Ho-Sung Pak (born November 6, 1967) is a Korean-American film actor, stunt performer, martial artist, action choreographer, game character, writer and producer.
Life and career[]
Pak, a Korean American, was born in Chicago, Illinois.[1] He played lead character Liu Kang in the first Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat II, as well as the original elderly version of Shang Tsung in the first game. He was a stunt coordinator for the movie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze as well as a stunt double for Raphael; he later reprised his role of stunt double in the movie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III.
Pak, along with other actors from the first two Mortal Kombat games, refused to appear in Mortal Kombat 3 due to a royalty dispute with developer Midway over the use of their likenesses across various console versions of the first two games, resulting in the casting of new actors for some of the returning characters. In 1995, Pak and fellow Mortal Kombat actors Daniel Pesina, Katalin Zamiar, and Phillip Ahn lent their likenesses to a fighting game produced exclusively for the Atari Jaguar titled Thea Realm Fighters, but it was canceled after Atari discontinued the failed system later that year.
In 2002, he played the leading role in the martial arts movie Book of Swords. In it he portrayed Lang, an Asian cop who after witnessing the death of his brother during a drug bust gone wrong, leaves town only to come back three years later for revenge. The movie also starred MK actors Daniel Pesina, Katalin Zamiar and Richard Divizio. In a nod to his Mortal Kombat alter ego Liu Kang, Pak is shown wearing a red headband during the final part of the movie, while the other three actors are also seen in similar MK clothing/roles throughout the movie.
In 2004 Pak starred in the martial film Lesser of Three Evils, directed by Wayne A. Kennedy, also starring Roger Guenveur Smith, Peter Greene, Rosa Blasi and Sherilyn Fenn. The film was produced by Ho-Sung Pak, Wayne A. Kennedy and Matthew Chausse who created together the film company GenOne.[2] It was released in 2009 under the title Fist of the Warrior.[3]
In the 1995-1997 TV show WMAC Masters, his ki-symbol was "Superstar", which is a translation of his given Korean name.[4] The show featured his older brother, Ho Young Pak ("Star Warrior"), as well as fellow Mortal Kombat actors Chris Casamassa ("Red Dragon") and Hakim Alston ("The Machine").
Filmography[]
Film[]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze | Raphael | Stunt double / Stunt coordinator |
| 1993 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III | Stunt double | |
| 1994 | The Legend of Drunken Master | Henry | Alternate titles: Drunken Master II, Jui kuen II, Drunken Fist II |
| Common Enemy | Unknown | Short film / Unreleased | |
| 1996 | Book of Swords | Lang / Fight choreographer / Writer / Producer | |
| 2000 | Epoch of Lotus | Mortis / Action choreographer | Short film |
| 2001 | Madonna: Drowned World Tour 2001 | Choreographer | Documentary |
| 2004 | Torque | Stunts | |
| 2005 | BloodRayne | Kagan vampire guard #4 | |
| Alone in the Dark | Agent Marko | ||
| 2006 | Dead and Deader | Superstar Merc / Stunt coordinator | Television film |
| 18 Fingers of Death! | Young Buford | ||
| 2007 | Fist of the Warrior | Lee Choe / Fight choreographer / Writer / Producer / Editor | Alternate titles: Blood Money / Lesser of Three Evils / Manhattan Samoerai |
| 2008 | I Am Somebody: No Chance in Hell | Pong | Alternate title: Chinaman's Chance: America's Other Slaves |
| 2010 | The Last Airbender | Stunt fighter | |
| Game of Death | Agent #2 / Big mental | ||
| 2011 | Transformers: Dark of the Moon | Stunts | |
| A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas | Stunt double: John Cho | ||
| 2012 | Vamps | Stunts | |
| Love and Honor | Stunts | Alternate title: AWOL | |
| Jinn | Stunts | ||
| Red Dawn | Stunt soldier | ||
| The Citizen | Motel worker | ||
| Legend of the Red Reaper | Special thanks | ||
| You Can't Kill Stephen King | Special thanks | ||
| 2013 | BodyWeapon: The Black Ryu | In production | |
| 2022 | Bullet Train | Stunt | |
| Dawn of the Predator | Jason | In production |
Television[]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995–1996 | WMAC Masters | Superstar / Himself / Stunts | |
| 1999 | Angel | Stunts | |
| 2001 | Alias | Stunts | |
| 2005 | Entoruage | Stunt gangster | Episode: "Chinatown" |
| 2011 | The Chicago Code | Stunts | |
| Femme Fatales | Superstar Assassin / The Ghost / Fight choreographer | 6 episodes |
Video games[]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Mortal Kombat | Liu Kang / Shang Tsung | |
| 1993 | Mortal Kombat II | Liu Kang | |
| 1995 | Thea Realm Fighters | Prince Pak / Fight consultant | Unreleased |
| 2003 | Batman: Dark Tomorrow | Motion capture team | |
| 2004 | Fight Club | Action choreographer |
Roles[]
(Femme Fatales)
(Femme Fatales)
References[]
- ↑ Mortal Kombat: And, the story of 'Liu Kang' Pak Sung-ho. I Love Character (March 2009). Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved on September 26, 2011.
- ↑ GenOne Films. Archived from the original on April 24, 2009.
- ↑ Lionsgate Publicity: February 2009. Archived from the original on July 13, 2011.
- ↑ "Mortal Kombat II - Behind the Scenes". Mortal Kombat Secrets (April 1994).
External links[]
- Ho-Sung Pak at Femme Fatales Wiki
Ho-Sung Pak at the Internet Movie Database- Lost Games: Thea Realm Fighters
- Ho-Sung Pak-interview on (re)Search my Trash
