Issue 051
June 2009
The film business operates in the creative sphere, but first and foremost it is a business. The fact that producers are falling over themselves to cast fighters is testament to the current popularity of MMA.
Later this year, the long-awaited Tekken movie will finally hit the cinemas. The cast includes unbeaten Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le and UFC prospect Roger Huerta. Although it may not be surprising that a film based on a martial arts video game has recruited two of the hottest properties in MMA, the career plans of Le and El Matador have raised a few eyebrows. Both have stated that they intend to make acting rather than fighting their main priority in the foreseeable future. Cung Le has already completed a major role in the sci-fi thriller Pandorum alongside Dennis Quaid, and Huerta has turned his back on a five-fight UFC contract to actively pursue opportunities in acting and modeling.
This is not without precedent. Over the past few years, Randy Couture has spent far more time on the silver screen than in the Octagon. With stars such as GSP, Chuck Liddell and Rich Franklin also getting in on the act, the number of fighters breaking into the movies is remarkable. So what’s the story behind the Hollywood / MMA love-in?
You can count the number of sports stars who have crossed over to become successful actors on a leper’s hand. Michael Jordan was the most famous face on the planet when he made Space Jam. The film was a huge commercial success but, as he was just being himself in a basketball game with Bugs Bunny, it doesn’t really count. Star NFL running back, OJ Simpson, had a steady (though unspectacular) acting career until he had a spot of bother in his personal life. When Manchester United legend Eric Cantona took early retirement to become a thespian, he must have had great expectations. As yet they remain unfulfilled.
The evidence suggests that crossover stars do not necessarily bring their original audience with them. People who went to Johnny Weissmuller’s Tarzan films in the ‘30s were attracted by his ability to swing through the trees and talk to elephants, not his Olympic swimming medals. To make it in the movies, you need to bring something extra to the table.
Prizefighters and showbiz have been drawn to each other throughout history. Jack Dempsey, heavyweight champion during the movie explosion of the Roaring Twenties, did not defend his title for three years. Instead, he headed to Hollywood with his actress wife, Estelle Taylor, and made a dozen films while the leading contenders kicked their heels. In 1952, Sugar Ray Robinson retired from boxing after unsuccessfully challenging for the light heavyweight title. The sublime mover put his skills to good use and went on a tour as a dancer – earning $15,000 a week. He returned to the ring in 1954 and boxed for another 11 years, regaining the world middleweight title on three separate occasions. When he hung up his gloves for good, Robinson had parts in movies alongside Frank Sinatra, Marlon Brando and Richard Burton. Former British champion and world-title challenger, Gary Stretch starred in Alexander and the acclaimed British film, Dead Man’s Shoes.
The most extraordinary example of a pugilist turned actor in recent years was the case of Antonio Tarver. Light heavy Tarver took time out from his career to bulk up by 40lb to play Mason ‘The Line’ Dixon in the last Rocky film. Only fight fans remember his victories over Roy Jones Jr; millions the world over know him as Rocky Balboa’s final opponent.
Tarver reclaimed a share of the 175 lb world title when he outclassed Clinton Woods last year.
These are only a few examples of the army of boxers who have found their way in front of a camera. From ‘Two Ton’ Tony Galento in On the Waterfront to Steve Collins in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, they outnumber the representatives of others sports overwhelmingly. MMA shares many common traits with boxing, including a desire among its participants to get on camera.
There are clear parallels between the life of an actor and the life of a prize fighter. Fighters are required to play exaggerated versions of themselves in the build-up to a bout to create hype. Most of the scripted slights and boasts are aimed at selling tickets, but some trash is intended to sow genuine seeds of doubt in the opponent’s mind. These extended recitals lead to the most theatrical moment in any sport: The stare-down. The bare-chested foes visually probe each other for weakness while striving to hide their own.
