Mark Dacascos

Mark Dacascos
Mark Dacascos in 2011
Born Mark Alan Dacascos
(1964-02-26) February 26, 1964
Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
Other names Marc Dacascos
The Chairman
Alma mater Portland State University
Occupation Actor, martial artist, television personality
Years active 1985–present
Spouse(s) Julie Condra (1998–present)
Children 3
Website www.dacascos.com

Mark Alan Dacascos (born February 26, 1964) is an American actor and martial artist.[1] He won numerous karate and various styles of kung fu championships between the ages of 7 and 18. Dacascos is perhaps best known for his roles as Mani in the French film Brotherhood of the Wolf, Toby Wong in the 1997 film Drive, and Ling in the 2003 film Cradle 2 the Grave.

Beginning in January 2005, Dacascos has portrayed the Chairman on Food Network's television series Iron Chef America. This role was previously played by Takeshi Kaga in the original Japanese Iron Chef, and Dacascos' character is presented as Kaga's nephew, though the actors are not related. Some of his other roles include the recurring character of Wo Fat on the CBS series Hawaii Five-0; Kung Lao in the web series Mortal Kombat: Legacy; Eric Draven in The Crow: Stairway to Heaven; Eubulon, the Advent Master in Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight, and the lead role of Crying Freeman in the film of the same name.

Dacascos competed in season 9 of Dancing with the Stars.[2][3]

Biography

Dacascos' father, Al Dacascos, is from Hawaii and is a martial arts instructor of Filipino, Spanish, and Han Chinese ancestry. His biological mother, Moriko McVey-Murray, is of Irish and Japanese ancestry. In the History Channel presentation "Samurai", Dacascos revealed that many members of the Japanese side of his mother's family were killed in the bombing of Hiroshima. Mark's stepmother is award-winning martial artist Malia Bernal. Dacascos attended Los Angeles Valley College and was on its 1983-1984 gymnastics team, coached by Gary Honjio. He also attended Portland State University in Portland, Oregon. Dacascos is proficient in his father's style of martial arts, Wun Hop Kuen Do. He has studied Muay Thai with Kru Puk, Capoeira with Mestre Amen Santo, and Wushu with Coaches Eric and Debbie Chen, though he self-admittedly is still very much a beginner/intermediate student in those arts.[1]

Personal life

He is married to actress Julie Condra, who starred with him in Crying Freeman. They have three children: two sons and a daughter.[4] Mark has five siblings: two brothers and three sisters.

Career

Dacascos in a production still taken during filming of a deleted scene in Wayne Wang's film Dim Sum:A Little Bit of Heart in 1983

Dacascos became an actor after being discovered walking down the street in San Francisco's Chinatown by Chris Lee (at that time, assistant director) and Rexall Chin (hairstylist) for director Wayne Wang. Though his first scenes ended up on the cutting room floor, he went on to establish a film and television career primarily playing martial artists. He was originally set to play as the Red Ranger, Victor Lee in Bio-Man produced by Haim Saban which never got picked up but would later evolve into Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.[5]

His breakout role was in the 1993 film Only the Strong, in which he played Louis, a Capoeira master who takes a high school's potential failures and turns their lives around by teaching them the Brazilian martial art based on the West African martial art brought by slaves. In the following year, Dacascos co-starred with Party of Five's Scott Wolf as Jimmy and Billy Lee, respectively, in the movie, based on the video game, Double Dragon.

He plays the role of the Chairman of Iron Chef America and Iron Chef Australia. In the series' backstory he is the nephew of the original Iron Chef Chairman, Takeshi Kaga; the actors hold no relation in real life.

He has been featured in many action films such as Brotherhood of the Wolf, Crying Freeman and Cradle 2 the Grave, in which he squared off against Jet Li. He also performed in three video games: voice acting in Stranglehold, live acting in Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom and digitally recreating The Chairman in the Iron Chef America: Supreme Cuisine video game for Wii.

Dacascos was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2002 for his role in Brotherhood of the Wolf.[6] He also appeared in the television series The Crow: Stairway to Heaven, which was a follow-up to the 1994 film The Crow. He also appears in the children's television show, Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight, where he portrays Eubulon, also known as the Advent Master, mentor of the Kamen Riders and creator of the Advent Decks.

Dacascos plays the recurring role of Wo Fat on the CBS series, Hawaii Five-0. He portrayed Kung Lao in the second season of the YouTube series Mortal Kombat: Legacy.[7] He had a recurring role in the third season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as Mr. Giyera, an Inhuman servant of Hydra who can manipulate inanimate objects.

