The Rise and Fall of Robin Shou / What happened to Mortal Kombat's Liu Kang?
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- Опубликовано: 1 авг 2023
- What really happened to Mortal Kombat's Liu Kang? In this video, I'll be discussing the rise and fall of Robin Shou.
Known worldwide for playing title character Liu Kang in 1995s film adaption of the popular Mortal Kombat videogame, Robin Shou, was born Shou Wan-por on July 17th, 1960. Prior to Mortal Kombat, Robin had already been in the film business working as a stunt performer in Hong Kong for 9 years.
Robin Shou didn’t start training in martial arts until he was 19 years old. He first began classes and trained in Kenpo Karate while attending California State University Los Angeles. However, he soon realized that Karate didn’t do anything for him, so he decided to quit. A year and a half later, his interest in martial arts would explode after watching a demonstration by a group of Wu Shu practitioners from Beijing. Because he was so inspired by that demonstration, just before starting his senior year at UCLA, he sold his car and the used the money to begin studying Wu Shu in China.
After years of training in the martial arts, Robin become an international forms champion and member of the national WuShu team. He then took off to Hong Kong on vacation and Soon after his arrival, was offered a chance to appear in a movie as a stuntman. From there, he was offered job after job
Robin’s first real dramatic role was in the film Forbidden Nights (1990), where he played opposite Melissa Gilbert. Though only a TV film, this was his American debut and surely a huge step forward for Hollywood. He would then go back to Hong Kong and continued make movies there. By this time, he was more thorough about the roles he was offered, but soon became bored as it was more of the same. He returned to LA in 1994 to start an import busi
While working as an importer/exporter, he got a call from his agent, who was ranting about a perfect role for him in a movie called Mortal Kombat. Initially, robin wasn’t interested and assumed he would once again just be playing a villain who gets killed in the end. His agent begged him to audition, which he did along with other top contenders such as Jason Scott Lee, Russell Wong and Phillip Rhee. 7 auditions later, Robin was offered the role of Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat. 
Развлечения
Robin Shou is a serious candidate for the biggest waste of a martial arts star. He had it all, charisma, looks, martial arts skills etc but after only 3 movies his Hollywood career went to the toilet. I love the original Mortal Kombat film, a thousand times better than the recent remake.
Many other martial movie stars bit the dust after one or two movies.
(To davideserra)I wouldn't say a thousand times better, but the original is definitely better in my opinion too. The new one is growing on me though. I like it
@davideserra I like The 1995 Mortal Kombat movie, despite the PG-13 level of violence. The remake and it's sequel, not recommended.
That second MK was that bad. So yeah, it was a career ender.
@devinewynder5443 you know what....the old mortal kombat sequel (mortal kombat 2 starring: sindel, sheeva, Shao kahn) was sooooo corny and cheesy...BUT, I still loved it. 🙃 crazy right? :)
Robin made a flawless Liu Kang. Dude was THE Liu Kang to me and still is after all these years.
Robin seems like a swell guy, and there’s nothing wrong with living a more private life away from all the fame. I find it pretty cringy when someone accused multiple times of sexual misconduct criticizes him for not being likeable.
He probably could see through his facade, or perhaps sound of freedom is based on this guy and robin wasn’t willing to follow the Hollywood satanic panic that he was shut out
Whoa. I’m def going to have to look this up now!
And I agree. They didn’t really specify anyways why his career stalled besides someone not liking him.
Yeah, 7 different women accused him of a variety of acts. His responses were quite telling too
Robin is dope
wow a pedo genesis . where di u come from@jaredgenesis-sl1qi
Robin Shou's acting career may not have blown up to crazy proportions but I sincerely hope the dudes doing well and living comfortably because Mortal Kombat brings back some of the greatest memories of my childhood. Pure nostalgia. Much love!
It does and I'm one of the few fans who actually saw the first mortal Kombat in theater back in the day. It was honestly not bad for its time. This was when CGI was just coming out and obviously it wouldn't cut it today. But the sequel was atrocious and deserved to bomb and took his career down with it.
