Mark Dacascos
American actor and fight choreographer, son of Al Dacascos, founder of the Wun Hop Kuen Do style, known for Only the Strong and Crying Freeman.
Quick Facts
United StatesBiography
Mark Dacascos is an American actor and fight choreographer. He was born on 26 February 1964 in Honolulu, Hawaii. He spent part of his childhood in Hamburg, Germany, where he learned German. As a child he was inspired to take up martial arts by films starring Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee.
His father, Al Dacascos, earned a black belt in kajukenbo at the age of eighteen under Sid Asunción, went on to train under Adriano Emperado, and in 1969 founded the Wun Hop Kuen Do style, a combination of Chinese and Filipino martial arts within the kajukenbo system. He won more than 200 tournaments and reached 8th-degree black belt. Mark grew up in his father's style from childhood and holds a 4th-degree black belt in it. He also studied Muay Thai, capoeira under Amen Santa, and wushu, and was a member of the gymnastics team at Los Angeles Valley College. He ended his competitive career on the European martial arts circuit undefeated in both forms and sparring.
He made his film debut in the action film Only the Strong (1993). In 1995 he played the lead role in Crying Freeman. He also took on fight roles in Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001, as Mani), Cradle 2 the Grave (2003, as the villain Ling alongside Jet Li) and Showdown in Manila (2016, as Matthew Wells), which he also directed and produced. In 2019 he appeared in John Wick: Chapter 3. Since 2005 he has hosted Iron Chef America as "The Chairman".
In 2023 he was inducted into the Martial Arts History Museum's hall of fame, where his father had already been inducted in 1999.
Associated Martial Arts
An Afro-Brazilian art on the border of fight and dance. Two players play in a circle (roda) to singing and berimbau music, the technique rests on ginga, kicks and dodges.
Kung FuNotable figure→A collective term for the Chinese martial arts, not a single style. It includes sport wushu (taolu and sanda) and traditional schools. It has no founder, and Bodhidharma is a legend.
Filmography
A screen role does not mean the person actually practises the art — that is listed above.