In August 2018, it was announced that Dacascos would star in a recurring role in the Netflix series, Wu Assassins.[8]

Filmography

Dacascos (center) in a deleted scene from Dim Sum

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1985Dim Sum: A Little Bit of HeartN/ADeleted scenes
1990Angel TownStoner Driver
1991Dead On The MoneyMartial Arts MasterTelevision film
1992American SamuraiKenjiro Sanga
1993Only The StrongLouis Stevens
1993RoostersFilipino's SonCameo
1994Dragstrip GirlJohnny RamirezTelevision film
1994Double DragonJimmy Lee
1995Deadly PastLeo
1995Kickboxer 5: The RedemptionMatt Reeves
1995Crying FreemanYo Hinomura/Freeman
1996The Island of Dr. MoreauLo-Mai
1996SabotageMichael Bishop
1997DriveToby Wong
1997SanctuaryLuke Kovak
1997DNADr. Ash Mattley
1997DeathlineMerrick
1998Boogie BoyJesse Page
1998No Code of ConductPaul DeLucca
1999The BaseMaj. John Murphy / Cpl. John Dalton
2000China Strike ForceTony Lau
2001Brotherhood of the WolfMani
2001The Perfect HusbandJ.T. Dillon
2002ScorcherRyan Beckett
2003Cradle 2 the GraveLing
2005Solar AttackLucas FosterTelevision film
2005Final ApproachKato
2006Only the BraveSteve "Zaki" Senzaki
2006The Hunt for Eagle OneLt. Matt DanielsDirect-to-video
2006The Hunt for Eagle One: Crash PointDirect-to-video
2006NomadSharish
2007Code Name: The CleanerEric Hauck
2007Alien AgentRykker
2007I Am OmegaRenchard
2008Gideon FallsSet
2009Serbian ScarsPeter Olsen Obilich
2010Shadows in ParadiseLt. Max Forrester
2010Secret of the Sultan
2011The Lost Medallion: The Adventures of Billy StoneCobra
2014Roger Corman's Operation RogueCapt. Max Randall
2014The Extendables[9]Cameo
2016Showdown in ManilaMatthew WellsAlso director
2017Maximum ImpactTony Lin
2019John Wick 3: ParabellumZero

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1986–97General HospitalPolice Cadet4 episodes
1990Doogie Howser, MDJulianEpisode: "The Grass Ain't Always Greener"
1990The FlashOsakuEpisode: "Child's Play"
1990New DragnetKevin ChowEpisode: "Queen of Hearts"
1994Tales from the CryptFelix JohnsonEpisode: "The Pit"
1995One West WaikikiMokuEpisode: "Rest in Peace"
1998–99The Crow: Stairway to HeavenEric Draven22 episodes
1999Martial LawSteven GarthEpisode: "Ninety Million Reasons to Die"
2002CSI: Crime Scene InvestigationAnandaEpisode: "Felonious Monk"
2004–14Iron Chef America: The SeriesThe Chairman236 episodes
2007–08Stargate AtlantisTyre2 episodes
2007–12The Next Iron ChefThe Chairman16 episodes
2008The Legend of Bruce LeeThai Boxer[10]3 episodes
2008The MiddlemanSensei PingEpisode: "The Sino-Mexican Revelation"
2009Kamen Rider: Dragon KnightEubulon / Advent Master9 episodes
2009Dancing with the StarsHimself7 episodes
2010–14, 2018Hawaii Five-0Wo Fat16 episodes
2014Chicago P.D.Jimmy ShiEpisode: "Different Mistakes"
2015–16Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.Giyera[11]11 episodes
2016LuciferRolf Van ZandtEpisode: "Weaponizer"
2019Wu AssassinsRecurring role[12]

Web

Year Title Role Notes
2013 Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kung Lao 4 episodes

Awards

YearResultAwardCategoryWork
2002NominatedSaturn AwardBest Supporting ActorBrotherhood of the Wolf

References

  1. 1 2 "Discovering the Samurai Within". Inside Kung Fu. Archived from the original on 2010-05-09. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
  2. ↑ "Dancing With The Stars Season 9 Cast". Archived from the original on 2009-08-19.
  3. ↑ Joyce Eng (17 August 2009). "Dancing with the Stars 2009 Season 9 Cast Revealed!". TVGuide.com. Archived from the original on 18 August 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-17.
  4. ↑ "Mark Dacasco Official Facebook Page". Facebook. Facebook. Archived from the original on 13 April 2016. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  5. ↑ "Blackjack – Die Strategie fürs Spielen im Online Casino!". www.markdacascos.de. Archived from the original on 24 May 2008. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  6. ↑ "Little pictures have a big year", Los Angeles Times, 3 January 2003
  7. ↑ "Web Series 'Mortal Kombat: Legacy 2′ Hitting February 17th". Latino Review. Archived from the original on 2012-12-06. Retrieved 2012-12-03.
  8. ↑ Petski, Denise (15 August 2018). "'Wu Assassins': JuJu Chan & Mark Dacascos To Recur In Netflix Martial Arts Drama". Deadline. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  9. ↑ Brian Thompson (22 October 2013). "THE EXTENDABLES Trailer". Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2018 – via YouTube.
  10. ↑ "Mark Dacascos Interview". Martial Arts Unlimited. Archived from the original on 2010-04-17. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
  11. ↑ Petski, Denise (6 Nov 2015). "Marvel's 'Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.' Casts Mark Dacascos In Recurring Role". Archived from the original on 6 November 2015. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  12. ↑ Petski, Denise (15 August 2018). "'Wu Assassins': JuJu Chan & Mark Dacascos To Recur In Netflix Martial Arts Drama". Deadline. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
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