@@user-no5jz3vg3j Yeah it's unfortunate his timing was off. Donnie Yen hit superstardom with hits in HK cinema but he became a huge hit in Hollywood too. Arguably as successful if not more so than Jackie Chan. Donnie was in blade, Star Wars rogue one, xxx and many others. But I'd say Donnie, Jackie Chan, Jet Li are the 3 who made it big in Hollywood. Robin didn't quite make it. There's also Chow Yun Fat who did quite a few Hollywood drama and a martial arts movie bulletproof monk but he's not really a martial artist and more a drama actor. But that's Hollywood. One bomb and you're out.
Here's a recent interview with him and Ashbey (Johnny Cage). They talked about their roles and stuff that happened while filming, like stunt accidents. The whole time they're playing the Mortal Kombat arcade game. ruclips.net/video/s2VeFNWdrmA/видео.html
Robin will always be Liu Kang to me. I've always been absolutely gutted he never starred in more films. So much young potential to be one of the 90s biggest martial arts movie stars. I think the 90s film industry putting their comical spin on martial arts and action movies really watered down his portfolio... and the MK Annihilation train wreck. Seen him in a couple thing here and there since, but bloody hell the industry let his star power fade quickly.
He was in Death Race 2 & 3. Good direct-to-video movies.
After seeing how many members of the original MK cast backed outta MK Annihilation, If I were Robin I'd have never touched that film.
@@Captain-America92I heard they paid him more and gave Robin more creative control over the stunts and fight scenes. So I can't blame him too much maybe he thought the action would carry the film.
Always 🤘🤘
he was cool but its not like he was the second coming of bruce lee... which the role of liu was originally meant for. lol lets be real.
He was great in Beverly hills Ninja 😂😂
That was really movie that should have had a sequel and had the spirit of ninja turtles.
He was great in Mortal Kombat.
Perfect choice for Liu Kang.
Love that movie
I forgot about that movie. LOL. Im gonna go watch it.
Big brother!
Robin completely OWNED the Mortal Kombat film. He will always be the GOAT to me
I was fortunate enough to meet Robin one time in Chicago. He was tremendously kind and receptive to me singing his praises. He talked with me for a few minutes and couldn't have been a nicer person. This was around 2005 or 2006.
chitown represent
Wow!!!really?!you are so lucky!i mean,i wish i could've meet him some time ❤️
Don't forget that, Robin choreographed the two best fight scenes in the first Mortal Kombat movie. Johnny Cage vs Scorpion and Liu Kang vs Reptile.
That explains why those are my two favorite fights
Definitely makes sense in hindsight, those were absolutely the best fights. I still can't wrap my head around how bad the fumbled the Sub Zero fight in comparison.
@@AmBiTi0nSubzero fight was awesome. People can hate on Annahialation if they want but the fights and music were still A1.
Nah, they were shite, compared to HK films especially. Far too short, predictable and pedestrian. They did Sub Zero dirty.
why sub zero looked like he was taking a shit forming the iceball was weird. I guess mainly a special effect showcase than anything.
I've always loved Robin. Always will.
Mortal Kombat was one of my all-time favorite movie theater experiences growing up.
It was my favorite movie as a kid my father bought me mortal kombat 2 the annihilation on vhs for christmas in the 90s i still have it.
I still remember watching it first showing opening day with my 2 friends ..... Im a Lifelong SF fan also but this Movie with the soundtrack was Fn AWESOMENESS
I´m sorry to read that, Mr. Shaw
@@marcofreitas3844 you obviously didn't see it in theaters when you were a kid
Same. Robin just got that bad hand with movie choices after mk . hoping he gets another shot. He definitely shows all the stuff that he could make a big return
😊
Robin Shou stopped making films because he wanted to be with his Family. It's not a down fall its his life. He doesn't like showing his life stories to everyone. He's a chilled guy who enjoys being part of the films. I loved him in films but I'm also happy he wanted to spend time with his wife & kids.
The guy can act better than most stunt men out there. And he literally carried the Mortal Kombat movie.
I wouldn't say carried the movie because Johnny Cage was pretty much perfect. The whole gang had good synergy which the Earth realm heroes in the recent movie didn't
@@lionclaw77 just because the casting is perfect doesn't mean he or she can carry the whole film by their shoulders.
He carried the second MK movie even if it's still really bad, he was at least still there as Liu Kang and he was the main fight scene choreographer
Carried? The first mortal Kombat was good in general a good cast,good story,good fights and if any character carried it was Johnny cage.
