- [Patrick] Alright, all set up.
Hey Bryan, you wanna play Mortal Kombat?
- Nope.
- Alright.
Well how about you, Robin Shou and Linden Ashby,
stars of the 1995 classic film, "Mortal Kombat"?
(whooshing)
- Yeah. - [Robin] Okay.
- Alright, great.
(upbeat music)
- Hi Robin, thank you for playin' with me.
Let's start with the first Mortal Kombat.
I guess is - [Robin] Okay.
- the best way to start. - [Robin] Alright.
- And we're gonna - You have to walk
me through this, okay? - relive--
(Patrick laughing) - So, it's been awhile.
It's been awhile. - It's gonna be painful,
but-- - [Robin] Okay.
- [Patrick] Alright. - [Robin] So, I should
pick myself, yeah?
- Yeah, that makes sense.
So you gotta hit start here.
- Okay, yeah. - So, I'll be Sub-Zero.
- Okay, I got - [Patrick] You Liu Kang.
- I got mine.
- [Patrick] Alright, it's on.
(game characters fighting)
- [Patrick] Oh, God! (Robin laughing)
- [Patrick] You said you weren't good at it.
- [Robin] No, I wasn't. (Patrick laughing)
I just can't.
Like my fingers, or index (Patrick laughing)
fingers just faster than yours.
(Patrick laughing)
(Patrick scoffing) (game characters fighting)
See, I like the groin kick a lot more.
- The groin kick?
- Yes, the dick. - You're a dirty fighter.
- Yes, of course. (Patrick laughing)
- [Patrick] Oh, no. - [Robin] There ya go.
(Patrick laughing) There ya go.
- [Patrick] Oh no! - [Robin] I'm just gonna like,
you know, I'm just gonna take you piece by piece.
(Patrick laughing) You know,
so let you win a little--
- We started and you said you haven't played
in forever. - No, I have not.
(Patrick laughing) (game characters fighting)
- [Patrick] Alright Robin, how does this compare
to actually fighting Sub-Zero in real life?
- [Robin] You know,
this is of course, much easier,
(Patrick laughing) because it's less strenuous.
You know, it just the finger going.
- For you. - Yeah.
- Now I'm sweating over here.
- No, I mean, all of these moves,
I mean, what I was impressed with when the game came out,
was that,
all the moves are legitimate moves.
You know, like, the roundhouse, the front kick,
the side kick, the jumping kick.
Of course I'm not used to losing like that.
(laughing)
All these characters are legitimate martial artists.
Liu Kang,
he's a great martial artist.
You know, so funny,
I was workin' in Hong Kong,
and I saw him in Hong Kong,
and I said, "What ya doing here?"
(Patrick laughing) And then he said,
well he's doing a movie with Jackie Chan,
and they have to fly back to this Mortal Kombat video game.
I said, Mortal Kombat, what is this?
And then, so he said,
well it's a live capture thing
when he does all movements and
I can-- (Patrick ahh'ing)
I said that's kind of dumb.
(laughing) - [Robin] I did, I swe--
- That's amazing! - I swear!
And when I came back like a year later,
they were auditioning for Mortal Kombat.
I go, oh, okay, this was the game he was talking about.
(whooshing)
- [Patrick] How difficult was this fight in the movie?
Did you get injured doing this one, or?
- [Robin] Well, you know,
I think it was during the reptile fight.
- [Patrick] What happened during
reptile fight? - [Robin] Well, what happened
he threw me against the pillar.
And, I was supposed to land, and rolled off the pillar,
and all that stuff.
And, I did it one time, and it was fantastic.
And Paul Anderson said, well can you do it again,
because he was such a perfectionist.
- Obviously. - [Robin] So, and then,
we did it 10 times,
and on the 10th take I was kind of exhausted.
- You got thrown into a pillar 10 times?
- [Robin] 10 times. - Oh my God.
- [Robin] And, I was kind of tired, so I landed on the
edge of the pillar. (bell dinging)
And I (laughs) fractured a couple of ribs
(Patrick ahh'ing) for that,
but you know.
So now, the joke is, that,
you know if Robin says how many ribs he fracture,
that's the degree of
the difficulty of the fight. (laughing)
This is a two rib fight.
- [Patrick] Nice. - So.
(game characters fighting) - [Patrick] Did that cut
make it into the movie?
- Yes. - [Patrick} Really?
- Oh, you can see it.
You know, like - [Patrick] Oh.
- [Robin] Reptile threw me,
and I literally landed on the edge,
and just, you can see my body kind like curled up like that.
- [Patrick] Oh, man.
(Patrick and Robin ohh'ing)
- [Robin] See, you know that. You're cheating now.
- I'm getting you talking
so I can distract you. - No, no, what I'm saying.
