Mark Dacascos
Mark Dacascos | |
|---|---|
| Born | Mark Alan Dacascos February 26, 1964 |
| Other names | Marc Dacascos Mark Dacuscos Chairman |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, martial artist, television personality |
| Years active | 1987 - present |
| Spouse | Julie Condra (1998-present) |
| Children | Makoalani Charles Dacascos (b. December, 2000) |
| Parent(s) | Al Dacascos Moriko McVey-Murray |
| Website | http://dacascos.com |
Mark Alan Dacascos (born February 26, 1964) is an American actor and martial artist.[1] He won numerous karate and various styles of kung fu championships between the ages of 7 and 18.[2]
Beginning in January 2005, Dacascos has portrayed "the Chairman" on Food Network's television series Iron Chef America. This role was previously played by Takeshi Kaga in the original Japanese Iron Chef, and Dacascos' character is presented as Kaga's nephew, though the actors are not related. His other roles include: Eric Draven in The Crow: Stairway to Heaven and Eubulon, the Advent Master, on Kamen Rider Dragon Knight.
Dacascos competed in season 9 of Dancing with the Stars.[3][4] His partner was So You Think You Can Dance finalist Lacey Schwimmer. The pair was eliminated in the 7th episode.[5]
Biography
Dacascos' father, Al Dacascos, is from Hawaii, and is a martial arts instructor of Filipino, Spanish, and Chinese ancestry. His mother, Moriko McVey-Murray, is of Irish and Japanese ancestry. In the recent History Channel presentation, "Samurai", he revealed that the Japanese side of his mother's family was killed in the bombing of Hiroshima. His stepmothers are award winning martial artist Malia Bernal and Hawaiian singer Melveen Leed. Dacascos attended Portland State University in Portland, Oregon, where he majored in Chinese and drama. Mark Dacascos is proficient in won hop kuen do, capoeira, wushu and muay thai.[6]
Personal life
He is married to actress Julie Condra, who starred with him in Crying Freeman. They have three children, two older boys and one younger girl. Their names are Makoa, Kapono and Noelani.
Career
Dacascos became an actor after being discovered walking down the street in San Francisco's Chinatown by two men working for director Wayne Wang. Though his first scenes ended up on the cutting room floor, he has gone on to establish a film and television career primarily playing martial artists. His breakout role was in the 1993 film Only the Strong, in which he played Louis, a Capoeira master who takes a high school's potential failures and turns their lives around by teaching them the venerable Brazilian martial art. In the following year, Dacascos co-starred with Party of Five's Scott Wolf as Jimmy and Billy Lee, respectively, in the video game based movie Double Dragon.
He is the chairman of Iron Chef America, in the storyline he is the nephew of the chairman of the original Iron Chef, Takeshi Kaga.
He has been featured in many action films such as Brotherhood of the Wolf, Crying Freeman and Cradle 2 the Grave, in which he squared off against Jet Li. He also performed in three video games: voice acting in Stranglehold, live acting in Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom and digitally recreating The Chairman in the new Iron Chef video game for Wii.