@@alexandernickaboine4798 the one good thing about the second movie is we get Tony Jaa as Robin's main stunt double.
He saved the world winning the Mortal Kombat tournament and said, peace.
Met Robin Shou at a martial arts exhibition, right after Mortal Kombat came out, and he was a really nice guy. Very friendly and personable, signed many autographs. Seemed like a cool guy to me, and was hoping to see him in more films 🤔🤷🏻♂️
I don't care what anyone says. Cause for me, as Mortal Kombat fan since the first game, Robin Shou did an amazing job playing Liu Kang. And the rest of his movies after that, at least some of them, was cool too. And it's a shame that his career started to going down after that. Wish he had a chance to do another big movie, at least after his career started to go down. Sure, right now it's great, in my opinion, that he is no longer starring in hollywood movies because, most of the modern hollywood movies sucks big time, but if he had a chance to make some movies, maybe around 2000 - 2016, well outside those horrible video game adaptations, like any successful movie, then I think that he would deliver a great performance. But sadly, fate decided otherwise. And I think that, all what he had to do, is to avoid any other video game adaptation movies and try to take part in some other, none video game related movies, with big ideas, and he would probably got back on his feet. Anyway, great actor but sad fate for his career.
If they made another John Wick movie they could cast him. Could be his comeback role.
It wasn’t his fault rather I was based on circumstances.
ya idk why netherrelm dont ask him to be dlc content for MK games. like a skin.
same for JCVD. im sure they wouldnt be opposed...
@@ssppeeaarr I don’t really know why but robin killed it in the 95 mk
Robin had potential. I saw Mortal Kombat in theaters when I was a kid and it's basically my first experience watching a Martial arts film on the big screen. To me, I think when Jackie Chan finally came onto US shores, Robin got pushed to the side in favor of him. I still think he could've worked, but Hollywood still haven't cracked the code to making good martial arts films so that's why I think Shou got buried.
No Jackie Chan was a star weed before that movie ever came out as the snake fist Street fighter in the 70s. What happened was he upped his game.
@@cii2 Jackie wasn't a big star in the west until the 90's.
@@cii2jackie wasnt a US star until rumble in the bronx and then exploded after rush hour
Jackie got famous in the states in 96. Mortal Kombat came out in August 95.
@@ActionHero29mid to late 90s.
Robin was a chilled guy, rather you hate him or love him, he was one of my all time favorite actor and Liu kang star, i cant imagine anyone disliking this kind hearted man
In summary, Bey Logan hates Robin Shou and talks for the large majority of the video about anyone BUT Robin Shou.
And can we all agree, Robin had the best voice for the part. He had some of the best yells and screams . That scene when shao Kahn knees him in the back, that painfull groan he let's out, then front flips out of the hold to recover?! Bad ass. He sounded like........a champion of mortal kombat and a protector of earth realm.
I am sooo gonna agree with you!gotta loooveee Robin Shou so much!
Robin Shou has always been the gold standard Liu Kang for me. That being said, I'm not necessarily disappointed in his absence. He did his job well, and the movies will always be there. The games on the other hand... I *really* wish they'd include him as a skin like they did with Cary Tagawa, Linden, Bridgette and Lambert!!!
His the best Liu Kang ever
NRS asked and he politely declined. He just wants to live a private life now.
wack. even bruce or jacky would have said OK... smh. glad his star faded away. the franchise made u relevant robin. smh.
the first MK movie will always be legendary tho. even tho it wasnt gore lmao. still hype. @@azzythehero
@@ssppeeaarrbut he has every right to reject he shouldn't be shamed for wanting privacy, mortal kombat made him a star but he doesn't owe anything to them
@@azzytheheroSource? Coz I seen few saying this, but nobody give proof about it. Did Ed Boon state it? Any NRS staff state it?
The shot of Robin's upper body glistening after he defeats Shang Tsung and stands triumphant observing the spirits floating up belongs in the hall of fame of martial arts movie physique shots. May not be the biggest guy but his pecs looked great.
Better the bruce lee sorry
Bout to make me ACT UP, no homo.