(ahh'ing)
(Patrick and Robin ohh'ing)
- [Patrick] Now, I gotta finish it.
(game characters fighting)
- Ah, awesome.
Okay, fantastic. - [Patrick] Alright.
You were a worthy opponent.
- Oh, thank you. (Patrick laughing)
Thank you, thank you.
(whooshing)
(uptempo music)
- Run, I can do that.
(Robin and Patrick laughing)
(whooshing) - Alright, round two.
I figure we should play the second Mortal Kombat,
because we have three different games on here.
- Why not? - [Patrick] Who do you want?
(Patrick laughing)
Do you have a preferred Mortal Kombat?
- I think four is better.
- [Patrick] Yeah.
You know, that's when - [Linden] Maybe two
- they're hit their stride really.
- [Linden] Yeah. No, I have (Patrick laughing)
no idea.
There he is, oh, I know him.
(Patrick laughing)
You're gonna be Liu Kang now?
- I'll be Scorpion, 'cause you fight him
in the movie. - Yeah, I remember that.
- [Patrick] And then you. (video game ringing)
I mean, I'd assume that
guy looks familiar to you. - [Linden] Okay.
Boom. - [Patrick] There we go.
- [Linden] Ready?
- [Patrick] Let's do it.
- [Mortal Kombat] Fight.
(game characters fighting)
- [Linden] Come on. - Ah, you got a hit in.
(game characters fighting)
(Patrick laughing)
- [Linden] Ah, nice! - You got the move in now.
(martial arts wah'ing)
- [Patrick] Both of you guys.
You say you're not good.
(Linden laughing)
This is insanity.
I practiced.
- Did you see my hand work?
- [Patrick] Yeah.
It was incredible. (Linden grunting)
Clearly you picked up a lot from the film.
(air chopping)
- [Patrick] Alright so this fight in the film
I heard that you, kind of wanted a stunt actor to do
some of the things,
but they talked you into - [Linden] Yeah.
- [Patrick] doing a lot of it yourself.
Is that correct? - [Linden] Yeah.
I think so, it was.
- Did you suffer any of the injuries
that Robin suffered during your fight scenes?
- I did.
Not so bad,
'cause I was working with Chris Casamassa.
Who, I think had mercy on me.
- [Patrick] (laughs) He played Scorpion, correct?
- [Linden] Yep, and--
But, there was one part where I was kind of bent.
I wound up on this railing, and--
(game characters fighting) (Patrick laughing)
That's right, I can't even think.
- I know it's hard.
(game characters fighting) (Patrick sighing)
(Linden laughing)
(Patrick laughing) - I was bent over this railing
and he did this ax kick,
and you know, I think I was padded up,
but his heel just hit right where there was no padding,
the kidney. (Patrick ohh'ing)
And I remember just goin',
you know, you're like,
you try to be tough guy
right. - [Patrick] Right.
And I'm like (wincing)
And I go give me a minute, give me a minute.
It was, it was just right in the kidneys.
And, it was not great.
Robin who were the--
There were these--
- [Robin] The Power Ranger guys.
- Yeah.
He was insane.
- Was this someone you fought against?
What was it
a stunt coordinator? - No, he was, he was
he was, he would double for,
he was doubling for Scorpion,
and he had to do this gymnastic thing,
and he just hit this steel bar
so hard. (Patrick stuttering)
Yeah, yeah.
And - Was he okay?
- No! (Patrick and Linden laughing)
- Do you guys want to do the original one,
or you wanna do the second one?
- [Robin] Original. - Alright.
- [Linden] Okay. - [Mortal Kombat] Cage.
- Liu Kang and Johnny Cage.
- [Robin] (laughs) I know. (punching)
Okay. (Patrick laughing)
- [Mortal Kombat] Fight! (suspenseful music)
- Come on. (Robin ahh'ing)
(game characters fighting)
(fingers clicking)
(Robin and Linden laughing)
- (laughs) There you go, lying down again.
(gong ringing) - [Mortal Kombat] Time's up.
- [Robin And Linden] Time's up.
- [Patrick] It's a tie.
- And, nobody won!
(Patrick and Robin laughing) Ah, that's perfect.
That's the way it should be.
(whooshing)
- Alright, now that I've been thoroughly embarrassed
at Mortal Kombat by
both of you guys. - Well?
- Even though you said you weren't very
good at the game. (Robin laughing)
I am going to flip the tables,
and ask you a bunch of questions.
First off, when was the last time you guys saw each other?
- We do keep in touch.
- Yes we do. - We do, we do keep in touch.
(Linden umm'ing) So, maybe a few months ago.
- Yep.
- I think what's so great about this movie,
it's not just the movie itself,
that we do keep in touch after all these years.
- I know. - Paul Anderson.
(laughing) - Yep, yep.
He did. - We actually see
each other age.
