The original 1995 Mortal Kombat film is a nostalgic cult classic, and its stars remain
the iconic screen portrayals of characters like Liu Kang, Shang Tsung, and Sonya Blade.
These actors were rewarded with a rare glimpse into the life of a Hollywood performer, but
where are they now?
Already starring as Connor MacLeod in Highlander, another fantasy/action franchise, Christopher
Lamber was given top billing for his supporting role as Lord Raiden in the original Mortal
Kombat film.
Lambert declined to appear in the sequel, citing scheduling conflicts at the time, though
he later revealed that he simply didn't think the script was any good.
He was succeeded by James Remar of The Warriors and Dexter fame in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation,
followed by Tadanobu Asano in the 2021 remake.
In 2020, Lambert briefly returned to voice lines for a downloadable skin of the Thunder
God that bears his likeness in the Mortal Kombat 11 game.
While appearing in fewer blockbusters, Lambert has continued to perform in film and television
productions across the world, from the French comedy series Call My Agent! to the Academy
Award-nominated Russian historical drama Sobibor.
American audiences most likely saw him last as Bastien Moreau in a 2019 arc of NBC's The
Blacklist.
In addition to acting, Lambert co-owns a vineyard in Argentina, travels, and customizes automobiles.
The true lead in 1995's Mortal Kombat is Liu Kang, portrayed by actor and martial artist
Robin Shou.
Mortal Kombat was Shou's first major Hollywood role, but he brought with him nine years of
experience as a stunt performer in both Hollywood and Hong Kong.
Shou also assisted fight choreographer Pat E. Johnson in staging some of his martial
arts battles in Mortal Kombat, and he accepted the offer to take the lead as fight choreographer
for the sequel.
In 1997, Shou both reprised the role of Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation and played
Gobei opposite Chris Farley in Beverly Hills Ninja.
Shou would reunite with Mortal Kombat director Paul W.S. Anderson for his 2008 remake of
Death Race.
He also reprised 14K, his character in Death Race, for the film's first two sequels, Death
Race 2 and Death Race: Inferno.
Portraying Gen in 2009's Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li gave him the rare distinction
of playing both a Mortal Kombat character and a Street Fighter character.
He also had a small role in the 2006 film adaptation of DOA: Dead or Alive, giving him
the rare "fighting game movie adaptation" hat trick.
According to a 2020 interview with the podcast Monsters, Madness and Magic, Shou has since
dedicated himself to parenting.
"So the last seven years I've been basically devoted myself to um, raise my kids."
Linden Ashby was just breaking into major motion pictures when he was cast as Hollywood
big-shot Johnny Cage.
Just before Mortal Kombat, he played supporting roles opposite Kevin Costner and Luke Perry
in Wyatt Earp and 8 Seconds, respectively.
On Mortal Kombat, Ashby enjoyed the freedom to improvise and influence his characterization,
but he found shooting the fight sequences to be a punishing experience.
Unhappy with the role he was offered for the sequel, Ashby declined to return for Mortal
Kombat: Annihilation.
After Mortal Kombat, he continued to appear in smaller action films and thrillers throughout
the 90s and 2000s, but his most famous role would come in 2011 when he was cast as Sheriff
Noah Stilinski in MTV's TV remake of Teen Wolf.
Playing the father of one of the lead characters, Ashby appeared in 88 episodes of the hit series.
All these years later, however, Ashby hasn't forgotten his video game days.
In 2020, he recorded new voice lines and lent his likeness to the, quote, "Hollywood Kombatant"
skin for Johnny Cage in Mortal Kombat 11.
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa is one of those great recognizable actors.
He appeared in action films like Showdown in Little Tokyo and Rising Sun before becoming
the villainous Shang Tsung in Mortal Kombat.
While only making a brief appearance in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, Tagawa is the one original
actor to reprise a role in the web series Mortal Kombat: Legacy, appearing in three
episodes in 2013.
He also returned as Shang Tsung in 2019's Mortal Kombat 11 as the game's canonical version
of Shang Tsung.
He is, however, succeeded by Chin Han in the 2021 Mortal Kombat film.
Outside of Mortal Kombat, Tagawa has remained a constant on-screen presence.
He had a recurring role on the Netflix reboot of Lost in Space, and he portrayed Trade Minister
Nobusuke Tagomi on three seasons of Amazon's The Man in the High Castle.
Tagawa has voiced frustrations over the limited roles available to Asian actors in Hollywood,
which has led to his long tenure playing villains.
In a 2006 documentary titled The Slanted Screen, Tagawa said,
"If I'm going to choose between a wimpy businessman and a bad guy, I'm gonna play a bad guy because
I got balls."
Bridgette Wilson had one heck of a 1995.
Only two years into an exciting film career that began opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger
in Last Action Hero, Wilson ended up starring in two hit movies in one year.