@@leichterKampferboth of you are 🌈
@@QstormtheGod what?
Robin Shou is influential on most of our childhoods. He actually gave a pretty blank slate character like Liu Kang an actual personality. Let's be real, before the movie Liu Kang didn't have anything beyond the generic 'chosen one' plot. The movie gave him an attitude, a sense of humour, and actual stuff to learn so he would grow. I would argue the two original Mortal Kombat movies did more for the franchise than most are willing to admit.
.. but as for why his acting didn't take off? I have to blame his hair. In all of the roles I've seen him in, his best hairdo is technically a mullet.
Bruh...let be real, the time when the movie came out, MK was still in their classic days, the time where there is no animated cutscene in the game yet. You can't judge Liu Kang personality nor any other character at that time since they have no characteristic to show rather than just a simple bio for us to imagine how they were. It was until the 3D era that we finally see how the character true personality been shown (MK4 doesn't count coz that game didn't properly deliver a good animation cutscene standard at that time).
@shawziiz5031 your goofy dude Robin is literally every Liu Kang after they are all based on shous acting and personality even down to looks he is Liu Kang
Hahahaha generic chosen one plot
@@RhynnMediacalled him goofy dude 🤣 😂
His Mortal Kombat is the best piece of the entire MK franchise, he made me like the story more than any of the video games ever did.
isn't Logan the same guy that was accused of sexual misconduct? lol last person to be saying who's good or bad, robin probably knew he was a scum and called him out. If you watch a lot of Robins recent interviews he just didn't like the type cast and decided to just be a dad. He even states that he's been offered roles still but just doesn't accept them cause it's the same. i think hollywood def failed him, cause we all liked him
Of all roles for him to NOT turn down, it's really too bad he didn't turn down Gen in that painfully awful street fighter Chun Li movie.
@@incomeoracle yeah that was bad, he himself wasn’t bad but the movie was. I actually loved him in dead or alive he was hilarious in it
Luckily neither Robin nor I need to hide behind a fake account. I was asked about him, and expressed my honest feelings. Maybe I'm wrong, but there had to be some reason he didn't have a bigger career.
He’ll always be Liu Kang to me. Earthrealms champion
Robin Shou IS live action Liu Kang.
Dont know much about the guy youre talking to, but based on what IVE seen from Robin from interviews and panel appearances etc, He seems like a very nice guy.
I know He and Linden Ashby(Johnny Cage) are still close friends.
that's odd, i had the fortune of meeting and frequently chatting with Robin Shou when he did death race, and found him to be delightful and down to earth
The same can be said about Jet Li. I feel Bey has harshly judged them..
@@GothamKnight84661 i also met jet Li, though very briefly. He was very soft spoken, almost shy
Robin and Jet are reading Bey correctly and are probably uncomfortable in his presence. Bey is not a good guy and a predator but Viking Samurai doesn't mind that.
@@broho2407 Howd you get to that conclusion
Yeah I was blown away too when I saw Mortal Kombat at the theater when I was young. The action and the visuals, and the music was also really great. Robin was fantastic in the role.
Robin Shou also appeared in Death Race (2008) and it’s home video prequels. He also appeared in episodes for The Outer Limits and Cold Case.
I liked Robin Shou a lot, and the talent was real. Unfortunately he made some very bad choices after MK and BHN, and obviously Hollywood is unforgiving.
Bey's point of view is interesting but I find it hard to believe that many people "feel" like Robin is not a nice person.
It's just his face and demeanour. He can't help it, but it doesn't help in that job. I thought he had one TV role in which the director and producer really understood that sort of unpleasantness and raw ambition vibe he gives off, and that was his role in a Highlander TV episode. They really nailed it when they made his character a hopeful type gone bitter.
@@rupertbollywood1190 Robin Shou was never in Highlander, what are you talking about?
@@TimsFoyleHeadgear He was in an episode in one of the TV series of Highlander, with Adrian Paul.