The more a fighter is willing to play the game, the better for everyone. Dan Hardy has leapfrogged many worthy welterweights by using his sharp tongue as expertly as his sharp strikes. The UFC needed a mouthy Brit to be loved and hated in equal measure and Hardy fitted the bill perfectly. It’s the same with actors. You keep getting parts on the basis of being the right type rather than being the most talented. Rich Franklin has hung around the upper echelons of the UFC on merit, but his clean-cut math-teacher persona has certainly not hindered his progress. Franklin has also moved into acting. His first starring role sees him playing a genetically engineered military man who is on the run with a US border patrol agent in Cyborg Soldier. Thankfully, they are not being chased by a genetically engineered super-soldier based on Anderson Silva or it would have been a very short movie.
Fighters and actors have many transferable skills. When preparing for a part, you have to get inside the character’s head, analyze the evidence to work out how that person would react in a given situation. Fighters are forced to know themselves inside out. They have to confront their deepest fears and learn to control them. They have to know their limits. Be aware of what they are capable of giving out and what they can take. They need to repeat this process with their opponents, systematically studying them in the search for a way of taking them out.
On a set or in a cage, you have to perform on demand. You’ve done your preparation, whether that’s learning lines, living in character-method style or sweating your guts out in the gym for nine weeks. If you can’t get it right on the day: It’s all been for nothing. The key in both situations is the ability to be ‘in the moment’. To have the confidence to follow your instincts. To react honestly to what you feel. An actor lacking self-belief will appear wooden as he is too uptight to let himself go.
A stiff fighter who can’t adapt to what’s in front of him is going to get knocked out. Fighters and actors are often driven by the desire for acclaim but, to succeed, they must operate without ego. Every time they go out there, they expose themselves to fierce scrutiny and risk humiliation.
The structure of the two industries is almost identical. At the top of the tree, an elite few are well rewarded. The vast majority juggle training and regular jobs as they hope to catch the eye of the casting director or promoter who can give them their break on the big stage. The game is all about timing. When an opportunity arises you have to grab it with both hands. Roger Huerta is flavor of the month. His war with Clay Guida established him as one of the most marketable talents in the sport. His good looks got him on the cover of Sports Illustrated when the magazine ran a feature on the future of MMA. With many top-level fighters competing well into their 30s, the 25-year-old has opted to put his career on the backburner and head for Hollywood. In a couple of years he may be a red carpet regular; or he may be trying to climb back on the bottom rung of the ladder of a sport that has moved on in his absence. On the other hand he could stay in the UFC and be a champ – or get beaten up a couple of times, fall off the televised section of the card then get dropped. No buzz, pretty-boy looks severely diminished by ground ‘n pound and no chance of being America’s next top model. You stand and fall on your own decisions. Take the wrong role or fight and your career may never recover.
Randy Couture has already had a string of acting roles. His next big movie sees him playing a mercenary alongside Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren and director Sylvester Stallone in The Expendables. His co-stars have martial arts credentials of varying degrees, but none can come near ‘The Natural’ in terms of authenticity. He has slugged it out in a cage with the biggest and the baddest. When he comes on screen, the audience understand that this is a real tough guy. It’s not just a matter of reputation.
Movie hardman Ray Winstone got his first lead role because the director of Scum liked the way he walked. Winstone, a keen amateur boxer, carried himself in the self-assured, bordering-on-arrogant manner shared by many fighters. Films deal in dramatic extremes so portrayals of violence are inevitable. If the punters don’t believe in the perpetrators the whole thing falls apart. Who could be more convincing hard men than guys who drill combat techniques to the limit every day of their lives?
The number of fighters dipping their toes in the Hollywood waters is amazing. Georges St Pierre plays a villain in the action movie Death Warrior, backed by Rampage Jackson, Rashad Evans and Keith Jardine. The crime thriller, The Death and Life of Bobby Z, featured half a dozen high-profile MMA stars, including Chuck Liddell and Tim Sylvia as prison shower bullies. Chuck could claim to have had the most varied career on camera – including an uncredited part as a boy scout in the 1981 film The Postman Always Rings Twice, a cameo in Entourage and a fight with porn icon Ron ‘The Hedgehog’ Jeremy in a commercial for a supplements store. We shouldn’t be surprised though. MMA to cinema is something of a homecoming.
Ask a professional why they took up their particular sport and most will point to a childhood moment when they saw someone hit a vital home run or score a last-minute goal on TV. As they watch the crowd go wild – they think: “I want to be like that guy.” For a martial artist, “that guy” may not be a pro fighter. Bruce Lee and Van Damme have inspired thousands of people to go to the gym for the first time. Ralph Macchio’s stunning body-bag avoidance to take the All-Valley Under 18’s karate tournament has started more people on the road to the Octagon than the exploits of Royce Gracie in the early UFCs. Rather than turning their backs on their sport, the current exodus is more a case of people returning to the source.
Fighters love the movies and the movies love fighters. Always have, always will.
Fighters in the movies
Cung Le
Experience: Tekken, Fighting and Pandorum. A bid for Asian stardom in Yuen Woo-Ping’s kung fu flick, True Legend.
Outlook: With Van Damme and Jackie Chan getting ever closer to pension age, the field is wide open for a new high-kicking king of the silver screen. As Cung Le can throw spectacular spinning back-kicks in real fights, what he would be capable of with technical assistance boggles the mind. His choices to date suggest he wants to tackle a variety of roles, but there’s nothing wrong with playing to your strengths.
Most likely to have career of… Jet Li.
Should remake… Way of the Dragon. Cung Le defends a family restaurant from Mafia-hired foreigners, culminating in a showdown with Chuck Norris at the Colosseum.
Roger Huerta
Experience: Miguel the Matador in Tekken.
Outlook: Tough and good-looking with a life story guaranteed to tug at the heartstrings. The perfect hero for the growing Latino audience.
Most likely to have career of… Brad Pitt.
Should remake… An Officer and a Gentleman. Handsome outsider proves himself in a hostile environment and gets the girl.
Rich Franklin
Experience: Lead in Cyborg Soldier.
Outlook: Wholesome and likeable. Franklin is the kind of American boy who could pop up in a host of roles: The fearless firefighter, the astronaut or the hard-working, downtrodden everyman who is being cheated on by his slutty wife. Franklin brings a decency and wit that is reminiscent of an earlier age.
Most likely to have career of… Tom Hanks.
Should remake… Dangerous Minds. Rich as the Michelle Pfeiffer character, a kick-ass ex–marine sorting out problem school kids living in a gangster’s paradise.
Michael Bisping
Experience: None, but he made a public appeal to Guy Ritchie, asking the director for a role in his next picture.
Outlook: Bisping has the physical stature to play a tough guy, but his down-to-earth persona and an aptitude for comedy means his options will not be limited.
Most likely to have career of… Sean Bean.
Should remake… Lady Chatterley’s Lover. Bisping as the earthy gamekeeper Mellors; vigorously attending to her ladyship at every opportunity.
Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson
Experience: A number of small parts. He has been linked with some higher-profile roles by the press.
Outlook: A natural showman, Rampage oozes charisma. He may find it difficult to tone down his larger-than-life personality to play more subtle characters.
Most likely to have career of… Samuel L Jackson.
Should remake… Mrs Doubtfire. After a messy divorce, Rampage disguises himself as a female housekeeper to spend time with his children.
Randy Couture
Experience: With a host of film and TV roles under his belt, Randy is well ahead of the game. Due to play Hale Caesar in Sly Stallone’s mercenary blockbuster, The Expendables.
Outlook: Whether he’s fighting, announcing or acting, Randy brings an air of control and dignity. His reputation (coupled with his military background) means he will be at home playing authority figures – a World War II general on the radio to HQ, demanding more help for his troops.
Most likely to have career of… Clint Eastwood.
Should remake… The Alamo. Randy steps into John Wayne’s shoes as Davy Crockett to defend the Texas Revolution to the last breath.
Georges St Pierre
Experience: Death Warrior. Keen to tackle bigger roles when he eventually retires from fighting.
Outlook: It may be the accent, it may be the charm. It may be just the all-round beauty of the guy. The fact is, women love Georges St Pierre. We know he’s got all the tools to be the ultimate, hard-hitting action hero, but he may be more marketable in one of the romantic comedies that snarl up the box office top ten.
Most likely to have career of… Owen Wilson.
Should remake… Any film opposite Jennifer Aniston or Renée Zellweger that involves buying a dog / moving out of the city – but is really about going on a journey to discover the true meaning of life and love.
