Mark Dacascos

Mark Alan Dacascos (born February 26, 1964) is an American actor, martial artist and television personality. A 4th-degree black belt in Wun Hop Kuen Do, he is known for his roles in action films, including as Louis Stevens in Only the Strong, the title role in Crying Freeman (1995), Mani in Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001), for which he was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor, the antagonist Ling in Cradle 2 the Grave (2003), Sharish in Nomad (2005), and as the assassin Zero in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019).

On television, Dacascos is known for his portrayal of Wo Fat on Hawaii Five-0 (2010–2020), and for serving as "The Chairman" of Food Network's Iron Chef America series since January 2005, a role he reprised in 2022 on Netflix's Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend. Dacascos' other roles include Kung Lao in the web series Mortal Kombat: Legacy, Eric Draven on The Crow: Stairway to Heaven and Eubulon on Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight. He also competed in the ninth season of Dancing with the Stars.

In 2023, he was inducted into the Martial Arts History Museum Hall of Fame.

Early life Dacascos was born on February 26, 1964, in Honolulu, Hawaii. His father, Al Dacascos, is of Filipino descent and was born in Hawaii; he is a martial arts instructor and the founder of Wun Hop Kuen Do. He was inducted into the Martial Arts History Museum Hall of Fame in 1999. His mother, Moriko McVey-Murray, is Irish of Japanese descent. In the History Channel presentation Samurai, Dacascos revealed that many members of his mother's family were killed in the bombing of Hiroshima. His stepmother is award-winning martial artist Malia Bernal. He attended Los Angeles Valley College, where he was on the gymnastics team. He also attended Portland State University in Portland, Oregon. He is proficient in his father's style of martial arts, Wun Hop Kuen Do, and holds a 4th degree black belt. He has also extensively studied Muay Thai, capoeira with Amen Santo, and Wushu.

During his upbringing he lived a time in Hamburg, Germany, where he learned to speak German.

Career

Dacascos became an actor after being discovered walking down the street in San Francisco's Chinatown by Chris Lee (assistant director) and Rexall Chinn (hairstylist), who at the time were working for director Wayne Wang. He was cast in Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart, and though his scenes were cut from the final film, he went on to establish a film and television career primarily playing martial artists. He was originally set to play as the Red Ranger, Victor Lee, in Bio-Man, an adaptation of Choudenshi Bioman produced by Haim Saban. The show was not picked up at the time, but the concept evolved into Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

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 struggling students and turns their lives around by teaching them the Brazilian martial art based on the ritual combat technique of Angola. In the following year, Dacascos co-starred with Party of Fives Scott Wolf as Jimmy and Billy Lee, respectively, in the film Double Dragon, based on the video game with the same name.

He plays the role of the Chairman on Iron Chef America, Iron Chef Australia and Iron Chef: Mexico. In the series' backstory, Dacascos's character is the nephew of the original Iron Chef Chairman, Takeshi Kaga.

He has been featured in many action films such as Drive, 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 Iron Chef America: Supreme Cuisine 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. He also appeared in the television series The Crow: Stairway to Heaven, which was a follow-up to the 1994 film The Crow. He also appears in the children's television show Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight, where he portrays Eubulon, also known as the Advent Master, mentor of the Kamen Riders and creator of the Advent Decks.

Dacascos played the recurring role of Wo Fat on the CBS series Hawaii Five-0. He portrayed Kung Lao in the second season of the YouTube series Mortal Kombat: Legacy. He had a recurring role in the third season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as Mr. Giyera, an Inhuman servant of Hydra who can manipulate inanimate objects.

In May 2019, Dacascos played Zero, a lead antagonist in the action thriller film John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum. He starred in a recurring role on the Netflix series Wu Assassins. He has reprised his role as The Chairman of the Iron Chef series in Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend, which was released on Netflix in June 2022.