@@rupertbollywood1190 could you name the episode? Or story? I need to check this out
@@TimsFoyleHeadgear I can't remember it. But the bits of the story I remember were that Shou's character was a martial arts student who had recently been made a master, and who ran a martial arts school, who apparently had promise but was tempted by the dark side of bad company and crime. Wiseguy Adrian Paul (the highlander character) smugly goes to him and spars with him, and we get the usual dialogue setting the backstory and history about Shou being the highlander's protege. At the end of the episode, Shou has done evil acts, so he and the highlander fight. The set location for that highlander episode was the American one. Oh, and I remember a plot twist: Shou's character in that episode is also trying for the movies, as he wants to be a martial arts action star.
I really think Robin should have been a bigger star stateside, that dude was dripping with charisma, he could kick ass and was a better actor than he gets credit for.
Robin Shou still did better than most spectators 😂 I'm still a fan of Robin Shou.
Robin Shou is a great marital artists in my opinion. His role in Mortal Kombat was his American break threw mainstream movie. But Robin Shou made some classic moives back in the 90's. Thank you Viking Samurai for making a video on Robin Shou.
Nice video Viking. It's too bad Robin didn't make it bigger in the movie industry. I thought he did a awesome job as Liu Kang. I was ten years old when I saw that movie in the movie theater. I was blown away
Robin Shou always will be Liu Kang and Cary Hirouki-Tagawa always will be Shang Tsung.
And Jhonnys grandpa
I love Mortal kombat movie of 90s when i was a teenager kid. I love Robin shou. Thanks for bringing back my childhood memories bro. With ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ and 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏 respect from India Anirban Nandy.
When I think of Robin Shou, I always think of Jason Scott Lee. Undoubtedly JSL by far had the better career, as he not only portrayed Bruce Lee but he also got to work with Kurt Russell, starred in a high-profile Disney film, and has had roles in other big movies, but they were both young Asian martial arts guys who looked similar and broke out around the same time. And both, in my view, failed to go on to have as big of careers as would be expected considering how popular they were for a time.
It's a shame that Robin really didn't do much and now, judging by his IMDB page, seems to pretty much be retired.
Hollywood rule: Only one Asian male star at a time.
@@jctai100Gotta limit the exposure of non white stars or it'll upset the the geriatrics in power
The 90s were such an amazing time for Martial Arts media
he worked in beverly his ninja perfectly, in contrast to Chris Farley. He could have been used as a villains, or as cold and annoyed characters. He worked in Mortal Kombat because video game characters at the time pretty life less. He has one of the best hair cuts at the time.
When one of the teenage mutant Ninja turtle movies were released in the '90s, he came to one of our karate tournaments did a demonstration. Nicest guy
Jason Scott Lee would be an interesting guest! Hearing him talk about making Dragon the Bruce Lee story and about his film career and martial arts.
he was the perfect Liu Kang down to the looks of the video game
First of all why not have him on so he can defend himself.
Would be a great future guest for sure
Would love to see the complete sparring footage with you and Don Wilson! Even though it's just friendly back and forth I think it would be very entertaining to see. Much respect for the channel and the amazing guests you've been able to host!!
Yeah I want to see that also
Yeah, gotta disagree with Bey logan on his assessment of Robin compared with the other actors. Criminally underrated in my opinion. Misunderstood too apparently, but what ever. Completely agree about Taimak though! He needs to come back to the screen!!!!
Yeah, he seems like hes a bitter hater. Ive never heard anyone whos worked around robin say anything bad let alone the media badmouth him either. Cant say the same about JCVD or Jackie chan
Another baffling thing, is how Jeff Speakman came out in film with everything that Van Damme and Segal had, but it didn't go as far. I still remember the mid 90's and my friend and I talking about him ripping up that couch with those sticks. We even had sticks and a rig setup on his mom's clothesline to practice with sticks because of him.
Not sure if u seen this ruclips.net/video/srXIPmnI8mc/видео.html
Jeff speakman did movie call perfect weapon it was good.
Perfect Weapon is absolute fire man.
Funny how this just popped in my feed when I was thinking about him yesterday. Great timing.
Hope you enjoyed it!
VS. Your content gets better and better. You guest description of JKD is spot on. He has the emotional connection. I watched your interview with his son. His son has really good head on his shoulder. That shows me that JKD was a good father and installed good values in his son. Keep up the good work in action film genre. Would love the day you get Dolf L. Thanks.
