| Mark Dacascos | |
|---|---|
| Born | Mark Alan Dacascos February 26, 1964 Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. |
| Other names | Marc Dacascos The Chairman Wo Fat |
| Occupation | Actor, martial artist, television personality |
| Years active | 1985–present |
| Influenced by | Al Dacascos Jet Li Bruce Lee |
| Spouse | Julie Condra (1998-present) |
| Website | |
| http://www.dacascos.com | |
Mark Alan Dacascos (born February 26, 1964) is an American actor and martial artist.[1] He won numerous karate and various styles of kung fu championships between the ages of 7 and 18.[2]
Beginning in January 2005, Dacascos has portrayed the Chairman on Food Network's television series Iron Chef America. This role was previously played by Takeshi Kaga in the original Japanese Iron Chef, and Dacascos' character is presented as Kaga's nephew, though the actors are not related. Dacascos went on to continue the role in Iron Chef Australia. His other roles include: Eric Draven in The Crow: Stairway to Heaven, Eubulon, the Advent Master, on Kamen Rider Dragon Knight, the lead role of "Mani" in the French film Brotherhood of the Wolf and the lead role of "Crying Freeman" in the film of the same name. Starting with the episode "Hana 'a'a Makehewa", which first aired on 13 December 2010, he portrays the recurring character Wo Fat, Steve McGarrett's arch-nemesis, on Hawaii Five-0.[3]
Dacascos competed in season 9 of Dancing with the Stars.[4][5] His partner was Dancing with the Stars finalist Lacey Schwimmer. The pair was eliminated in the 7th episode.[6]
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Dacascos' father, Al Dacascos, is from Hawaii, and is a martial arts instructor of Filipino, Spanish, and Chinese ancestry. His mother, Moriko McVey-Murray, is of Irish and Japanese ancestry. In the recent History Channel presentation, "Samurai", he revealed that the Japanese side of his mother's family was killed in the bombing of Hiroshima. His stepmothers are award winning martial artist Malia Bernal and Hawaiian singer Melveen Leed. Dacascos attended Portland State University in Portland, Oregon, where he majored in Chinese and drama. Mark Dacascos is proficient in Wun Hop Kuen Do, Capoeira, Wushu and Muay Thai.[7]
He is married to actress Julie Condra, who starred with him in Crying Freeman. They have three children, two older boys and one younger girl. Their names are Makoa, Kapono and Noelani.
Dacascos became an actor after being discovered walking down the street in San Francisco's Chinatown by Chris Lee (at that time, assistant director) and Rexall Chin (hairstylist) for director Wayne Wang. Though his first scenes ended up on the cutting room floor, he has gone on to establish a film and television career primarily playing martial artists. His breakout role was in the 1993 film Only the Strong, in which he played Louis, a Capoeira master who takes a high school's potential failures and turns their lives around by teaching them the venerable Brazilian martial art. In the following year, Dacascos co-starred with Party of Five's Scott Wolf as Jimmy and Billy Lee, respectively, in the video game based movie Double Dragon.
He plays the role of the Chairman of Iron Chef America and Iron Chef Australia. In the series' backstory he is the nephew of the original Iron Chef Chairman, Takeshi Kaga; the actors hold no relation in real life.
He has been featured in many action films such as Brotherhood of the Wolf, Crying Freeman and Cradle 2 the Grave, in which he squared off against Jet Li. He also performed in three video games: voice acting in Stranglehold, live acting in Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom and digitally recreating The Chairman in the new Iron Chef video game for Wii.
Dacascos was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2002 for his role in Brotherhood of the Wolf, which was a box office success in the United States.[8] He also appeared in the short-lived but critically acclaimed television series The Crow: Stairway to Heaven, which was a follow-up to the 1994 film The Crow. One of his more recent roles is in the children's television show, Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight, where he portrays Advent Master Eubulon, mentor of the Kamen Riders and creator of the Advent Decks.
Dacascos' latest acting endeavor is on the CBS series, "Hawaii Five-O" in which he portrays the recurring role of "Wo Fat", arguably the most popular enemy of Steve Mcgarrett. The character of Wo Fat is one of the few characters taken from the original Hawaii Five-O series.
