1) Scott Adkins
Ask anyone who they think is worthy of carrying the torch of martial arts films from the old school guys who are starting to slow down, and the answer will be time and time again our number one contender, Scott Adkins. This man is a true marvel, he has very strong acting abilities along with the ability to perform any acrobatic and martial arts move in existence.
His first appearance in a full length feature was in the little known Chinese-produced Extreme Challenge, followed shortly after by an appearance in Jackie Chan’s The Accidental Spy. He had a substantially meatier role in Tsui Hark’s ill-received sequel Black Mask 2: City Of Masks and while the movie may have not been all it could be, his performance was certainly the one that stood out, and he got to mix it up with rising martial arts star Andy On under Yuen Wo-Ping’s masterful fight direction.
Showing off his incredible Tae Kwon Do and Kickboxing skills in each film, Scott then hooked up with fan-favourite action director Isaac Florentine for the low-budgeted Special Forces and he hasn’t looked back since. He would go on to collaborate again with Florentine many times over and leave his mark on the action world with his signature role as Russian prisoner and self-professed ‘most complete fighter in the world’ Yuri Boyka in the awesome sequels Undisputed 2: Last Man Standing and Undisputed 3: Redemption.
Now, he is well and truly hitting his stride, having appeared in The Expendables 2 alongside, well, everyone, and in the same year he pulled out all stops to take on both Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren in Universal Soldier: Day Of Reckoning.
With Ninja: Shadow Of A Tear and Green Street Hooligans 3: Never Back Down due for release, Scott Adkins is here, and he is here to stay. Why oh why did it take Hollywood so darn long to take notice?
I can already think of another half a dozen contenders that didn’t make the list, so lay it on me, who did I miss that you think should’ve made it? Do you agree with the choices? Leave a comment below.
