Claude Van Damme. Whereas he by no means obtained the shot at main stardom that these different two did, he’s seeing a beautiful little profession resurgence just lately, enjoying the lead villain in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, voicing a major half within the strong Batman animated film Batman: Soul of the Dragon, and reportedly joining the cast of Cinemax’s glorious martial arts tv present Warrior for its third season.
Dacascos was additionally probably the greatest interviews on Scott Adkins’ glorious Artwork of Motion interview sequence, diving into his life and profession. It’s nicely price your time.
Whereas a few of his greatest motion pictures (together with the capoeira drama Solely the Sturdy and the live-action adaptation of Crying Freeman) should not presently accessible to observe at residence, these three are, and so they all rule whereas additionally offering terrific shows of Dacascos’ skills.
Drive
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Picture: Simitar Leisure
That is my private favourite of Dacascos’ motion pictures, and it made our checklist of our favourite martial arts movies you may watch at residence. In Drive, Dacascos performs a superhuman escaping a gaggle of lethal assassins. His laidback allure, attractiveness, and terrific martial arts expertise go well with the function of a bionic man. Alongside the way in which, he groups up with a down-on-his luck songwriter (Kadeem Hardison) and a motelier (a really charming Brittany Murphy, in an early function). —Pete Volk
Drive is obtainable to stream without spending a dime with adverts on Vudu, Tubi, and Pluto TV.
Brotherhood of the Wolf
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Picture: Common Footage
Dacascos stars reverse Samuel Le Bihan in Christophe Gans’ 2001 martial arts-action-horror interval movie Brotherhood of the Wolf as Mani, the formidable and ever-loyal Iroquois companion to Sir Grégoire de Fronsac, a knight and royal naturalist of King Louis XV. When the province of Gévaudan is besieged by a mysterious rash of murders perpetrated by some unknown creature, Fronsac and Mani are dispatched to analyze. What they discover is a conspiracy that threatens not solely the native townspeople, however a plot that would topple the French monarchy if not stopped.
Dacascos’ Mani is a noble warrior of few phrases and swift actions, the sort of man who’s not afraid to go toe-to-toe (and blow-for-blow) in opposition to a gang of devious combatants or a horrifying armor-plated monster. Critically, this man might’ve given the Predator a run for his cash. Should you love swashbuckling sword duels, martial arts battle scenes, tricorne hats, and Monica Bellucci (’nuff mentioned), Brotherhood of the Wolf is a must-see installment within the canon of Dacascos’ greatest performances. —Toussaint Egan
Brotherhood of the Wolf is obtainable to stream on Shudder.
John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
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Picture: Lionsgate House Leisure
Dacascos wasn’t initially slated to be the lead villain on this film. Per his interview with Adkins (linked above), he was working with famed Shakespeare trainer Patsy Rodenburg when director Chad Stahelski requested if he could be keen to do a cameo within the new John Wick film, with possibly a line of dialogue and a brief battle. Dacascos agreed, and when the actor initially slated to play the villain dropped out of the half, all of a sudden our man was in line for a a lot meatier function.
The Wick sequence redefined trendy motion in some ways, and the third installment is essentially the most martial arts-heavy of the bunch. It’s a shift for the sequence that fits Dacascos nicely — he performs Zero, an murderer looking Wick, and has a showstopper of an ending battle scene on a flooring crammed with glass panes. That scene took three to 4 weeks to shoot, Dacascos estimated, and he mentioned he almost walked into a kind of glass panes a few “half a dozen occasions.” —PV
John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum is obtainable to hire on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu.