My First Blog - Oct. 13, 2007

Written by Mark Dacascos

The first thing I need to say is “Thank You” to the friends, fans and family who have supported me over the many years. Your dedication and kind words have made the sometimes very rocky road of an actor much easier to travel. I can’t tell you how much it warms my heart to have someone tell me that a film I was in, or a character I played, somehow inspired or “touched” them. I am so grateful for the career I have, and without you, I would not have it. Mahalo (”thank you” in Hawaiian)

I’ve been traveling quite a lot this year. I filmed an episode of
STARGATE: ATLANTIS in Vancouver, Canada, an episode of CCTV’S BRUCE LEE mini-series in Canton, China, had a pre-pre-production meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, shot the feature SERBIAN SCARS in Beograd, Serbia, filmed 20 new episodes of IRON CHEF AMERICA and 6 episodes of THE NEXT IRON CHEF in a secret location :), and filmed the feature I AM OMEGA and Judith McCreary’s short-film, GIDEON FALLS, in Los Angeles. And the year’s not yet over.

Concerning which style or type of Martial Art I use on screen: First and foremost, it depends on who my character is and what he would know. The way I fight on camera
is the way I feel my CHARACTER would fight, or the way the director,
fight-choreographer and I have agreed upon, not necessarily
the way I, Mark Dacascos, would. To me, fighting on camera is “physical-dialogue.”
I believe that in a movie, my movements must be in context with who my CHARACTER is.

In the movie AMERICAN SAMURAI, I did my best to fight as a Samurai Warrior. That was very different from the way I fought in ONLY THE STRONG, where my character was a US soldier and student of Capoeira, which was then very different from the teenager I played in DOUBLE DRAGON. You see what I mean?

And since we’re on the subject of MartiaI Arts, I must thank my Martial Arts teachers for sharing some of their knowledge and wisdom with me:

Sifu Al Dacascos , Teacher Malia Bernal, Sifu Muo Hui Shen,
Professor Jiang Hao Quan, Coach Eric Chen, Coach Debbie Chen
and Mestre Amen Santo

That’s all I have time to write at this time. If you have specific questions, please write the good people at TEAM DACASCOS and they’ll make sure that I answer what I can, as soon as I can, in the next blog. Until then, be well.

Mahalo and Aloha,
Mark Dacascos