The long-awaited reboot of the 1995 fantasy action movie Mortal Kombat is just around the corner and we the fans couldn't be more excited about it. After more than 25 years we'll finally be able to see Liu Kang, Scorpion, Sub-Zero, and Kitana on the big screen again — if and where the pandemic allows that, of course.
Today’s list takes a look at the movie's diverse and very talented cast, how their careers started, and what they have done so far. And there is no doubt that starring in Mortal Kombat will give them even more opportunities in the future.
10 Lewis Tan Started Off His Career As A Stunt Performer
Lewis Tan is a British actor, who kicked off his acting career by doing stunts in the 2006 action movie The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. Since then, his career has been in steady incline — after getting a role in Netflix's Iron Fist, and acting alongside Gerard Butler in Den of Thieves, Lan starred in the AMC series Into the Badlands.
And even though he's evolved beyond doing stunts — thanks to supporting roles in movies such as Hangover 3 and Olympus Has Fallen — Lewis Tan still insists on doing stunts himself on movie sets.
9 Jessica McNamee's First Acting Gig Was On A Soap Opera
Jessica McNamee is an Australian actress who started off her career back in 2007 when she landed a role in the Australian soap opera Home and Away. McNamee, who is playing Sonya Blade in the upcoming Mortal Kombat movie, became known to the international audience thanks to her roles in movies such as The Vow and Battle of the Sexes.
8 Josh Lawson Studied Improvisation Techniques in LA Theatres
Josh Lawson is yet another actor from Down Under who is set to appear in Mortal Kombat. After graduating from the National Institute of Dramatic Art back in 2001, Lawson — who is mostly known for his work on the Showtime sitcom House of Lies — went to Los Angeles where he had spent a year studying improvisation at LA's improv theatres and comedy troupes such as The Groundlings and ACME Comedy Theatre.
7 Tadanobu Asano Was Married To J-Pop singer Chara
Tadanobu Asano, who is set to play god Raiden in Mortal Kombat, is a Japanese actor who you might recognize as an Asgardian warrior Hogun from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. His other notable work includes movies such as Battleship, 47 Ronin, and Midway. What many people don't know about Asano is that he was married to the Japanese pop singer Chara, who he met on the set of the 1996 Japanese movie Picnic. The two announced their divorce in 2009.
6 Laura Brent Rose To International Fame After Doing 'The Chronicles of Narnia'
Australian actress Laura Brent — who is starring as Allison Young in Mortal Kombat — made her movie debut back in 2010 when she was cast as Lilliandil in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Since Narnia, Laura Brent had several minor roles in different movies and TV series, so being cast in the long-await remake of Mortal Kombat is another opportunity for the young actress to reignite her career spark.
5 Mehcad Brooks Used To Model Underwear for Calvin Klein
Mehcad Brooks is an American actor whose most notable roles have been in ABC's Desperate Housewives and The CW's Supergirl, where he played Matthew Applewhite and James Olsen, respectively.
What many people don't know about Brooks is that he used to be an underwear model for Calvin Klein. When talking to The Cut, Brooks said that he doesn't find it easy to be sexy during photo shoots. He also shared how his father had advised him to wear boxers instead of briefs in his ad photos "because they are less revealing."
4 Ludi Lin Learned Cantonese In 3 Months
Chinese-born Canadian actor Ludi Lin gained fame after being cast as Zack Taylor in the 2017 Power Rangers movie. His other notable work was in Aquaman and Netflix's sci-fi anthology series Black Mirror. Lin is English, Mandarin, and Cantonese. The young actor said that it took him only 3 months to learn Cantonese. "I learned to speak Cantonese in 3 months mainly to have something to say back to the kids that teased me in Hong Kong," revealed Lin to JustJared.
3 Chin Han Was Named One of Asia's 25 Greatest Actors Ever
Chin Han is a Singaporean stage, movie, and TV actor who got his big break in Hollywood back in 2005 after being in the drama movie 3 Needles. He would later appear in Hollywood blockbusters such as The Dark Knight, 2012, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Because of his decades-long career and all the acting projects he's done, Han was named by CNNGo as one of Asia's 25 greatest actors of all time.
2 Joe Taslim Was A Member Of Indonesia's National Judo Team
Joe Taslim is an Indonesian-born Chinese actor who is yet to have his big Hollywood break — hopefully, it will be with Mortal Kombat where he'll play one of the fan-favorite characters, Sub-Zero. Before he started doing acting, Taslim was a martial artist. He was a member of Indonesia's national judo team for more than 10 years.
1 Hiroyuki Sanada's First Big Hollywood Movie Was 'The Last Samurai'
Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada is set to play another fan-favorite character, Scorpion, in the upcoming Mortal Kombat movie. Even though he has worked in Asia throughout most of his acting career, this is not Sanada's first Hollywood movie. He actually made his debut in Hollywood back in 2003 when he appeared in The Last Samurai, alongside Tom Cruise.