Personal life Dacascos is married to actress Julie Condra, who starred with him in the 1995 action film Crying Freeman, and also the 2020 film One Night in Bangkok. They have three children: two sons, Makoalani and Kapono, and a daughter, Noelani.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1985 Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart Fighter Role deleted 1990 Angel Town Stoner's Driver 1992 American Samurai Kenjiro Sanga 1993 Only the Strong Louis Stevens Roosters Filipino's Son Cameo 1994 Double Dragon Jimmy Lee 1995 Deadly Past Leo Redemption: Kickboxer 5 Matt Reeves Direct-to-video Crying Freeman Yo Hinomura / Crying Freeman 1996 The Island of Dr. Moreau Lo-Mai Sabotage Michael Bishop DNA Dr. Ash Mattley 1997 Drive Toby Wong Sanctuary Luke Kovak Deathline Merrick 1998 Boogie Boy Jesse Page No Code of Conduct Paul DeLucca 1999 The Base Major John Murphy / Corporal John Dalton 2000 China Strike Force Tony Lau 2001 Brotherhood of the Wolf Mani Instinct To Kill J.T. Dillon 2002 Scorcher Colonel Ryan Beckett 2003 Cradle 2 the Grave Ling 2005 Final Approach Kato Nomad Sharish 2006 Only the Brave Steve "Zaki" Senzaki The Hunt for Eagle One Lieutenant Matt Daniels The Hunt for Eagle One: Crash Point 2007 Code Name: The Cleaner Eric Hauck Alien Agent Rykker I Am Omega Renchard 2008 Gideon Falls Set 2009 Serbian Scars Peter Olsen Obilich 2010 Shadows in Paradise Lieutenant Max Forrester Secret of the Sultan 2013 The Lost Medallion: The Adventures of Billy Stone "King Cobra" 2014 Roger Corman's Operation Rogue Captain Max Randall The Extendables Mark 2016 Showdown in Manila Matthew Wells Also director and producer 2017 Maximum Impact Tony Lin 2017 Ultimate Justice Gus 2018 The Legend of Hallowaiian Pono (voice) 2019 John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum "Zero" The Driver The Driver Lucky Day Louis 2020 One Night in Bangkok Kai Kahale 2021 Batman: Soul of the Dragon Richard Dragon (voice) 2022 The Ray Brando Blade of the 47 Ronin Lord Shinshiro 2023 Knights of the Zodiac Mylock 2024 Jade Reese 2026 Legend of the White Dragon Xang

Television Year Title Role Notes 1986 Bio-Man Victor Lee / Biorhythm Red Failed pilot 1986–97 General Hospital Police Cadet 4 episodes 1990 Doogie Howser, MD Julian Episode: "The Grass Ain't Always Greener" The Flash Osaku Episode: "Child's Play" New Dragnet Kevin Chow Episode: "Queen of Hearts" 1991 Dead on the Money Martial Arts Teacher Television film 1994 Dragstrip Girl Johnny Ramirez Television film 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 / The Crow 22 episodes 1999 Martial Law Steven Garth Episode: "Ninety Million Reasons to Die" 2002 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Ananda Episode: "Felonious Monk" 2004–18 Iron Chef America The Chairman 236 episodes 2006 Solar Attack Lucas Foster Television film 2007–08 Stargate Atlantis Tyre 2 episodes 2007–12 The Next Iron Chef The Chairman 16 episodes 2008 The Legend of Bruce Lee Thai Boxer King Charles 3 episodes The Middleman Sensei Ping Episode: "The Sino-Mexican Revelation" 2009 Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight Eubulon / Advent Master 9 episodes Dancing with the Stars Himself 7 episodes Wolvesbayne Von Griem Television film 2010–20 Hawaii Five-0 Wo Fat 17 episodes 2014 Chicago P.D. Jimmy Shi Episode: "Different Mistakes" 2015–16 Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Giyera 11 episodes 2016 Lucifer Kimo Vanzandt Episode: "Weaponizer" 2017 The Perfect Bride Daniel Counter Television film 2019 Wu Assassins Monk/ Kun Zi Recurring role Main Role (Season 3)2023SpongeBob SquarePants Guru Greasetrap Episode: "Spatula of the Heavens"Blue Eye SamuraiBloodsoaked Chiaki (voice)Recurring cast

Video games Year Title Role 1996 Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom Troy 'Catscratch' Carter

Web series Year Title Role Notes 2013 Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kung Lao 4 episodes

Awards and nominations