(laughing) - Yeah, I know.
I know. - Yeah, right?
- And our birthdays are pretty--
- July.
- Yeah, and I'm May.
- [Robin and Linden] Yeah. - Oh, oh.
(Linden drowns out Robin) - So, I'm older.
So, you have to treat me with respect.
(Patrick and Robin laughing)
- Alright, what was it about the movie that kinda,
you know, it persists 20 something years later,
and you guys still have a relationship.
I mean.
Was it just a really fun experience makin' the film?
Is it just because it's so beloved.
- I thinks the chemistry.
(whooshing)
Yeah I think we were all very grateful to be in a big movie.
- [Linden] Yeah.
- [Robin] And, as actors, you know,
that is like a, you know,
that's what you been wanting to do,
or dreaming, or hoping for.
And then to be in this big, fun movie
(whooshing) and happen.
Like this is one of the nicest, funniest guy ever.
- Wow. (Patrick laughing)
- I mean he does keep everything going.
Meaning, like you know, there's
(Linden clearing throat) no dull moment on set.
(laughing) He always, no, no,
no, because he is Johnny Cage.
He would come up with lines,
and then just kind of like cracks you up for the entire day.
- I think that we just caught lightening in a bottle.
Like, everyone was there for the right reasons.
We all, in our way need this film to work.
Yeah. - And then, I mean,
that being said, there's no evil on set.
- No I had evil. - You know, especially act,
between actors. (Patrick and Linden laughing)
- Well you were playing
Johnny Cage. - I know.
Especially between actors is that, you know,
we're willing to help one another
to get the job done. - Yeah.
(clearing throat) Yeah.
- I think that's why it work in, for the movie.
- There was no prima donna moments
at all. - No, there's not one actor.
- It's hard to be a prima donna
when somebody can kick you right in the ribs, you know.
- Right. - You know that's
comin' later. (whooshing)
(techno music) (high pitched grunting)
- [Man] Give me a minute.
- When you were comin' up with the fights,
'cause I heard you had to add fights on afterwards,
and re-shoots.
So, did you have to kind of come up with moves on the fly?
How did the chorography work? Because Robin,
you helped with - We, well,
I mean, we had a chance - that a lot, right?
- to rehearse and choreograph the fight,
and then I would show (whooshing)
the producers and the executives.
Just, what are we gonna do. (whooshing)
But, (laughs) Linden did so many of his stunts.
Especially during the Scorpion
and Johnny Cage fight. - Yeah,
but I had great stunt doubles.
(laughing) I did, I did.
- No, no you did, remember. - I did it all.
But I did, - You did it all.
- But then they came and did it better.
(laughing) - Well, because,
because I'm used to like doing your own stunt.
I mean, 'cause like - [Linden] Yeah, yeah,
you come from, - [Robin] you know, come on.
- [Linden] yeah that background.
- [Robin] A little falling, a little fall's
not gonna kill ya.
A little hit's not gonna kill ya.
And I was able to convince Linden
that you're gonna look fantastic.
- Yeah.
Just take the hit. - If I could just
hit you in the face.
(laughing)
- [Actors] You know it's true.
- Right, no, this is true.
It's like amazing,
because you actually see the actor doin' it themself.
- Yeah. - Right.
- And then so it's true to the game, and true to the film.
- And it is true.
It's like I can watch a movie,
and I can tell ya when the stunt double steps in,
and when it's the actor.
And this was before CGI.
Now you can really fake things.
But you would see us do the entire move,
and there was no way to fake it.
So, we did that,
and I think it was kind of an important, cool part of it.
- Absolutely.
- When you were signin' on to the film,
did you know, obviously you have fighting experience Robin,
and you've done a lot of that work at that time.
But for you Linden, this was a newer thing.
Did you know it was gonna be so intensive
when you signed onto the project.
- [Linden] Yeah, I did.
And you know I came from,
I boxed a bit in college.
And then, I'd done a little bit of martial arts
through the years as well.
I wasn't really, my hands are better than my feet.
And-- - There's a lot
of feet in this movie to. - Yeah, no kidding.
Yeah, I knew what we were in for,
and I was totally psyched to do it.
- Robin, I heard for you
that it was a pretty stringent audition process.
What was that process like before you got to film?
- I had seven readings.
- Wow. - Seven.
- Wow.
- It's crazy, huh, seven. - Yeah.
- I mean I read for the casting director,
the producer, the light producer, the executive,
Paul Anderson, everybody.
I think it was kind of important to them to find Liu Kang.
He's, you know, he's Asian guy.
There's not to many Asian guys.
But, so there has to be very specific,
and then they want the actor to be able to do
all the martial arts.
So, yeah, it was pretty heart wrenching,
because you know like you would go in and read,
and you just kind of wait for that phone call.