Robin shou's strength as an actor(from watching Mortal kombat 95', Mortal Kombat Anihilation, Beverly hills Ninja, Street Fighter: Legend of Chun Li) is his earnest sincerity, of performance. There's like this quiet intensity, similar to Michael Keaton, that shou possesses and it's a shame he didn't have roles that worked towards his strengths as an actor, besides purely action stuff. some of the scripts shou choose really didn't do him any favors in terms of story. Choosing/finding good scripts seems to be an underrated, but critical, skill for actors to cultivate.
What? He can’t act. Comparing him to Keaton is a wild reach
I always wanted Phillip Rhee to play Lui Kang. He actually does Liu Kang's cartwheel kick fatality from the first MK in Best of the Best 2. Haha
Thank you so much for uploading this video. I asked you if you can talk about Robin Shou and you did, I loved it. Mortal Kombat 1995 is a winner 🏆
Glad you enjoyed it!
This dude should have been bigger. I hate movies/hollywood for not making him bigger.
A well-made video plus editing and interview
He was great. Thought he'd have been a bigger star. Looking forward to this video 😊
Hey buddy, thanks for doing a video on Robin. He's one of my favorite guys. I loved him as Lui kang and he was perfect I'm still a fan to this day. Thanks for putting this out buddy. Let's talk soon.
Now getting into the video. Wow Samurai. You’re quintessential. Please continue this series. There are so many action/kung fu stars I wonder about. Keep up the good work senpai.
Will definitely continue this series!
He was very good in the Mortal Kombat movie, but it's all I really know him for.
Great physique and impressive skills. Sadly Brandon Lee had died before Mortal Kombat. They would have been a fantastic duo.
Really sorry that Robin Shou was not able to have the career that other martial artists turned actors did. That said, I still enjoy Mortal Kombat (1995) and would really like to see more of Robin's film work from Hong Kong. Just got his movie Red Trousers: The Legend Of The Hong Kong stuntmen on Region 2 DVD. Really looking forward to seeing this, since to my knowledge it never got a release on home video in the USA.
It’s a shame that after Annhialation his career plummeted… that makes no sense to me, because everyone KNEW his capabilities as his talent that he had with his former movies: Mk1, Beverly Hills Ninja (I mean COME ON!!) this man was very talented!!
Even in MK2, it wasn’t HIS role that killed the movie, he was the only character who (in my mind) actually played it seriously and really tried! Whoever played Shao Khan could have done much better, and the Jax and Sonya dynamic could have been portrayed by better actors too… but what I think really messed people up (besides the terrible effects) was the fact they killed JonnyCage within the first 10 minutes…
Johnny Cage was the perfect buddy character for Liu Kang. he’s sort of a Han Solo type character. the video games also killed him off in the 3rd game.
Beverly Hills Ninja still crushes. Damn I miss you Chris Farley.
Robin Shou wasn't even considered for being in MK11 as a classic skin for Liu Kang. Lindin Ashby, Christopher Lambert. Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as the canonical Shang Tsung. That's bad when you're main hero from the movie and you're not even considered
He was on a video with Lindin Ashby and they were playing the MK11 skins or at least talking about them and the original movie. Maybe Robin didn't give them his permission to use his likeness?
Robin Shou got knocked into The Pit by Sub-Zero.
Love the interviews and the clips, Viking!
Great video thanks!!!!
I remember seeing Robin Shou in Death Race and I couldn’t believe it was him.
His signature locks were gone.
Robin Shou and Philip Rhee had incredible physiques. The only MK film that exists for me is MK95. I never watched Annihilation or the reboot.
The first film is good.
I also watched the live action TV series and enjoyed it at the time.
Great video!!!
Was literally wondering about him a couple weeks ago!
What happpened to Robin Shou?
An abbreviation and a word: MK Annihilation. That movie was horrible. We all saw it because it was MK, but it took a major step backwards from the first film and everybody cooled on Robin. However, having seen him recently, when the last film was coming out, give an interview, I can say with confidence that he seems very happy and satisfied with how his life turned out. And I disagree with the guy saying Robin wasn’t like-able, or implying it rather, because I definitely have always felt like Robin was a good dude naturally.
