PUBLISHED ONApril 10, 2021 4:02 AMByBryan LimSingapore may not have been a 'character' in the 2017 Power Rangers film but it definitely had a role to play in helping Chinese-Canadian actor Ludi Lin score that big break in his acting career.
In an exclusive virtual video interview with AsiaOne for his newly-released film Mortal Kombat (more on that in a bit), the 33-year-old revealed that he was actually in Singapore for the first time when he got the call from his manager about Power Rangers.
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He recalled: "The first time I stopped by [Singapore] was when I was shooting Marco Polo in Malaysia. Then I visited my friend and then that was when I got the call.
"I was sitting in a cafe with my friend Michelle and my manager Andrew — who is also Singaporean — called. And he goes, 'You've got to tape right now and it's for Power Rangers.' And that's the beginning of my Power Rangers journey. It started in Singapore."
Oh, and get this, he made his tape "in Mediacorp in a tiny little closet with a light". Ludi eventually landed the role of the Black Power Ranger, Zack.
Colour us impressed.
While the handsome actor's work doesn't bring him to our neck of the woods, he has acted alongside our local talents, such as Chin Han (in Mortal Kombat) and Tan Kheng Hua (in the US television series Kung Fu)
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In Mortal Kombat, Ludi plays iconic Shaolin monk Liu Kang, and those who are familiar with the video game know that he will probably face off against Chin Han, who takes on the mantle of evil sorcerer Shang Tsung.
The cast also include other Asian actors like Lewis Tan (Cole Young), Joe Taslim (Bi Han/Sub-Zero), Hiroyuki Sanada (Hanzo Hasashi/Scorpion), and Tadanobu Asano (Raiden).
Bonding over food
As such, eating became "important bonding moments" for the Asian cast members, Chin Han told Esquire Singapore.
Ludi agreed with his comment during our interview, confessing that it is "really fun to bond over food".
He also pointed out that Adelaide (where the filming took place) has a really great Chinatown with a wide variety of Southeast Asian cuisine and they frequented those places because "Chin Han is one of those guys that has to have Chinese food or some type of Asian food".
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However, as Ludi is vegan and doesn't consume meat, he just took in the smells and was satisfied.
Coincidentally, that's what he misses the most about Singapore — the smell of food wafting through the air at our foodcourts. He said with a smile: "When I go to a mall in Singapore and I just stand in the foodcourt, I feel like I should pay (for the aroma).
"Sometimes I feel bad because I can just stand there and enjoy all of the food (through the scent) and it's all free. I don't think that's fair. I feel guilty almost."
Hearing Ludi speak so highly of our foodcourts was quite the reality check, since many of us probably take our food for granted and grapple with always having to choose from the same stalls every day.
Eating the same food every day doesn't bore him though, he confessed. He may have a more restricted diet as a vegan, but he appreciates the taste of even the simplest of foods, like broccoli and lettuce.
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He added: "I'll tell you a little secret. In the three to four months that we filmed Mortal Kombat, every single day I had steamed broccoli and cauliflower. And that's all I ate on set. That's all the kitchen prepared.
"Sometimes they would keep things interesting by making huge pieces that could hardly fit into my mouth. Another day they had very tiny pieces and I would have to use chopsticks and eat slowly. But that's all I had and I never got sick of it. I really love it. If they put a little salt and pepper on it, that's even better."
Revisiting his childhood with Mortal Kombat
As the video game franchise was a big part of his childhood, Ludi likens getting the role to "reacquainting with one of my best friends when I was a kid" and is thankful that he "put so much of his allowance into arcade games and Mortal Kombat" when he was a child.
Being able to step into the shoes of this classic Mortal Kombat character was also a way for Ludi to pay homage to Robin Shou, the actor who started it all in the 1995 film adaptation.
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He explained: "It inspired me a lot to see him in that role, and I hope to inspire the next generations to be able to pursue their dreams, and most importantly, be the hero of their own journeys."
But as we've seen with previous film adaptations of franchises with a long history and scores of passionate fans, it's not an easy task to take on a role that many people have come to love and bring something new to the table.
The very first Mortal Kombat game was released in 1992 so this character has close to 30 years of history, and fans also have three decades to internalise who they think Liu Kang is.
However, Ludi pointed out that there will be differences between his iteration of Liu Kang and the one we've seen in the video games. For one, his version is "a lot dirtier", he shared with a laugh.
Ludi continued: "His hair is very scraggly, and he probably hasn't showered for months. My version of Liu Kang doesn't come from America and he doesn't go there for a tournament. He's been wandering around Inner Mongolia in order to fulfil one of Raiden's quests in gathering the Earth champions to defend Earthrealm."
