Many great martial arts stars play both heroes and villains. Martial arts films are usually led by actors or actresses who have spent their entire lives training in formal martial arts. Often, the leading roles in martial arts films become somewhat stereotypical to portray heroes, while others go the opposite route and primarily play villains.
However, some martial arts stars pull off a rather clever trick of playing both heroes and villains. In these cases, martial arts movie stars who equally master the good/evil dichotomy play the protagonist in one film and the villain in the next, often switching back and forth in the best martial arts films. From established actors to rising talents, some martial arts movie stars have become known for portraying both heroes and villains.
10. Carter Wong
Western audiences probably know Carter Wong best for his portrayal of the villainous Thunder in John Carpenter’s Big Trouble in Little China, but Wong previously brought his skills and screen presence to many Hong Kong martial arts films for the ’70s, ’80s, and even into the ’90s and the 21st century. Throughout his career, Carter Wong also played many heroic roles in movies like Hapkido, 18 Bronzemen, and Born Invincible, along with other villain roles. With Wong’s most famous role being a literally explosive villain in Big Trouble in Little China, it’s safe to say he navigated both sides of the hero-villain fence very well.
9. Max Zhang
Hong Kong martial arts star and wushu exponent Max Zhang is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Cheung Tin-chi in Ip Man 3, who lets his determination to outdo Donnie Yen’s Ip Man get the better of him and make him into an antagonist. Cheung Tin-chi learns from the error of his ways, returning as the stalwart protagonist in the spin-off Master Z: Ip Man Legacy. Zhang also played the villainous kung fu master Ma San in another Ip Man movie, Wong Kar-wai’s The Grandmaster, and later faced Tony Jaa and Wu Jing as the sinister Ko Chun in SPL II: A Time for Consequences (a.k.a. Kill Zone 2.)
8. Gary Daniels
Former professional kickboxer Gary Daniels is well-known to martial arts fans for bringing his flexibility and astonishing kicking skills to countless martial arts films. Daniels has been the hero of many ’90s and 2000’s martial arts films, including Deadly Target, Riot, White Tiger, Bloodmoon, and Forced to Fight, along with portraying Kenshiro in the 1995 live-action Fist of the North Star movie. For all the times he has played a hero, he’s also taken on a villain role with equal vigor, including in Bloodfist IV: Die Trying, the Jackie Chan movie City Hunter, along with The Expendables as The Brit, and 2010’s Tekken as Bryan Fury.RELATED:
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7. Iko Uwais
Iko Uwais made his film debut in Gareth Evans’s first directorial outing Merantau, playing the naive but formidable silat fighter Yuda, but he exploded onto the world stage in 2012 with his and Evans’s follow-up, The Raid: Redemption, with Uwais playing upstanding cop Rama. Uwais reprised the role in The Raid 2 and has taken on plenty of other heroic roles in movies like Beyond Skyline, and Triple Threat, along with Netflix’s Wu Assassins and Fistful of Vengeance. Uwais has also flipped the switch to play villains, as well, appearing as antagonists in Man of Tai Chi, Mile 22, Stuber, The Night Comes for Us, and The Expendables 4.
6. Joe Taslim
Indonesian judo champion Joe Taslim got his start in action films as the straight-laced police sergeant Jaka in The Raid: Redemption, but within a year he had transitioned to playing the villainous Ja in Fast & Furious 6. Since then, Taslim has regularly portrayed both martial arts heroes and villains, as seen in his roles in films like The Swordsman and his portrayal of Sub-Zero in the 2021 film Mortal Kombat. Additionally, Taslim has also played morally ambiguous characters with amazing martial arts skills, including in his role as Tong leader Li Yong on the Max series Warrior and his portrayal of Ito in Timo Tjahjanto’s The Night Comes for Us.
5. Dolph Lundgren
Dolph Lundgren can lay claim to being arguably the definitive antagonist of the Rocky franchise, Ivan Drago, who brutally and indifferently killed Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) in Rocky IV. Lundgren has also brought his towering frame and powerful karate skills to other villain roles, such as his portrayal of Sgt. Andrew Scott in the Universal Soldier franchise, but he has also been the hero of action movies like Showdown in Little Tokyo, 1989’s The Punisher, Bridge of Dragons, Skin Trade, and Castle Falls. Lundgren’s role as Gunner Jensen in The Expendables franchise also saw him turning on his teammates, only to rejoin them in The Expendables sequels.
4. Michael Jai White
Always a commanding presence on screen, Michael Jai White has brought his extensive martial arts skills to both heroic and villainous roles. White’s heroic roles in Blood and Bone, Black Dynamite, The Rise of the Falcon, Mortal Kombat: Legacy, and the Never Back Down franchise have shown him to be a determined fighter with an unbreakable warrior spirit. White has also portrayed more sinister antagonists in action films such as Exit Wounds, Skin Trade, Casualty, and Triple Threat. White also played both sides of the hero-villain divide in Undisputed 2: Last Standing, and his gritty boxer George “Iceman” Chambers has improved thanks to his fights with Scott Adkins’ Boyka.
3. Marko Zaror
Chilean action hero Marko Zaror is a highly versatile martial artist, and that also extends to the kinds of roles he plays in martial arts films. Zaror’s heroes tend to be quiet but spiritually centered warriors, as seen in movies like Kiltro, Mirageman, and Fist of the Condor. That just makes it even more impressive when Zaror does a complete 180 into the most arrogant, ruthless villains around in such films as Undisputed 3: Redemption, Machete Kills, Sultan, Savage Dog, and John Wick: Chapter 4. Zaror has also even gotten to do both in a single role, playing a former Chilean cartel enforcer turned divinely-inspired-vigilante in 2015’s Redeemer.
2. Mark Dacascos
Throughout his long career in action films, Mark Dacascos has cultivated a friendly, animated screen persona. That has helped make Dacascos a consistently cheerful and upbeat hero in martial arts films like Only the Strong, Drive, Brotherhood of the Wolf, Blade of the 47 Ronin, Netflix’s Wu Assassins, and his portrayal of Kung Lao in Mortal Kombat: Legacy season two. At the same time, Dacascos knows exactly how to apply both his martial arts skills and sly charisma to villain roles in movies like China Strike Force, Cradle 2 the Grave, Code Name: The Cleaner, and his performance as Zero opposite Keanu Reeves in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum.
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