Agains, okay well they wanna again.
And again, and again, and again.
I said this is to much.
- Did you ever like, give up
or think about giving up at that point?
- Almost, almost.
Just kind of said, you know what I don't want it,
you know, this is to,
I can't, my heart can't take it no more.
(Patrick laughing) (Linden hmm'ing)
You know so,
but then finally when I get the phone call,
said you got the part,
you know, I said, oh fantastic, alright good.
- This sounds really lame.
I'm glad you got the part.
(laughing) (Patrick aww'ing)
I am, I am.
- Ah Linden, we talked about improv a little bit earlier,
but I also heard that you improv'ed some lines.
And one of the lines you did improv,
from what I've heard, so tell me if I'm right, is,
"These are $500 sunglasses, asshole."
- [Linden] Yeah. (Robin laughing)
- [Patrick] Which is probably the best line
in the whole movie.
Maybe of the 90's, so.
- Well, thanks.
(Patrick laughing) - Yeah, I think there's
more than that.
There's more lines than that. - [Linden] Yeah.
There was a lot of them.
- No, no.
I remember when you asked me to carry your luggage.
Remember? - [Linden] Yeah, yeah.
- [Robin] (laughs) You went to--
Hey Paul, it would be fantastic if I say well,
luckily I didn't ask him to park the car.
(everyone laughing)
- Yeah, yeah. - It was on the spot.
This guy, that's why I like on the spot.
(whooshing)
- [Patrick] Let's talk about Goro a little bit,
because the animatronics of that
caused a bit of problems
when they were producing this movie.
(Linden ooh'ing) What was it like
to actually work with that
giant puppet. - No, you did it.
- He was, yeah.
He was, he was amazing.
It's funny,
because I just went to a,
I was in a restaurant,
and Alec Gillis was there. And it was his birthday.
- Really? - Yeah.
And it was a surprise party for him, who,
and he was the guy who made Goro.
And he goes, Goro just got sold or something.
And they have his head,
and he was the most complex animatronic being at the time,
I think.
- Well he got more money than us.
- Probably Goro, yeah, I'm sure.
- He was topper call sheet, of course.
- [Robin and Linden] Oh, yeah.
- [Linden] But he would get hot,
and he'd get stuck,
and he would like, get, you know
(arr'ing)
And he'd lock up. (Patrick laughing)
And then, we'd have to wait for Goro.
And then, the,
what's his name had to get in the suit,
and he couldn't see anything.
He had a little screen in front of him I think to see.
And then they'd zip up,
or they'd seal up the back of Goro,
and he couldn't be,
he could only be in there for like two minutes,
'cause he couldn't breathe.
And
Goro, Goro got
less screening time
than they thought he was gonna get.
- It was pretty advanced though.
I mean as-- - It was, yeah.
It was science. - I mean they did--
- You said there's no prima donnas,
but it sounds like Goro was kinda a
prima donna, frankly. - [Linden] Goro was a
prima donna. - Yeah.
- There's a new Mortal Kombat movie coming out.
Would either of you be interested in
reprising your roles as a cameo in the new file?
- Well, I mean this. (laughing)
Let's say this.
No matter how well the new movie is,
like we will always be Liu Kang and Johnny Cage.
- That's right.
You know what.
I love the fact that they're rebooting it.
Like I love the way rebooted the James Bond films.
And Daniel Craig and I think
they made some of the best Bond films ever.
And I think that it's cool to take a fresh start,
'cause there was so much that could've been done
with this franchise that wasn't done.
In my opinion.
- You guys set a pretty high bar, so.
- Well, yeah. - Because it wasn't really
about the action, and the martial arts,
and the fighting.
I think it was just the - [Linden] It was about
the story, - [Robin] dynamic of each
character. - [Linden] and the characters,
and-- - [Robin] You know,
because you couldn't really tell
that we cared for one another.
(Patrick mhm'ing) - Yeah.
- And we're on this journey
as if we have no idea what we're doing.
(Patrick laughing) - Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- And that chemistry persists now,
25 years later, - Yeah, yeah.
- which is crazy. - Is it?
Has it been that long?
- Sorry to make (Robin laughing)
everyone to feel old.
- Yes. - I got one last question.
It's a very, very hard question.
- Okay, go.
- What's the best video game movie ever made?
- "Mortal Kombat" - Yeah.
- [Patrick] Alright.
That's what I thought. - Yeah.
(Linden pft'ing) - Yeah.
- That's a stupid question. (everyone laughing)
- Well now we all know.
It's definitive, and we've answered it on the show.
Linden Ashby, Robin Shou,
thank you guys so much for coming in,
and kicking my ass in
Mortal Kombat. (laughing)
But, this has been such a treat, thank you so much.
- [Robin and Linden] Thank you.
(upbeat music)