Besides, Ludi reasoned that the franchise has gone through numerous reboots, so in a way, this Mortal Kombat film is akin to hitting the reset button on the universe again.
"Each time it (the Mortal Kombat universe) restarts, I think of it as reincarnation, kind of like karma," he said.
Played Mortal Kombat for hours but still not a master
Since it's a film about martial artists, physical preparation comes with the job. Ludi even found time to hit the gym around one in the morning — despite having to film two to three hours after his workout — while locals were still out drinking.
He said: "We were in Australia. They are big beer drinkers over there."
But since it's also a film adaptation of a video game, Ludi also sank many hours into the game itself. In order to stay true to his role, he committed to only using the character of Liu Kang.
"I'm not that good at it yet," he said sheepishly, "I'm not a master. I've been trying so hard just so I don't embarrass myself when a fan challenges me, but it's a learning process."
The problem for him seems to be the more intricate button combinations that he has to perform and he joked that his thumbs have gotten a very good workout from his gaming sessions.
He has also played online against other players but he uses a different name. When asked how he performs in the competitive scene, he grinned and said: "Sometimes I get lucky, I think. There are really good people out there. I just stick to my really cheap sweeps but they don't work as well anymore. They worked really well in Mortal Kombat 2 but Mortal Kombat 11 has some new tricks up its sleeves."
The cast would also gather in Joe's room to compete against each other, Ludi shared. He described it as "the arcade for us" and they would watch movies or play games there.
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Ludi said: "He's like, just a big kid at heart. He's probably the biggest gamer out of all of us and he was the best [at Mortal Kombat]."
As for the best physical fighter though, that's a different story.
Most, if not all of the cast members, have some experience with martial arts. Surprisingly, the one with the least experience scares Ludi the most despite him being proficient in various forms of martial arts.
He confessed: "Sisi [Stringer], who plays Mileena in the movie, she's, like, very small. But she's super feisty, and she's the queen. She'll take anyone on no matter how big they are, and she'll probably rip their throats out.
"So she's the perfect person to play Mileena because of those 'teeth'. She's got a sharp bite. I wouldn't want to be on the wrong side of her."
Concerned about the potential backlash?
Since film adaptations of video games are traditionally, and historically, not well-received by critics, we couldn't help but wonder if Ludi is bracing for potential backlash.
However, he was as cool as cucumber and even flipped the question around by asking what this reporter's favourite video game movie was. (If you're wondering, it's Tomb Raider.)
"And that didn't get really good critical acclaim," he noted.
According to Ludi, director Simon McQuoid is a storyteller and a world builder, and he wants to build up the Mortal Kombat Universe. Though Simon isn't a video game player himself, Ludi said he was "open enough to all of us who are video game players to know what we should put in there that would appease the fans".
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He added: "I'm not concerned about this one, I think we struck a good balance between what we want to give to the fans and what we want to give to the film world... I think, just by the reactions I saw from the fans when they saw the trailer, I already believe they know there's something deeper in here."
Even if the movie is critically panned, it's also possible that Ludi has become more resilient to naysayers and the biting criticisms. After all, the Power Rangers film was bombarded by critics, although, his character's back story with his mother received some positive mentions.
Though this might have been a sensitive topic to visit, Ludi didn't shy away from it and graciously engaged in a discussion about the film.
He replied: "I think, you know, it's very hard for an actor to actually judge a film objectively, because you're so attached to it, it's very complicated... I'm not sure how people reacted to it actually. Maybe I'm just very one-sided and I'm an optimist. But all I see on social media is that people want a sequel and it's too bad that it's not happening again."
Ludi acknowledged that the director Dean Israelite had a different spin on the film which explored the emotional and darker side of being teenagers, maintaining that "the work should speak for itself" and that there were people who enjoyed it and people who didn't.
When we pointed out that we preferred how campy the 90s television series was and that the film didn't bring enough of it, Ludi said: "Yeah, so I guess a lot of people expected more campiness, more of that joyous feeling, that easygoing Power Rangers feeling when you're back at the 90s. I think Dean just had a different vision for it and I don't fault him for that."
In fact, he said the role actually made his life better, and credited it for paving the way for his career and giving him opportunities to make shows that can positively impact people.
"I want to make things that will change the world and I want to make things that will touch every single Asian person, every single other person around the globe. So that (Power Rangers) was a part of my journey, and it's still one of my favourite things that I've ever done," he confessed.
As for whether he'll be part of the reboot of the 2017 Power Rangers film, Ludi said he has no idea what's going on with that.
He quipped: "The only thing I know is, I think it's going to be campy like you want."
Mortal Kombat is showing in cinemas now.
bryanlim@asiaone.com