Honestly I think the thing that probably hurt him the most is where action films were at during the time and more quite cracking the code yet and typecasting. Looking at racist white Hollywood many Asian actors really didn’t have many opportunities during the time and even now still if they aren’t being typecast as martial artists or fetishized(in the case of Asian women)
Great conversation
Well put together 🔥
I loved Robin in MK. I dont know what he's like to work with but I can garauntee you that every single mk fan prefers robin to every other liu kang that has existed or will ever exist in the same way that Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa was immortalized in games and as an actor. He is Shang forever. Flawless victory
Excellent Point about Capturing the Tone. Which is where most later sequels or sequels without the same director can leave the fan base feeling let down. I had as high a Hope for Robin Shou as anybody. But for bad or good, His career here has been relegated to smaller roles or more behind the scenes. And don’t even get Me started on Taimak. That’s a whole other thread altogether.
No way we've got the same birthday 😂
That caught me off guard 😅
I've just booked in to meet this guy at a Comic Con in October lol
I hung out with Taimak for a weekend here in Miami. My friend was trying to write a script for the Last Dragon 2 with him, would have focused on his daughter inheriting the glow.
I think Robin Shou as Liu kang is a super cool character. I love his style with the bo and his look as an action star.
Bro Beverly Hills Ninja was HILARIOUS 😂😂😂
Robin Shou was great in films...great moves & presence!👍🏼💫
I think that Robin Shou's career was hampered by 2 different factors. The first was that Hollywood was moving away from martial arts movies. This meant that Robin had to get roles based on his previous acting roles. The movie that really showcased his acting ability was Beverly Hills Ninja. While it proved he could do serious comedy he refuse to embrace that. The last movie Robin made for the theaters was Death Race playing 14k. There were never, the roles that showcased that he could be a versatile actor outside of his martial arts ability and physical appearance. Even Robin Williams ventured into serious acting roles, like with Good Will Hunting, The Final Cut, and One Hour Photo. While a bit off-topic I think that Good Morning Vietnam was kind of the crossover for Williams. Beverly Hills Ninja could have been one for Robin Shou if he pursued the right roles.
Good points
Robin shou is liu kang, downfall or not you’ll never find another liu kang like robin shou.
The fact he was a stuntman explains the extremely sick moves in MK and MK Annihilation.
Saw a video where Shou and Ashbey played the Mortal Kombat arcade game while being interviewed about their roles in the movie. Seemed like the nicest guys and have been friends since acting in that movie.
Yo, Russell Wong, Phillip Rhee, Sho Kosugi and Don the Dragon Wilson are all Greats....💪🏾💪🏾💪🏾
Robin Shou is the one and only Liu Kang. He's also one of the only guys that can keep up with Donnie Yen in the final fight of Tiger Cage 2 even if the fight was short. They're both fast. Oh and what I know is that Robin is directing a movie.
Loved him in his films, as an actor in training, I pray to keep a spirit of humility and humbleness….just a blessing to work with other creatives. Any day can be a last day in the business
I remember the bicycle kick in the game🎉🎉🎉🎉
Thanks vicking for bringing back the memories 🎉🎉🎉
That dude brought liu kang life
I remember in 1993, he used to come to the gym I worked in, in Hong Kong and supply workout gloves to our gym...I thought he was really tall like 6 ft 2 and and a really nice guy. I heard he was an actor...I think he had already made Mortal Combat already at that point.
I was disappointed we didn't get him in MK with movie shang tsung. That duo was the match I needed.
Another great episode, thx
Glad you enjoyed it
I loved him in mortal kombat I don’t think he did poorly I blame the directors and the writers
He's so talented as a person an martial artist
He will always be the one and only Liu Kang, and always liked him.
Mortal Kombat movie would have been so much better IF Brandon Lee was Liu Kang, Cynthia Rothrock was Sonya Blade and Jean Claude Van Damme was Johnny Cage. It sadly never happened.
Robin Shou will always be the REAL LIFE Liu Kang to me. Period. 💯💪🏼💪🏼
Robin as Liu Kang and Cary as Shang Tsung was literally *perfect* casting. Its a damn shame the two weren't in more stuff together.
That being said, considering what Hollywood is like, can't really blame the former from just living a more private life away from the fame.
Great interview. I'm subscribed ❤
Welcome aboard!
I didn't see much of Robin, but from the interview, he seemed like a pretty chill guy.