| Year | Title | Role | Other Notes | |
| 1985 | Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart | n/a | Film (scenes deleted) | |
| 1990 | Angel Town | Stoner Driver | Film | |
| 1991 | Dead On The Money | Martial arts master | TV movie | |
| 1992 | American Samurai | Kenjiro Sanga | Film | |
| 1993 | Only The Strong | Louis Stevens | Film | |
| 1993 | Roosters | Filipino's Son | Film (Cameo) | |
| 1994 | Dragstrip Girl | Johnny Ramirez | TV movie | |
| 1994 | Double Dragon | Jimmy Lee | Film | |
| 1995 | Deadly Past | Leo | Film | |
| 1995 | Kickboxer 5: The Redemption | Matt Reeves | Film | |
| 1995 | Crying Freeman | Yo Hinomura/Freeman | Film | |
| 1996 | The Island of Dr. Moreau | Lo-Mai | Film | |
| 1996 | Sabotage | Michael Bishop | Film | |
| 1997 | Sanctuary | Luke Kovak | Film | |
| 1997 | DNA | Dr. Ash Mattley | Film | |
| 1997 | Deathline (a.k.a. Redline) | Merrick | Film | |
| 1998 | Drive | Toby Wong | Film | |
| 1998 | Boogie Boy | Jesse Page | Film | |
| 1998 | No Code of Conduct | Paul DeLucca | Film | |
| 1999 | The Base | Maj. John Murphy/Cpl. John Dalton | Film | |
| 2000 | China Strike Force (Lei ting zhan jing) | Tony Lau | Film | |
| 2001 | Le Pacte des loups (Brotherhood of the Wolf) | Mani | Film | |
| 2001 | Instinct To Kill (AKA The Perfect Husband) | J.T. Dillon | Film | |
| 2002 | Scorcher | Ryan Beckett | Film | |
| 2003 | Cradle 2 the Grave | Yao Ling | Film | |
| 2005 | Solar Strike (AKA Solar Attack) (USA) | Lucas Foster | TV movie | |
| 2005 | Junior Pilot (aka Final Approach) | Kato | Film | |
| 2006 | Only the Brave | Steve "Zaki" Senzaki | Film | |
| 2006 | The Hunt for Eagle One | Lt. Matt Daniels | Video | |
| 2006 | The Hunt for Eagle One: Crash Point | Lt. Matt Daniels | Video | |
| 2006 | Nomad | Sharish | Film | |
| 2007 | Code Name: The Cleaner | Eric Hauck | Film | |
| 2007 | Alien Agent | Rykker | Film | |
| 2007 | I Am Omega | Renchard | Film | |
| 2008 | Gideon Falls | Set | Film | |
| 2009 | Serbian Scars | Peter Olsen Obilich | Film | |
| 2010 | Shadows in Paradise | Lt. Max Forrester | Film | |
| 2010 | Action Hero | Writer | Film | |
| 2010 | Secret of the Sultan | Film | ||
| 2010 | Hawaii Five-O | Wo Fat | Television | |
| 2011 | The Lost Medallion: The Adventures of Billy Stone | Cobra | Film |
| Year | Title | Role | Episode/Notes |
| 1987 | General Hospital | Police cadet | TV series |
| 1990 | New Dragnet | Kevin Chow | TV series |
| 1990 | Doogie Howser, MD | Julian | Episode: "The Grass Ain't Always Greener" |
| 1991 | The Flash | Osaku | Episode: "Child's Play" |
| 1994 | Tales from the Crypt | Felix Johnson | Episode: "The Pit" |
| 1995 | One West Waikiki | Moku | Episode: "Rest in Peace" |
| 1998-99 | The Crow: Stairway to Heaven | Eric Draven | TV series |
| 1999 | Martial Law | Steven Garth | Episode: "Ninety Million Reasons to Die" |
| 2002 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Ananda the Monk | Episode: "Felonious Monk" |
| 2005 - Present | Iron Chef America: The Series | The Chairman | TV series |
| 2007 | Stargate Atlantis | Tyre | Episode: "Reunion" |
| 2008 | The Legend of Bruce Lee | Muay Thai boxer King Charles[9] | TV series |
| 2008 | The Middleman | Sensei Ping | Episode: "The Sino-Mexican Revelation" |
| 2008 | Stargate Atlantis | Tyre | Episode: "Broken Ties" |
| 2009 | Kamen Rider Dragon Knight | Eubulon | Episodes: 32–40 |
| 2009 | Dancing with the Stars | Himself/guest dancer | Episodes" 1-7 |
| 2009 | Wolvesbayne | Von Griem | TV movie |
| 2008-11 | The Next Iron Chef | The Chairman | TV series |
| 2010 | Samurai | Himself | TV documentary |
| 2010 - Present | Hawaii Five-0 | Wo Fat | TV series |
| 2010 | Iron Chef Australia | The Chairman | TV series |
Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films
| Year | Result | Award | Category/Recipient |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Nominated | Saturn Award | Best Supporting Actor for: Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001) |
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