Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Mortal Kombat’s Max Huang

Max Huang is delivering a flawless victory as Kung Lao in Mortal Kombat. The Chinese-born German actor has the privilege (and responsibility) of bringing this iconic character to life on the big screen, and what a job he’s done.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Max about his journey in the industry as an actor, musician, and stuntman. Plus, we chatted all things Mortal Kombat, his debut single, and he shares his dream role (spoiler alert: it’s giving us all the feels).

Career

PC: How did you discover your passion for martial arts, stunt work, and acting?
Max: Oh, wow. That goes way back. When I was three years old, my dad used to show me all these VHS tapes of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, so that definitely became the motivator for what I’m doing right now. A fire inside me was ignited. I knew by watching them that I wanted to do the same thing.

I went on to join a martial arts training center by the age of eleven. I grew up in Germany, so there weren’t many facilities to train at, especially Chinese martial arts; it wasn’t that well known at the time. I started off with Wing Chun, a Chinese kung fu style, and then later went to compete in Chinese wushu and became a German National Team member. That’s how I started in martial arts. I also went to the Shaolin Temple for a while when I was fifteen.

With film, it was kind of similar. When I was little, my father had this big VHS camera that I would take. As a kid, I started shooting all kinds of different short films. I would write the scripts, too. It was funny: when I threw birthday parties from eight to twelve, I would invite all my friends to my house just to help me shoot a film. They weren’t aware of that. [laughs] I had costumes ready and the camera set up. It was actually a kung fu movie that I wanted to do, so from an early age on, I was fascinated with cinema.

I went on to actually direct and produce a couple of short films that recently won some awards at film festivals. I love to be behind the camera as well as in front of the camera. Later on, I went to London to study more acting and graduated from there with my acting diploma in 2010. I was very lucky to get the chance to meet with Jackie Chan, so I joined his team in 2011 for the first time. That was the first film: Chinese Zodiac. I went on to shoot a lot of films with him and basically learned all the skills about filmmaking, especially martial arts filmmaking, from him.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Max: Definitely Jackie and also Bruce. Those two were, and still are, my idols.

Personally, my parents. They were always supportive of me. We’re an artistic family—my mom is a vocal coach and an actress and my dad is a classical music conductor. They’ve always supported me in whatever I wanted to do. I chose to go with film and martial arts. Martial arts was unusual in our family; no one had ever done that before.

There are also a lot of idols I have when it comes to music. I’m a big fan of Elvis Presley. I would also say I’m influenced even by artists from today that are still alive and doing what they’re doing. I try to pull from different areas as well, not only martial arts. For example, music is a huge inspiration. I listen to music when I get into a certain character. I did that for Kung Lao in Mortal Kombat.

Mortal Kombat

PC: Speaking of Mortal Kombat, the film is out now. It’s been incredibly well received. What do you think is resonating most with audiences?
Max: It’s been so crazy. The Mortal Kombat community is straightforward. They’re really honest with you. Personally speaking, it’s such a good feeling to know how they’ve received the movie. I’m very happy with the result. Of course, I wish there would be much more of Kung Lao, but hopefully, we’ll see him back in the future. Who knows? The reviews and the comments for Kung Lao have been overwhelmingly positive. I guess that shows that I must have done something right.

It’s number one at the box office, which is amazing. I would have never thought to be in a movie that’s number one in the box office. It’s amazing.

PC: Did you feel any pressure heading into this project, just given how iconic Kung Lao is and how big this franchise is?
Max: Yeah! A lot of the other actors had to fill big shoes. We’re all standing on the shoulders of giants. Ludi Lin is portraying Liu Kang, who we’ve seen on screen before. Many actors have portrayed him—the same with Shang Tsung played by Chin Han.

One of the things that excited me about Kung Lao is that we’ve never seen him on the big screen. We’ve seen him in a couple of TV series, but never on a big screen in cinema. That definitely added to the pressure. At the same time, though, I felt liberated, because I was given a lot of freedom to play with him and show the audience my version of him.

PC: There’s an incredible fight sequence with your character towards the end of the film. What was your reaction like when you saw that finished product and that scene in particular?
Max: Oh, gosh. It was surreal. I remember I was sitting in a cinema and was watching it with the other cast members. That wasn’t even the finished product because they still hadn’t done a lot of VFX, and the music wasn’t finished, but it left such a huge impression on me.

It was amazing because Mortal Kombat is out of this world; it’s so unique. Seeing that all come to life—Kung Lao using his hat and doing all those fatalities—was so much fun. This project combined martial art elements with fantasy and also horror—we’re mixing all those things together. It’s fun to see how it all came together. I really enjoyed the process of it all.

PC: In addition to the film, you also released your debut single. Tell us about “Flawless Victory” and how it came to fruition.
Max: “Flawless Victory” is an expression of how I felt for a long time. I thought it would be quite nice to have something that goes along with Mortal Kombat. I wanted to share it with people and give them a better understanding of who I am, what I do, and how I feel.

Basically, the song is about never giving up and always striving to become a better version of yourself. No matter if people want to stop you or tell you that you can’t achieve certain things, you have it in you to keep pushing for what you believe in.

PC: As we look ahead to the rest of the year, can we expect more music from you?
Max: I have another song in line. I’m not sure when I’ll share that with you guys, but it’s been a long time since I’ve done music. I used to be in a rock band when I was in high school. It was so much fun. I want to do some more songs and keep doing music—it’s fun. To be honest with you, I don’t see it as a business; I just love music. Whether people like it or not, I don’t really care. It gives me that feeling of being free and is how I want to express myself.

PC: Besides Mortal Kombat, where can fans see you next?
Max: You can next see me in Snafu. That’s a film with Jackie Chan and John Cena. It’s going to be on Netflix soon.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: Guilty pleasure TV show?
Max: Warrior.

PC: Favorite book?
Max: Lately, I’ve been reading about martial arts—it’s a Japanese book called The Demon’s Sermon on the Martial Arts. It’s more about the philosophy of it. Probably not for everyone, but for people who are into martial arts, I definitely recommend it. I also love Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist.

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Max: Eminem.

PC: Dream role?
Max: Kung Lao in Mortal Kombat 2.

To keep up with Max, follow him on Twitter and Instagram. Watch Mortal Kombat on HBO Max and stream “Flawless Victory” today.