Dacascos was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2002 for his role in Brotherhood of the Wolf, which was a box office success in the United States.[7] He also appeared in the short-lived but critically-acclaimed television series The Crow: Stairway to Heaven, which was a follow-up to the 1994 film The Crow. One of his more recent roles is in the children's television show, Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight, where he portrays Advent Master Eubulon, mentor of the Kamen Riders and creator of the Advent Decks.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Other notes |
| 1985 | Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart | scenes deleted | |
| 1990 | Angel Town | Stoner Driver | |
| 1991 | Dead On The Money | Martial arts master | TV |
| 1992 | American Samurai | Kenjiro Sanga | |
| 1993 | Only The Strong | Louis Stevens | |
| Roosters | Filipino's Son | Cameo | |
| 1994 | Dragstrip Girl | Johnny Ramirez | TV |
| Double Dragon | Jimmy Lee | ||
| 1995 | Deadly Past | Leo | |
| Kickboxer 5 | Matt Reeves | TV | |
| Crying Freeman | Yo Hinomura/Freeman | ||
| 1996 | The Island of Dr. Moreau | Lo-Mai | |
| Sabotage | Michael Bishop | ||
| 1997 | Sanctuary | Luke Kovak | |
| DNA | Dr. Ash Mattley | ||
| Deathline (AKA Redline) | Merrick | ||
| 1998 | Drive | Toby Wong | |
| Boogie Boy | Jesse Page | ||
| No Code of Conduct | Paul DeLucca | ||
| 1999 | The Base | Maj. John Murphy/Cpl. John Dalton | |
| 2000 | Lei ting zhan jing (China Strike Force) | Tony Lau | |
| 2001 | Le Pacte des loups (Brotherhood of the Wolf) | Mani | |
| Instinct To Kill (AKA The Perfect Husband) | J.T. Dillon | ||
| 2002 | Scorcher | Ryan Beckett | |
| 2003 | Cradle 2 the Grave | Yao Ling | |
| 2005 | Solar Strike (AKA Solar Attack) (USA) | Lucas Foster | TV |
| Junior Pilot | Kato | aka Final Approach | |
| 2006 | Only the Brave | Steve "Zaki" Senzaki | |
| The Hunt for Eagle One | Lt. Matt Daniels | ||
| The Hunt for Eagle One: Crash Point | Lt. Matt Daniels | ||
| Nomad | Sharish | ||
| 2007 | Code Name: The Cleaner | Eric Hauck | |
| Alien Agent | Rykker | ||
| I Am Omega | Renchard | ||
| 2008 | Gideon Falls | Set | |
| 2009 | Action Hero | Writer | |
| Serbian Scars | Peter Olsen Obilich | ||
| Wolvesbayne | Von Griem | ||
| 2010 | Shadows in Paradise | Lt. Max Forrester | |
| 2011 | The Lost Medallion: The Adventures of Billy Stone | Cobra |
Series television
| Year | Title | Role | Episode |
| 1987 | General Hospital | Police cadet | |
| 1990 | New Dragnet | Kevin Chow | |
| 1990 | Doogie Howser, MD | Julian | The Grass Ain't Always Greener |
| 1991 | The Flash | Osaku | Child's Play |
| 1994 | Tales from the Crypt | Felix Johnson | The Pit |
| 1995 | One West Waikiki | Moku | Rest in Peace |
| 1999 | The Crow: Stairway to Heaven | Eric Draven | Series Lead |
| 1999 | Martial Law | Steven Garth | Ninety Million Reasons to Die |
| 2002 | CSI Crime Scene Investigation | Ananda the Monk | Felonious Monk |
| 2005 - Present | Iron Chef America | The Chairman | |
| 2007 | Stargate Atlantis | Tyre | Reunion |
| 2007, 2009 | The Next Iron Chef | The Chairman | |
| 2008 | The Legend of Bruce Lee | Muay Thai boxer King Charles[8] | |
| 2008 | The Middleman | Sensei Ping | The Sino-Mexican Revelation |
| 2008 | Stargate Atlantis | Tyre | Broken Ties |
| 2009 | Kamen Rider Dragon Knight | Eubulon | Episodes 32–40 |
| 2009 | Dancing with the Stars | Himself/contestant | Episodes 1-7 |
| 2010 | Samurai | Himself | |
| 2010 | Hawaii Five-0 | Wo Fat |
References
- ^ "Discovering the Samurai Within". Inside Kung Fu. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
- ^ IMDB bio http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001092/bio
- ^ "Dancing With The Stars Season 9 Cast".
- ^ Joyce Eng (17 August 2009). "Dancing with the Stars 2009 Season 9 Cast Revealed!". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 2009-08-17.
- ^ "`Dancing with the Stars' celeb slate slimmed by 2". Associated Press. 3 November 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-03.
- ^ "Discovering the Samurai Within". Inside Kung Fu. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
- ^ "Little pictures have a big year", Los Angeles Times, 3 January 2003
- ^ "Mark Dacascos Interview". Martial Arts Unlimited. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
External links
- 1964 births
- Living people
- American people of Filipino descent
- American people of Chinese descent
- American film actors
- American martial artists
- American capoeira practitioners
- American Muay Thai practitioners
- American wushu practitioners
- American people of Irish descent
- American people of Japanese descent
- American people of Spanish descent
- American people of Asian descent
- American actors of Asian descent
- Dancing with the Stars (US TV series) participants