Richard Divizio
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| Richard Divizio | |
|---|---|
| Birthdate: | September 6, 1968 |
| Birth location: | Chicago, Illinois |
| Birth name: | Richard Divizio |
| Height: | 5' 9" (1.75 m) |
| Eye color: | Brown |
| Hair color: | Brown |
| Ethnicity: | USA |
Perhaps best known for his portrayal of Kano in the original Mortal Kombat, Divizio also appeared in Mortal Kombat II as Baraka. He revised the Kano role for Mortal Kombat 3, in which he also played the masked swordsman Kabal. In 1997, he suited up as Quan Chi in both the game and full motion video sequences in the platform title Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero, and provided motion capture footage for the character as well in Mortal Kombat 4. An image of him dressed up as Quan Chi was also used on MK4's arcade cabinet. In 2002 he returned to the MK series, contributing to Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance as a motion capture actor.
That same year, he played a major role in the 2005 martial arts movie The Book of Swords, in which he portrayed a crimeboss named Taz, who's out for a magical book called The Book of Swords. The movie also starred three other MK actors in Katalin Zamiar, Ho Sung Pak and Daniel Pesina. In a nod to his Mortal Kombat alter ego, Richard plays a character very similar to Kano, both in looks and storyline. The other three actors are also seen in similar MK clothing/roles throughout the movie.
[edit] Trivia
- Divizio was accidentally punched in the mouth by Anthony Marquez (Kung Lao) during a martial arts exhibition featuring the MK actors at the 1995 ACME video game convention in Las Vegas, Nevada.
- He is the only actor who appeared in all of the digitized Mortal Kombat games.
- The April 1994 issue of Video Games magazine quoted Divizio as jokingly claiming that White Castle hamburgers were Kano's favorite food. Three months earlier, he had appeared on the cover dressed as Scorpion.
- Divizio also made several public appearances as Scorpion despite not having played him in any of the games.
- He holds a degree in computer graphic design from the American Academy of Art in Chicago, of which MK co-creator and former Midway employee John Tobias was an alumnus.
- All of the characters Divizio portrayed in the MK series were concealed under masks or makeup. Kano's infrared implant was attached to his face with spirit gum for filming in the first and third games.
