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Filipino Action Stars in the U.S. Originally Published in FMA Digest 2005 Judging from the title, you are probably thinking, this should be a short list. Okay, so what we will do is play loose with definitions a little bit. Some will not be full-blooded Filipinos, but as long as they have one drop of adobo in their blood, they qualify. Some will not be exactly household names, but as long as they have enough credits for a filmography, to me they are stars. Predictably, most of them have appeared in the martial arts genre’. A few are legitimate Hollywood action stars. Mark Dacascos Hawaiian Mark Dacascos is a world-renowned martial artist, winning countless kung fu and karate championships in the early 1980’s. His father, Al Dacascos, is a martial arts instructor of Filipino, Spanish and Chinese ancestry, while his mother Moriko McVey is of Irish and Japanese ancestry. Being a poi-dog (Hawaiian for mixed mutt) with ambiguous good looks has allowed him to play characters of different nationalities. He first got noticed with the television series The Crow:
Stairway to Heaven (1998) and has now appeared in numerous movies including Only the Strong (1993), Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001) and Cradle 2 the Grave (2003) where he fought Jet Li. He has just finished filming The Nomad (2004) where he plays Sharish, a leader of a large warrior tribe. And to further demonstrate his versatility, Mark makes his debut in 2005 as the host of Iron Chef America, a cooking show on the Food Network.
Dan Inosanto
Dan Inosanto is the keeper of the flame for Bruce Lee’s jeet kune do and a FMA living legend, known as the founder of Inosanto Kali. As for his cinematic accomplishments, Guro Dan, as he is informally called, is most known for his on-screen duel with Bruce Lee in Game of Death. In most of his other films, Dan plays the menacing Oriental heavy, for example, as a balisong wielder in Sharky’s Machine (1981), as Hatchet Man in Big Trouble in Little China (1986), and as Sticks in Out for Justice (1991).
Tia Carrere
Born Althea Janairo in Honolulu, Hawaii, exotic-looking Tia Carrere (also spelled Carrera) is part Filipino, part Chinese, and part Spanish. She has starred in both action movies as well as blockbuster comedies. Her action movies include Showdown in Little Tokyo with Brandon Lee, True Lies with Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Rising Sun with Sean Connery, and her comedies include the cult classic Wayne’s World 1 and 2 with Mike Myers. She has appeared in Playboy magazine and is also a singer. You might recognize her from her TV series, Relic Hunter (1999).
Diana Inosanto
Diana Inosanto is the daughter of Guro Dan Inosanto. Understandably, she was born into the martial arts and quickly learned her father’s martial arts systems. With her dark good looks and lithe, athletic figure, she has had a flourishing acting career, starting with the hit TV series Moonlighting with Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd. Now married to Ron Balicki who also works in the entertainment field as a stunt and fight choreographer, they have teamed up together to include the production side of entertainment as well as martial arts. She has also worked as a stuntwoman in a number of action movies and martial arts films. Her latest movie is The Vault (2004).
Lou Diamond Philips is a recognized name in Hollywood, and has been in several blockbusters, including La Bamba and Young Guns I and II. He is half-Filipino and was actually born in the Philippines. He owes his good looks to the Cherokee Indian, Hispanic, Hawaiian and Scottish-Irish as well as Filipino blood that run in his veins. He is loved by the Filipino community, as he is a staunch supporter of Filipino World War II veterans, appearing before the Veterans Affairs Committee of the U.S. Congress asking for the passage of the Filipino Veterans Equity Act, which would restore the benefits taken away from them in 1946. His father, stepfather and five uncles served in the U.S. Navy.
Lexa Doig Alexandra “Lexa” Doig was born in Toronto, Canada to Filipino mother Gloria and English-Scottish father David. Her first significant role was in William Shatner’s series TekWar. She then appeared in many projects in both the big and small screen before landing a lead role in the movie Jason X (2001), which Lexa Doig in the TV series
Von Flores
Von Flores (extreme left)
Most of you probably remember Ernie Reyes, Jr. as a young martial arts child actor in such movies as Red Sonja, Teen-age Mutant Ninja Turtles and Surf Ninjas. Well, Ernie Reyes, Jr. is grown up now—as a martial artist and as a serious actor. I saw his first full-contact Muay-Thai fight in San Jose, which he won. He continues to work in movies, and his latest cinematic works include roles in Rush Hour 2 (2001) and The Rundown (2003) where he provides the exciting, bruising fight scenes with The Rock.
Most of you probably know Ernie Reyes, Sr. as the father of Ernie Reyes, Jr. Out of paternal pride, he might admit that that is his greatest achievement but his other accomplishments are impressive as well. He is a leading Taekwondo exponent in the United States, credited with the formation of the West Coast Demo team and the Next Generation demo team and revolutionizing the whole demo scene nationwide. He began work in the movie industry as a fight choreographer, eventually working both as an actor, stuntman and action choreographer for many of Ernie Jr. films. From bit players to martial arts heavies to Hollywood stars, Filipinos have added to the ethnic landscape of mainstream television and movieland. I hope you enjoyed meeting or knowing a little bit more about a few of them. If you or anybody you know is poised or on the threshold of Hollywood stardom, please let me know.
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was the 10th installment in the Friday the 13th series. Not long afterwards, she captured the title role in Gene Roddenberry’s Andromeda.
Von Flores is now in his fifth season playing FBI agent Ronald Sandoval in Gene Roddenberry’s Earth: Final Conflict. He was born and raised in the Philippines and went to school and started acting in Canada. Flores has enjoyed leading roles in a number of television productions, including TV movies. He has also appeared in feature films.
“The Ultimate Fight”
