Mark Dacascos Defines Cool Onscreen and in Quarantine
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Mark Dacascos as the assassin “Zero” in “John Wick 3: Parabellum”
Director of all three installments Chad Stahelski took the stunt route to the helm with lead coordinator positions in several blockbusters, including The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and The Wolverine. Keanu Reeves, aka Neo, Johnny Utah, Jack Traven and Ted (as in Bill and...), needs no introduction in the title role of John Wick. (Keanu may be as famous for his humanity as his oeuvre.) Chad and Keanu let Mark give a complex interpretation of Zero in a pivotal scene in which he causes the audience to question who's the jerk: the bounty killer or the hero? Mark recalls, "Chad asked Keanu and me to do whatever we wanted within the context of the scene and he said he'd make adjustments after that." As a result, "What you see on screen was close to what we did in that very first rehearsal. Chad and Keanu both told me it was not initially what they had in mind, but apparently, they liked it."
Zero's respect and admiration for John Wick reflect the lessons Mark learned as a child in Hawaii and a teenager in Germany in the schools of the Wun Hop Kuen Do style invented by his father, martial arts icon Al Dacascos (Instagram @sifual). Another teacher was his mother, Malia Bernal (Instagram @malia.dacascos.bernal), who was the first woman on the cover of Black Belt Magazine. "My parents taught a wholistic martial arts. They taught us the differences between sport martial arts and street self-defense, and how to stay healthy and fit in mind and body. I love martial arts the way I learned it; with humility, appreciation and respect, no cussing, no bullying, and staying out of fights."
Mark’s father Al Dacascos
Mark’s mother Maila Bernal Dacascos
Born a Kung Fu Fighter and Artist
Had Al and Malia given in to their oldest son's preference for cycling and touch football early on, his life may have taken a different trajectory. "I was six or seven when my parents made me and my younger but taller brother, Craig, enter our first tournament. We both made it to the finals and ended up fighting each other for first and second place. I won by 1 point but Craig definitely kicked me more and harder. Our parents continued to make me train and compete, and by the time we moved to Germany when I was twelve, I had finally developed my passion for martial arts."
Mark holds an eighth-degree black belt in Wun Hop Kuen Do but has a similar attitude as Mr. Miyagi in Karate Kid, remarking that all belts do is "hold pants up." Mark explains, "To me, it's always been about train or don't train, or work hard to be better and enjoy the process. I remained an orange belt (just above white and yellow) for five years and only tested for the next ranks because my parents told me and my training partner, Emanuel Bettencourt, that we needed to. Nor did I ever want the title of black belt. Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li didn't have black belts and they were fantastic! But after competing against black belts in tournaments and being able to perform all the requirements both physical and in character for the black belt in my father's style, he promoted me after I turned eighteen."
Mark also has a yellow cord (beginner) and the moniker "Tigre" in Capoeira from his Capoeira Mestre Amen Santo, who prepared him for the movie ONLY the STRONG, and he has studied Muay Thai since 2007 with his teacher, Kru Puk. His martial arts experience was instrumental in Cradle 2 the Grave, American Samurai, and TV series "The Crow: Stairway to Heaven," "Mortal Kombat: Legacy", and the recurring roles in "Hawaii Five-O" and Netflix's Wu Assassins. Go to IMDB.com for a complete list of his movies and TV shows spanning over thirty years.
Not all of Mark's fans care about martial arts. Foodies know him best as The Chairman in "Iron Chef America," which ran from 2004 to 2018 on the Food Network. "Iron Chef America was a large part of my career on television, but I had already had a good ten years of action films prior to that." He adds, "I heard from one of the executives at Iron Chef that the reason I was on the list of possible actors to play The Chairman was that some of the execs at Fuji, who had approval rights on the new cast, had seen me in the French film, Brotherhood of the Wolf. So, I went from movies with 'kicking' to a TV show with 'cooking'. Life!"
Mark with Fil-Am actress Tia Carrere for the 2016 film “Showdown in Manila”
Making the Best of a Bad Situation
I first interviewed Mark for Filipinas Magazine over a decade ago when he was settling into "Iron Chef America." When we reconnected for this profile, he had returned from London Comic Con before wrapping up filming for the series finale of "Hawaii Five-O" and took an unexpected break from a Shakespeare/Voice workshop taught by Patsy Rodenberg due to Covid-19. Quarantining also postponed the start of filming for a movie in Asia.
As of May third, Mark is sheltered at home in Southern California with wife Julie, sons Makoa, age 19, and Kapono, 17, and daughter, Noe, 13. "Rarely are all five of us together so much. It's nice for us to connect with each other in person. We've had time for conversations, some deep and profound talks, others silly and fun." As for his own personal development, he reports, "I've been keeping up with my training both as an actor and athlete. We live in a small town, so we're able to go outside and safely practice social-distancing. I'll walk/run a trail, practice martial arts, and do some body-weight exercises, such as pull-ups, handstands, pushups and back-bends, and every evening I practice yoga. I do my actor training nearly every day. Right now, I'm working on the role of Richard in Shakespeare's Richard the Third."
The Dacascos family, Kapono, Noelani, Mark, Julie, and Makoa
He takes pride in Julie's success and the vigor in which their daughter and sons are pursuing their passions. Mark and Julie are co-starring along with Noe in the Lionsgate films for television: The Driver and One Night in Bangkok. Noe is still in middle school but is already considering drama school. Makoa recently graduated from the Academy of Culinary Education and aims to eventually run his own restaurant. Kapono plays soccer in high school and is on a club team while excelling academically.
From the movie “The Driver”: Our daughter, Noelani Dacascos in center, wife Julie Dacascos
The multifaceted actor is also proud of his Filipino heritage. "I'm proud to have some Filipino blood (almost half) and am so happy that although I was born in Hawaii and grew up in Germany, I've had the opportunity to do five movies in the Philippines. Each time I'm there, I'm in awe of the natural beauty of the country and blown away by the huge number of talented Filipinos in entertainment there and all over the world. And I am appreciative of the Filipino community for embracing my Filipino ancestry. I hope to bring some Filipino stories to the stage and screen in the near future."
Throughout the last hundred years, Filipinos have endured barbaric wars, a murderous dictatorship, abject poverty, and both natural and manmade disasters. Millions have died. Their spirits live on in the survivors and new generations. Mark embodies the physical toughness and mental fortitude so familiar to fellow Filipinos. As a pandemic rages and class divisions widen, Hollywood clamors for the next Jimmy Stewart, a champion for justice and decency. Mark can be such an underdog but with fighting skills to light up the screen.
Anthony Maddela
Anthony Maddela is working on an EPA grant application to reduce the susceptibility of public housing families to coronavirus.
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