10 Martial Arts Actors Who Deserve More Recognition

2) Mark Dacascos

This guy needs no introduction as he is known as a legend throughout martial arts circles. He helped usher in the martial arts craze of the 90s and stood alongside the greats of this era with a body of work that is considered to be stellar. He twirled, flipped, somersaulted, kicked and lightning punched his way through many villains and attached a wonderful acting performance each and every time.

Hawaiian born Mark Dacascos always wowed me when I was younger, he has talent that many could only wish for. He headlined a string of genre favourites including the Capoeira centered Only The Strong, the manga-adapted Crying Freeman, and the high impact action packed/buddy film Drive, which is considered by many fans and critics alike to be his absolute best.

Unfortunately, very few of his films have been recognized on a large scale and he unfairly hasn’t enjoyed the level of status that many of his peers have attained. He plats both villains and heroes, which avoids him from being typecast, and he appears to really give 100% in everything he undertakes. He even took on the role that Brandon Lee immortalized in The Crow, as he played ill-fated rockstar Eric Draven in the short-lived TV series The Crow: Stairway To Heaven. While the series was canned after only one season, Mark Dacascos brought gravitas and did justice to a role that by all rights could’ve been criticized greatly just for simply not being left alone after Brandon Lee’s passing.

In the new millennium, Dacascos has appeared in some high profile projects, including the acclaimed French period piece/action horror film Brotherhood Of The Wolf, taking on Jet Li in Cradle 2 The Grave, and regularly appearing as The Chairman on Iron Chef America. He also has a villainous recurring role on the action series Hawaii Five-O and has resurged in the martial arts world with landing the role of Shaolin monk Kung Lao in the second season of the hugely successful web series Mortal Kombat: Legacy. While he is popular worldwide, I still think Mark Dacascos should’ve been catapulted into the greatest action star category long ago.