First, she appeared as third-grade teacher Veronica Vaughn in Adam Sandler's Billy Madison.
Next, she would win the role of Special Forces Officer Sonya Blade in Mortal Kombat, which
became available after Cameron Diaz — hot off her comedy debut in The Mask — broke
her wrist training for the film.
Wilson continued to appear in multiple movies a year, including four feature films in 1997,
which left no room in her schedule for Mortal Kombat: Annihilation — or so she claimed.
However, Wilson would return to voice the Klassic MK Movie Sonya Blade skin for Mortal
Kombat 11.
Since 2008, Wilson has withdrawn from the busy life of a Hollywood actor to pursue another
of her lifelong dreams — being a full-time parent and homemaker.
Following a prosperous modeling career, Brooklyn actress Talisa Soto already had a prominent
role in the blockbuster action film License to Kill before becoming Outworld's Princess
Kitana in Mortal Kombat.
After the video game adaptation, Soto found herself cast in a string of infamously bad
films, such as Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, the direct-to-video adaptation of the pulpy
horror comic Vampirella, and 2002's Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever.
Since then, she made one more credited acting appearance in 2009 with La Mission, written
and directed by her brother-in-law, Peter Bratt.
Soto has been out of public life for over a decade and has given few interviews, but
she can often be seen walking the red carpet at premieres and award shows with her husband,
actor Benjamin Bratt, with whom she has two children.
In the Mortal Kombat movie, English actor Trevor Goddard portrayed the smirking mercenary
Kano with an Australian accent that was later adopted in the game series.
So what's the origin behind that voice?
Well, Goddard spent years in Hollywood claiming to have been a boxer from Perth, Australia,
which was, according to the Lakeland Ledger, a total invention.
Those rare interviews with Goddard that can be found online still cling to this fiction,
leaving very little information behind about his real life.
While his film career never took off, Goddard found a home on the CBS drama JAG as Lieutenant
Commander Mic Brumby.
He appeared in 42 episodes of the series alongside his friend Catherine Bell, whom he met on
the set of the low-budget action film Men of War in 1994.
Sadly, Goddard died in 2003 at the age of 40 from a drug overdose.
His final feature film role, which hit screens a month later, was Grapple, a pirate aboard
the titular vessel in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.
One of the most iconic characters from the Mortal Kombat video game series, Scorpion
had a minor role in the original film where he was all but silent, save for his
famous taunt.
"Get over here!"
Since his only purpose in the film was to fight, the role was filled by stunt actor
Chris Casamassa, who also doubled as the on-set trainer for his on-screen opponent, Johnny
Cage actor Linden Ashby.
Casamassa reprised Scorpion in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation and in four episodes of the short-lived
syndicated television series Mortal Kombat: Konquest.
Other highlights of his stunt career include doubling as the Caped Crusader for George
Clooney in 1997's Batman & Robin and coordinating on Blade the following year.
He is now president and CEO of Red Dragon Karate, a school founded in 1965 by his father,
Louis D. Casamassa.
He is also the head instructor at their Glendora, California location.
The man under Sub-Zero's mask was French martial artist, dancer, and personal trainer François
Petit.
Petit was involved in the film long before the rest of the cast, working to recruit more
stunt performers.
When a suitable actor couldn't be found to play Sub-Zero, the role fell to Petit, though
his on-set responsibilities led to a reduction of the part.
In addition to his work staging the action, Petit was also Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa's fight
trainer.
Petit has personally trained huge stars throughout his career, including Arnold Schwarzenegger
and Dwayne Johnson.
He served on the WWF medical staff in the '90s and can be seen tending to Mick Foley
after the wrestler's now-famous 16-foot fall in the, quote, "Hell in a Cell" match at 1998's
King of the Ring event.
While no longer active in Hollywood, Petit has worked as a dance choreography consultant
as recently as 2020.
Master Keith Cooke Hirabayashi was already a celebrated martial arts competitor before
he began taking roles in Hollywood action movies.
In 1990, he appeared opposite martial arts legend Cynthia Rothrock in the two back-to-back
films China O'Brien and China O'Brien 2.
After initial test screenings for Mortal Kombat came back with one prevailing request — quote,
"More fights!"
— Cooke was brought in to participate in one of the added action sequences as Reptile.
Cooke's decades of experience made him a great dance partner for Robin Shou's Liu Kang.
Cooke was invited back in 1997 for a fighting and speaking role as the new Sub-Zero in Mortal
Kombat: Annihilation, and he would also join Robin Shou in Beverly Hills Ninja that same
year.
While he no longer appears in films, he is the owner and head instructor of Keith Cooke
Studios in Brentwood, California, where he's trained several Hollywood stars in preparation
for athletically demanding roles.
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